The ecstatic gomira dance masks of Dakshin Dinajpur District have ensured from animistic practices of the Desi and Poll communities of the Rajbangshis. It is usually organized within the months of Baishak-jhaistha-Ashar, corresponding to mid April to mid-july. Thus the craft of Gomira mask making, is its pristine form, catered to the needs of the dancers.
Kushmudi block in Dakshin Dinajpur is the hub of wooden mask making. Around 150 craft persons live in this area. Moreover there are about 60 families involved in bamboo based work. Craft persons nowadays make different decorative and utility items beside making the masks.
The Village Festival of Kushmundi is a celebration of the age-old craft of wooden mask. Each house of Kushmundi is actually a studio where you can find the artists busy in making some beautiful pieces of art. The department of MSME&T, Govt. of West Bengal in association with UNESCO has taken an initiative of developing this place as Rural Craft Hub.
WBKVIB has assigned by Govt. of W.B, for taking up the hard intervention part e.g. construction of common facility centre, providing working capital and so on and soft intervention part has been taken up by UNESCO through its local partner BanglaNatok Dot com.
Route Direction: Nearest railway station is Kaliagunj. Kushmundi/Mahishbathan is 17 kms from station. One can also reach from Malda by road, it takes 2 hours.
KANTHA
Simple run stitches at the hand of skilled artists create a magical artwork called, Kantha embroidery. This embroidery was a means of self expression by rural women of Bengal. The origin of this craft traces its history to a period not less than thousand years. The artistic brilliance of the women artists have found expression in lifestyle products like sarees, dress materials, bed and cushion covers etc.
There is a large concentration of the women doing Kantha embroidery in Nanoor Block of Birbhum, West Bengal. Around 2000 women of this area are engaged in doing kantha embroidery or different products. About 600 kantha artists are included in the Rural craft hub.
WBKVIB has assigned by Govt. of W.B, for taking up the hard intervention part e.g. construction of common facility centre, providing working capital and so on and soft intervention part has been taken up by UNESCO through its local partner BanglaNatok Dot com.