Our second day in Santineketan was spent shopping artisan outlets created either through individuals determined to improve the living standard of villagers in the mid-20th century or corporations with local ties who tithe their CRS funds to support the indigenous crafts - leather, metal work, pottery & batik/embroidery.
We first traveled out of town to the forest, a haunting, surreal landscape where picnics & long afternoon family gatherings are planned year round. I deep gully cuts through the park, created by monsoons which carve & erode densely packed soil walls into smooth, marble-like natural art.
Many Bengali martial arts movies are shot in this part of the forest. The bark of these trees flakes off as it grows, revealing previous growth which is bleached by the sun.
A weekly crafts fair was set up, including an artisan pandal, designed by a master craftsman beginning ten years ago, & created out of different materials each year - terra cotta, wood, bamboo, clay, fabric or in 2011, metal.
This Ganesh is quite different! The workmanship is stunning, with small details welded on each idol. Tribal motifs were explained in a sign next to the pandal which was a piece of art all on its own!
A permanent shrine to the original artist who founded this particular artists cooperative.
We had a big surprise as we drove down the road to find a spot to turn around...an entire resort! It was built in 2010 as a CRS 100% for women seeking new skills. The hotel, kitchen, dining, management & artisans must be women from the surrounding area with at least five years of schooling. It's hoped that villagers who may not send their daughters to school will see the benefit, higher wages, they can earn by attending school!
We had already checked into our hotel otherwise we'd have moved out to this lucky find for one night. There were ten buildings, each holding two separate rooms with AC, cable, double beds with gorgeous Kantha embroidery across the entire head board. (http://www.craftandartisans.com/kantha-embroidery-of-west-bengal.html)
The 1000 INR nightly tariff included morning & afternoon tea. Meals ranged from 35-300 INR making it very realistic to stay in an idyllic resort, surrounded by rice paddies & broad woods for less than 1500 INR a day! ($30.44 US) I hope someone who visits wants to explore Santineketan...I really want to stay here! (The lead manager is learning English...I sat with her & asked if anyone spoke English while Nandini was in the washroom. At first I thought the answer must be no because she sat for a very long while then answered clearly. "Yes, I do, if you", she paused, thought again, "please....speak....very.....slow" Simply wonderful!)
The next CRS we visited is nearing its centennial anniversary, with continual occupancy of its immaculate buildings & grounds since 1915. It housed several radical independent activists during the 1040s & 1950s, taking them in after their prison sentences ended, allowing them to live at no cost & generate momentum for the next action or protest.
Main house for workers...stunning isn't it! The green tiles of the exterior are fired into a glossy finish - it was hard to capture the vividness of the color with so many other natural greens surrounding it.
We headed back towards lunch, on the opposite side of Santi, making a quick stop at what locals call "The Palace" to see their puja idols. The huge mansion is over 200 years old...I fell in love with the original, antique blown glass with brass trim...we were too tired to return in the evening when they were lit...another reason to return!
They were just getting ready to serve the public Puja food...we were on our way to lunch...was so neat to see the men running with hot food to the serving areas. I love this photo!
An enterprising vendor outside the palace...cold drink anyone?
Lunch was at an organic farm which opened a restaurant serving only their foods & a small shop selling the extras each day. Nandini hoped their famous red rice would be available, but it was a poor crop last year. (Yes, reason three to return to Santi before I call the US home again!)
The property includes the restaurant, small cabins with open windows & thick walls, a dairy, fishing pond and several gardens.
I'd seen several racks like these made of bamboo from the train window. They grow shady items on the ground & wind vines, mostly cucumbers & small gourds, across the top, maximizing the small land plots as well as helping both plants withstand the blistering heat & sun.
Lunch was of course delicious...this is the second course. Bengali fish in red curry, rice & yellow dal w/ spicy shiny black toasted seeds which I can never recall their Bengali name; we don't have them in the US.
One of several banyan trees at the farm. This one is small - only about 75 years old. Tagore wrote several poems about the one nearest the university, which is hundreds of years old & gigantic!
Banyans send down roots through the air to the ground. The largest in the world in at the Kolkatan Botanical Gardens. I visited there in 2010 & it took almost five minutes to circumvent it's outer branches...driving in a car!
Location:Santineketan, West Bengal, India
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