Contemporary Folk Artists of Uttar Dinajpur: The Cultural Contributions

Page: 360-363
Ajoy Sarkar1 and Tapas Pal2 (Sayedpur Babhan Toli High School, Jhitkia, Dalkhola, Uttar Dinajpur1 and Geography and In-charge of Centre for Differently Abled Persons, Raiganj University, West Bengal2

Folk artists bear the deep cultural value of a geographical land. The folk cultural contemplation is maintained by the contributions of the loko-Shilpi. Sporadic loko-Sanskriti are present in rural Uttar Dinajpur and which is nourished by folk artists. The folk artists are the historical benchmarks of a geographical land. the local economy, market, development, regional identity, livelihood, culture, aspiration, tourism, thinking, demands, food habits, kinship all are influenced by folk culture and the folk performance of the loko-Shilpi. Before the partition of the Bengal Dinajpur was the heath of loko-Sanskriti cultivation. Again, after the partition of undivided Bengal and the emerging of Uttar Dinajpur district, a number of folk artists are maintaining their ancestral folk culture and folk-Shilpa. In the influx of globalization, folk artists are facing an identity crisis. their economy is facing challenges. But in respect of cultural conservation and the protection of the historical arts, Shilpa, knowledge, traditional technique, traditional culture, folk tales, folk myth, folk proverbs, the folk artists and their folk contributions should be maintained properly. Because historically folk artists have deep cultural contributions to sustain the identity of the community, land, culture, etc. In Uttar Dinajpur district, there are lots of folk artists are maintaining their historical as well as a geographical folk culture through their folk performances like Srimanta Deva Sharma, Ganesh Rabidas, Montu Poddar, Batu Basak, Sushil Sheel, Tapan Chakraborty, Sachindranath Sarkar, Sushil Malakar, Sachin Babu, Paresh Das, Gokul Chandra Das, Haripada Pal, Samaresh Roy, Abu Taher, and Sahadat Hussain.