Mukul Dey’s Terracotta Documentation
A Short Note

by Satyasri Ukil

Terracotta decorative panel (detail), village Moukhira, Distt. Barddhaman, West Bengal, India. Note the different sari designs worn by the female figures.

One of my early childhood recollections etched deep in memory, is the image of our stockily-built grandfather Mukul Dey in his long johns and apron, drenched in the mellow glow of his darkroom safe lights. That part of our family house in Santiniketan where his photographic darkroom was located, is dilapidated now – covered under the soft greens of thick moss and foliages of plants and creepers which had taken roots over the passage of time. Once, this was the place of our greatest curiosity – with its bottles and jars of chemicals, trays, tongs and timer, which came to life in the evenings, under the magic red-orange spell of those safelights…

More than half-a-century ago (1946-1951), when Dey had started on his entirely self-supported project to photo document the Birbhum-Barddhaman group of terracotta temples in West Bengal (India), this part of our province was a difficult place. Malaria infested, and deprived of good roads and transport to commute from one rural location to another – one had to remain alert for the attack of dacoits on the lonely stretches, during the night-travels on a bullock cart.

In a short monograph, titled “Discovery of Neglected Hindu Art of Bengal”, published from ‘Chitralekha’, Santiniketan, on 13 September, 1949 Mukul Dey wrote: “In this district of Birbhum the bullock-cart is the main and only conveyance. Many a time one has to walk on foot as there is no road at all. Sometimes one has to walk through swampy paddy fields and cross rivers or partly dried up canals... Even a bullock-cart is difficult to get, and the driver will charge at least Rs. 12/- to Rs. 15/- per day, and sometimes a trip into a distant village takes about a week or more.” [P.3]

Rama and Sita, 18th century work from Kalikapur village. With the migration of artisans from villages to cities, this traditional craft gradually vanished from Bengal.

Typically, Mukul’s cart would carry almost everything he needed on such a trip. In the same monograph which is quoted above, he wrote: “I soon collected essential materials, light but strong enough for the rough journey through the undulating country, rocky tracks and rice fields. Mosquito-net, beddings, camp-cot, folding chair, field-umbrella, water filter, American water tanks, food provisions, cooking stove, utensils, medicines, folding ladders, planks for scaffoldings and the materials for the photographic dark-room were all collected. The results of photo exposures must be inspected on the spot, to prevent needless expenditure and repeated visits.” [P.2]

He had also carried his 20-bore double-barrelled shotgun and boxes of Elly’s cartridges (purchased from Manton & Co. of Calcutta) for occasional pot-hunting and self-defense.

Fully equipped with three cameras: one wooden field & view (6.5” Ross, 1:4), one Voigtlander (Zeiss, 1:3.5) and one Rolliflex (Zeiss, 1:3.5) Mukul Dey was more than ready for his solitary journey into the heartland of Hunter’s rural Bengal.

For five long years, Mukul Dey had slogged on this project; producing about 5000 excellent B/W negatives while working at 18 locations in the districts of Birbhum and Barddhaman. His main focus being on the decorative terracotta panels found on the façade and, occasionally, at the base of these temples.

A self-taught photographer, Mukul picked-up the fundamentals of the craft from two immensely popular photography handbooks by C.I. Jacobson (Focal Press, 31 Fitzroy Square, London). From the notations he left on the margin of these pages, we come to know what an enormous range of experiment he would carry-on with various developing agents and alkalis. Today in the age of digital photography it is essentially difficult to imagine a lonely man in his tent, processing films and plates in the backwaters of Bengal, more than half-a-century ago...

Since then, scores of these exquisite terracotta temples decayed steadily and many ceased to exist altogether. Meanwhile, we have been far too busy importing outlandish cultural concepts from far-flung countries; and, remaining quite oblivious to our own heritage.

In 1949 Mukul Dey had appealed to the Government of India and the private art lovers for a fund of Rs. 20,000 to complete his work, which he never got. [ibid. p. 10]

• Presently, at Mukul Dey Achives we have about 1000 unpublished B/W negatives of Bengal terracottas (120 format & glass plates); along with a few hundred glass-mounted lantern slides depicting various stages of our traditional Indian art.
• They require immediate archival preservation and cataloguing, with a digital back-up.
• To do this funds are needed, as well as the services of technical experts.
• We would welcome any material help and suggestions towards achieving this target.

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