SawDesi transforms Jorbangla Art Gallery into a community for art and food

In an era where many of us believe quality resides solely in expensive stores, Eliza Bhowmick and Sourabh Ghosh’s labour of love, SawDesi, is determined to provide a leg up to homegrown brands. The third instalment of Art Melange’s SawDesi, held on January 13 and 14 at Jorbangla Gallery (off Gariahat’s Fern Road) with My Kolkata as digital partner, welcomed not only lifestyle brands from across the state but also launched its food vertical with Ghosh’s in-house brand Rannay Rockbaji and Dweepi Chatterjee’s Minn.

Angana Roy was the chief guest at the inauguration on the evening of January 13

SawDesi

Following an intimate inauguration on the first day, featuring actors Angana Roy and Rohan Bhattacharjee, Sawdesi launched the eight brands on display, including a brand sponsored entirely by the house in an effort to promote indigenous art forms regardless of financial ability. “Eliza and Sourabh are both extremely talented individuals, and their unique art-life event SawDesi is true to its name. I’m particularly fond of exhibitions that promote handmade art and are vocal for local, since I prefer purchasing from budding local artisans who are all unique in their own ways,” said Angana, who also spoke about her upcoming film, Pariah (with Vikram Chatterjee as the protagonist), which explores a reclusive man’s inquest into the disappearance of street dogs.

From eco-printing to doodled accessories, from home decor to artistic masks

The stall set up by Dori The Bond

Amit Pramanik

Carrying the fragrance of the red soil of Santiniketan came Paramita Bhattacharya’s Dori The Bond. Reviving the lost art of eco-printing by incorporating local flora prints into saris, shawls, jackets and bags, Dori’s handmade products are a testament to the rich heritage of their place of origin. After local women painstakingly pick leaves and flowers from their regional wilderness, every piece of cloth is arranged with a selection of leaves and steamed for hours to transfer their natural hues onto the fabric. The cloth is then air-dried for 72 hours and stored for retention of colour. Horitoki, bherenda and genda were some of the prints on display from Dori, which also carried tie-dye shibori, jamdani, katha stitch, bishnupuri silk, ceramic, dokra, and hand-woven napier grass wearables and jewellery. The brand offered a 25 per cent discount on its merchandise, which were priced between Rs 200 and Rs 5,000. “As all our products are naturally dyed, the colours might fade if not cared for. However, if that happens, customers can send us the products back and we will re-dye it for them (at no additional cost),” said Bhattacharya.

Pooja Mukherjee with her paintings

Amit Pramanik

The Ubharte Sitare section for budding artisans hosted striking paintings by Eccentric’s Pooja Mukherjee. Featuring interactive art, where focusing on a spiralling video and looking at her Vincent Van Gogh rendition made objects swirl around the canvas, Mukherjee’s work was a showstopper. A corner of the gallery also dived into flamboyant doodling courtesy 13-year-old Rivaan Mukherjee’s Artchii. Mukherjee, a student of The Future Foundation School, found solace in the art form and started designing only a year back. Nowadays he proudly carries sketchbooks filled with commissioned pieces. His brand featured mugs, bottles, bookmarks, diaries, magnets and hand-painted coasters, all of which carry Mukherjee’s original doodles, ranging from caricatures to catchy quotes to snippets from popular anime series. “Doodling doesn’t feel like work. I enjoy it so much that I look forward to doodling every day. However, as a young business owner, I don’t let my ventures affect my academics. I do both with equal dedication and I think I’ve found my flow when it comes to managing both,” said the young artist.

Some of the products on display by Kulungi

Amit Pramanik

A Sawdesi permanent, Kulungi by Rysaa Bhowmick, was also present. Specialising in functional home decor, Kulungi presented its exclusive curtain ties, pillowy summer coasters, witty fridge magnets with original copies and trademark hand-painted bedsheets to a new audience this time around. The brand also introduced artsy pillow covers featuring ribbon flowers and knitted wool along with ceramic mushroom soap holders, incense stick holders, miniscule doorbells and a plethora of knick-knacks. “No two products of mine are the same. In spite of that, I run out of products within three days at SawDesi!” chimed Rysaa.

Dorothi Guha (left) with her collection of masks

Amit Pramanik

In another room, Dorothi Guha’s Ava’s Creation beckoned decor lovers galore. Hailing from Uttar Dinajpur’s Kaliyaganj, Guha specialises in masks crafted from local gamari wood. “The brand is named after my late mother-in-law, whom I never had the chance to meet. Gamari woodwork is an artform prevalent among the locals of Kaliyaganj. When I realised that I harboured the potential to provide their intricate work an international platform, I knew this is what I wanted to do. I deliver my products myself, even if they are inter-state to ensure the retention of quality,” said the former school teacher. Black polish, metal strokes and melamine-polished textures on masks featuring Kali, Buddha, Durga, Matsyakanya, Ganesha and adivasi faces, with sizes ranging from palm-sized pieces to life-sized structures, are Guha’s speciality.

‘Art still resides in the hearts of all Kolkatans, only waiting to be unearthed’

A glimpse of the delicacies on offer

Amit Pramanik

Unveiling the food stalls of the exhibition, Ghosh’s Rannay Rockbaji celebrated the mastani of north Kolkata’s lanes infused with his love for cooking. In an attempt to revive the lost treasures of the city’s gastronomic history, Ghosh’s menu featured herbed rice, Albanian liver sandwich, and tender cuts of spiced chilli pork, inspired by the original recipes of the bygone era. Rannay Rockbaji also featured a variety of fusion pithe by Aparna Bhowmik, including choco-cheese pithe, gulkand shapta, and pakora pithe, filled with a flavourful mix of coconut and chillies. Satisfying dessert cravings was Chatterjee’s Minn, a home bakery that celebrates the idiosyncratic love for all things mini, baked with buttery goodness. The bakery featured mini cupcakes lathered with nature-inspired pastel buttercream patterns in flavours such as matcha vanilla and lime poppy. There were also tiramisu jars and an assortment of gooey red velvet, chunky chocolate and jam cookies.

Hridija Dutta

Amit Pramanik

As is customary in SawDesi shows, there were live performances. The tunes of Meghadri Bhattacharya and 15-year-old Hridija Dutta infused the air with electrifying energy on both days as visitors meandered through the clay mirrors and statement necklaces from the house of Art Melange. “We’re definitely understanding our audience better after having hosted three installations. We used to think that art was fading from day-to-day life in the modern age. However, we’ve been gladly proven wrong. Art still resides in the hearts of all Kolkatans, only waiting to be unearthed,” said Bhowmik.