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Alpona Registration
( Under the Mango Tree, Santiniketan, 2020)

Under the Mango Tree in Santiniketan was initiated with the process of a collective registration inside a circle. The idea of the circle has been a recurring feature in many forms of community gathering through ages . In Santniketan Tagore reffered to the idea of Circle in his schooleducation and learning under the tree sitting in a circular form has been much in practice. Moreover Rabindranath Tagore emphasised guru or the teacher as one of the member of the circle who will not impart knowledge but also learn in the process of sharing knowledge. So as an initiation of the process of unlearning the linearity of modern education the initiation of a circle and a collective registration process was imagined. It was also to reengage with certain tools of Santnikietan pedagogy we wanted to revisit and reengage.In this respect the indigenous practice of clay wall preparation and the practice of floor drawing was readdressed to initiate a collective process of registration for the participants of the workshop.

Alpana Registration Process 

A collective process of re-engaging with alpana as a process of mapping body space relationship to determine a self-organised process of registration. Alpana is a

traditional ritualistic drawing process of Bengal incorporated into the formal discipline of art as process of fine arts in Kala Bhavana in its early exercise with local traditions. This workshop process re-engaged with the process of alpana drawing beyond its design aspect to the performative body space relationship and engage with the notion of collectivism as meeting point of multiple circles of self determination. It became a beginning ritual to the process of registration of individual participantsin the workshop process of under the Mango tree santiniketan.

Before the initiation of the alpana exercise a propoer ground needs to be prepared and the circular form was laid on the ground by local santal women who generally prepare the mud walls of the local Santali houses.

https://ssaf.in/ssaf_programmes/under-the-mango-tree-santiniketan/

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