3 weeks ago
Calcutta Academy room turns saffron again after whitewash protest
There is a very old and famous art building in Calcutta called the Academy of Fine Arts.
It is a special cultural place that has been around for more than 80 years.
In the first week of July, someone painted one of its rooms bright orange, a colour called saffron.
Many theatre artists were upset and called the paint job a political attack on the building.
They wrote a letter to BJP leader Samik Bhattacharya, who asked them to wait 15 days.
When the room stayed orange, the artists painted it white on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, BJP workers led by actor-politician Rudranil Ghosh painted the room saffron again and chanted 'Bharat Mata ki Jai.'
The two groups even disagree about what colour the room used to be before.
Each side says it is defending culture, so the paint war may not be over yet.
The room to the left of the Academy of Fine Arts' main entrance was painted saffron between July 5 and 6, with banners of Narendra Modi hanging on a wall.
Theatre practitioners whitewashed the room on Tuesday, calling the saffron coat a 'forceful,' 'unaesthetic, distorted assault on a heritage cultural centre.'
On Wednesday, BJP workers including Academy employees, led by MLA Rudranil Ghosh, repainted the room saffron amid chants of 'Bharat Mata ki Jai.'
BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya, who had sought 15 days to act, earlier said those who painted the room 'were at fault'; Chandan Sen flagged a gap between party leadership and cadres.
The sides dispute the room's history: Ghosh says it was saffron under the Trinamool regime, while Sen insists 'the room was never saffron.'
- Who
- Theatre practitioners including Chandan Sen, Bibhash Chakraborty, Arun Mukhopadhyay, Meghnad Bhattacharya, Debasis Majumdar, Joyraj Bhattacharjee and CPM leader Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya; BJP workers led by MLA Rudranil Ghosh; and BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya.
- What
- A paint war: practitioners whitewashed a saffron-painted Academy room on Tuesday, and BJP workers repainted it saffron on Wednesday.
- Where
- A room to the left of the main entrance of the Academy of Fine Arts in Calcutta, once a ticket counter and now used by security guards.
- When
- Tuesday and Wednesday, after the room was first painted saffron between July 5 and 6.
- Why
- Theatre practitioners saw the saffron coat as a political assault on a heritage cultural centre, while BJP workers defended saffron as representing Indian culture, tradition and sacrifice.
Theatre practitioners
BJP workers and supporters
Meaning of the saffron paint
Theatre practitioners
The saffron coat was a 'forceful', 'unaesthetic, distorted assault on a heritage cultural centre' and a 'state-sponsored attack on Bengali aesthetics.'
BJP workers and supporters
Saffron represents sacrifice and Indian culture; the whitewashing 'distorted the truth' and went 'against Indian culture and tradition.'
History of the room
Theatre practitioners
Chandan Sen said 'the room was never saffron' and 'no other party in power ever touched the Academy of Fine Arts.'
BJP workers and supporters
Rudranil Ghosh said the room was saffron and deep chocolate under the Trinamool regime, with Trinamool symbols on its walls, and no one objected then.
Leadership versus cadre action
Theatre practitioners
BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya had said those who painted the room 'were at fault', showing a discrepancy between the party's top leadership and its cadres.
BJP workers and supporters
MLA Rudranil Ghosh defended the repainting and accused CPM leader Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya of posing as a theatre worker: 'I have no clue when Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya became a theatre worker.'
Key facts
- Event
- Paint war over a room at the Academy of Fine Arts in Calcutta
- First saffron painting
- Between July 5 and 6
- Whitewashing
- Tuesday
- Saffron repainting
- Wednesday
- Room
- Left of the main entrance; former ticket counter, now used by security guards
- Letter recipient
- BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya
- Letter signatories
- Bibhash Chakraborty, Arun Mukhopadhyay, Chandan Sen, Meghnad Bhattacharya, Debasis Majumdar
- Repaint leader
- Rudranil Ghosh, BJP MLA from Howrah Shibpur
Quotes
Joyraj Bhattacharjee
Actor and theatre activist involved in the white repainting
“Even in the Trinamool regime, this room was painted in saffron and deep chocolate colours. The erstwhile councillor of Ward 73, Ashim Bose, would occasionally sit in this room, which had Trinamool symbols adorning its walls. Then, they did not have any problem with saffron. But suddenly, the room was painted white. They have distorted the truth. They have gone against Indian culture and tradition.”
telegraphindia.com
“We met Bhattacharya. He sought 15 days from us. Since the saffron colour was not removed, the theatre practitioners decided to paint it white on their own.”
telegraphindia.com
Sources
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