ল্যাক পুতুল

Domain:Traditional craftsmanship

State:

Description:

The video titled Lac Doll: The Dying Art is a documentation of the vanishing art form of lac doll making once practiced by artisans in the districts of Birbhum, Bankura and East Medinipur in West Bengal. The film is directed by Sanat Das Gupta and narrated by Nilanjana Biswas. The colourful dolls are made from the natural resinous ingredient called lac, derived from lac insects. There was a time when the lac doll artisans from the Illambazar area of Birbhum district, Bankura and Bishnupur of Bankura district and Patashpur and Egra areas of Midnapore district were well known for their artistry. However, at present the art is only thriving in the district of East Medinipur and primarily the people from the Mahiso and Shankhabani community are associated with this craft. Lac doll artists often have to compete with plastic dolls which are much cheaper and available in bulk. These dolls are sold during the Rath Yatra festivals at Puri and Baripoda in Odisha till today.