Kolkata's Old Currency Building showcases the city's art and architecture

The Bengali fondness for art, architecture and movies have all magnificently come together in Ghare Baire, a unique exhibition. It showcases over 700 artworks from Bengal, spanning over 200 years, exhibited in a 19th century colonial building in Kolkata. The Old Currency Building, an Italianate style structure got a new lease of life with conservation and restoration and is now preening as a superb museum-exhibition space.

Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s 1916 novel Ghare Baire (The Home and the World) was hailed as a literary masterpiece in the Bengali language. It also joined the canon of movie masterpieces when the Oscar winner Satyajit Ray made the novel into a film that released in Cannes in 1984. Its significance is enduring among the Bengali people and it has shown up as a mammoth art exhibition in Kolkata titled Ghare Baire – the world, the home and beyond. It is an exquisite homage to Bengal’s cultural giants and the regenerative spirit of the city.

This exhibition is a collaborative effort by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India and is curated by DAG (Delhi Art Gallery) and India’s premier space for art and the NGMA (National Gallery of Modern Art). Hence the scale with over 700 artworks, spanning from the 18th century painters to contemporary artists from Bengal.

A special section is allotted to the thespian Satyajit Ray, Bengal’s famous son with a photographic exhibition called ‘Photographing Satyajit Ray’ by Nemai Ghosh, Ray’s long-time photographer to mark the centenary celebrations of the filmmaker. The exhibition has a series of events planned for children, artists and aficionados.

The exhibition has also won approving nods from heritage conservationists, architects and Kolkata’s culturati for being hosted in the restored three-storied Italianate style Old Currency Building. Built in the 1800s it served as a bank during the time of British governor William Bentick. It came to be called the Currency Building in 1868 when the bank turned into the office of issue and exchange of government currency.

Post India’s Independence, the building has housed the Reserve Bank of India and other offices until the late 1996 when it faced demolition with mounting repairs and maintenance issues. The combined efforts of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation and INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) intervened and the ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) jumped in to take up its conservation.

Under the shadow of the pandemic the organizers follow safety norms and the exhibition of marvelous art has found a fitting place in one of Kolkata’s spectacular buildings.

The exhibition is on until 31 March. For events check https://dagworld.com/museumevents/

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