This Durga Puja, French connection to help showcase city ghats at N Kol crowd-puller
Times of India | 13 September 2025
Kolkata: A French artist is collaborating with an Indian theme-maker to showcase Kolkata's ghats at Hatibagan Sarbojanin, one of the most popular Durga Puja pandals in north Kolkata.
Thomas Henriot, a graduate of Ecole des Beaux Arts de Besancon, is known for his ink drawings on Japanese rice paper rolls. He is creating a 22x7ft piece depicting ghats.
Henriot, who has worked in Rio de Janeiro, Havana, and Paris, said: "My first visit to Kolkata was two decades ago. I was here during puja last year and was fascinated by the artwork on display at pandals. To get an opportunity to collaborate with theme artist Tapas Dutta at one of north Kolkata's most popular pujas is huge.
I am absolutely thrilled."
The last time Durga Puja had a French connection was at Jodhpur Park's Pallimangal Samity in 2013. Artists Jean-Xavier Renaud and Gaelle Foray worked with local artists on a "Cannes to Kolkata" theme celebrating Indian cinema. The project, funded by Alliance Française du Bengale, featured a film set, murals, and projections of French classics, creating an East-West fusion of art and culture.
At the Hatibagan Sarbojanin pandal, Henriot and Dutta are developing the theme centred on Kolkata's ghats, many of which are absent from history books and public memory. "Only a quarter of the 100-odd ghats that once stood like sentinels along the bank of the Hooghly continue to be in use. The rest are crumbling," said Dutta, whose theme will highlight not only the architectural and natural elements of the ghats but also the activities and vibrancy surrounding them.
"There are ghats that have witnessed political gatherings, devotional chants, the first stirrings of love, and the last farewells of life. The river and its ghats remain inseparable from Bengal's rituals," he added.
At the pandal, the ghats will be presented in the form of paintings and wood carvings, accompanied by sounds, including that of water gently lapping at the steps.
Among the works on display will be that of artist Dipak Das, who specialises in pyrography — decorating wood by burning a design on the surface with a heated metallic point.
Additionally, paintings by five students from Govt College of Art and Craft, Calcutta, will be exhibited.
Hatibagan Sarbojanin secretary Saswata Bose said it was a privilege to see a French artist collaborate with local artists at the puja. "People talk about the ghats in Varanasi. I hope our pandal can put the spotlight on Kolkata's ghats and lead to their rejuvenation," he said.