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4:00 PM-8:30 PM
Sundarbans Across Borders: The Spirit of Cultural Resilience
Presentation|A project initiated by the European Union National Institutes of Culture (EUNIC) Dhaka and Kolkata Cluster
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Sundarbans
The Indian chapter delves into the ecological milieu of the Sundarbans, as expressed through its cultural practices, traditional livelihoods, and community engagement with a special focus on women’s role in sustaining and perpetuating indigenous knowledge and cultural practices, fueling local economies and engaging in environmental stewardship. Additionally, this project also tries to gain a deeper understanding of climate change as is being experienced by the mangrove ecosystem in the present times and its impact on the lives, livelihoods and lived heritage of this region.
The project has been done in two phases; the first phase entailed collection of secondary data, extensive background study of the field and a two-week immersive field visit to the Sundarbans lead by Madhusree Lahiri. The second and the final phase includes artistic collaborations with Jana Sanskriti Centre for Theatre of the Oppressed led by playwright Dr. Sanjoy Ganguly and artist curator Sayantan Maitra. On 2 and 3 December 2025 final presentation of the interventions will take place at Sundarban.
FOOD STUDIO AND TRACING THE FOOD HISTORY OF THE MANGROVES
By Sayantan Maitra, Food Studio Collective
The collective made experimental workshops with local women communities of Sundarban to create new design patterns in textile. Bengali cuisine is a unique blend of traditional cooking styles, diverse flavors, and spices. Although the traditional Bengali cuisine is relatively explored outside the region, but the complexity of tastes throughout the parted/divided land, changing climate, food habit of the tribal communities, shops and bazaars mostly run by the migrants and the never-ending surprise of ‘local’ findings—unknown crops and spices and their immense potentials remain untapped. The aim is to showcase a jugglery of tastes and to explore the unique taste landscapes of the time. The effort is also to create awareness about the traditional organic methods of farming and fishing on the same land. The final presentation includes the screening of a film that captures the extraordinary resilience of the women of Sundarban, who have battled the harsh realities of climate change and migration and a food performance, created with local women of the Sundarbans, which narrates the transformation of traditional culinary practices shaped by climate change, migration, and tourism.
By Dr. Sanjoy Ganguly, Jana Sanskriti Centre for Theatre of the Oppressed
Jana Sanskriti has consistently resisted the tendency to “throw the baby out with the bathwater.” While critically engaging with modernity, it has also maintained deep respect for tradition, recognizing traditional art forms as powerful sources of inspiration for promoting critical consciousness. Bonbibir Pala, a traditional theatrical form, articulates the intricate relationships between humans and nature, humans and the forest, and humans and the river. It serves as a cultural reminder of the need to protect the environment and the climate. Jana Sanskriti is currently integrating the dramaturgy of Forum Theatre into this traditional form, thereby creating a dialogue between heritage and contemporary critical practice. Bonbibir Pala addresses issues of patriarchy and environmental degradation while presenting a non-divisive vision of collective community action. Through this adaptation, the performance seeks to provoke reflection, raising critical questions and inviting responses from the spectators.
ARTISTS AND RESEARCHER
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Sayantan is a curator, architect and acollaborative artist who has explored in the realm of public art doing site specific interventions with various collectives and curated and produced public art festivals in Sikkim, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Bengal as the first of its kind which comprised a melange of new media art and contemporary art addressing issues of sociopolitical and environmental nature.
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Food Studio is a diverse collective which attempts to understand sustainability, people, land and climate with a wide variety of cultures and their diverse cuisines. The Collective includes Sumeru Mukhopadhyay, Damu Mukhopadhyay, Anwesha Sarkar, Epsita Halder, Thomas Henriot, Rafiqul Alam Sahana and Ridhwik Dutta.
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Led by playwright and writer Dr. Sanjoy Ganguly in 1985, Jana Sanskriti Centre for Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) was the first to introduce TO in India, a form conceptualized by Brazilian theatre practitioner Augusto Boal. TO empowers the oppressed to speak, act, and express their social will. Starting from a small village in the Sundarbans, JS now has 30 satellite teams in West Bengal and others across India, reaching over 200,000 spectators annually. Nine of these teams are all-women—another first in India. For more than three decades, JS has used theatre to address issues like domestic violence, child marriage, trafficking, child abuse, health, education, and more. Its performances raise critical questions and invite audience participation to collectively seek solutions.
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Dr. Madhusree Lahiri holds an M.Phil. and a Ph.D. in Rural Development from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Tuljapur. Her research revolves around the interplay of gender, livelihood, climate change and sustainable development. Through her work, as a facilitator and a researcher, Dr. Lahiri hopes to create meaningful dialogue and transformative change, especially for marginalized women across rural communities, both at the ground as well as at the policy level. She served as the lead researcher and coordinator of the project. Her work involved a two-week intense field visit to the Sundarban to gather both primary and secondary data pertaining to the project, analysis of the collected data and overall coordination during the second phase of artistic collaborations.
Location
India
Location
India