Craft Tours
Fascinating crafts adorn the heartlands of Bengal. Long before European arrival in India, crafts served as a primary source of livelihood. Rural craft traditions have a unique place in the world, both in variety and in technique & use of materials.
Brass and copperware, terracotta, tapestry, paintings, pottery, wood carving, cane works and more run unparallel amongst the folk artisans. Calcutta and Beyond gives you the unique opportunity to observe, appreciate and create your own art learning from the craftsmen.
Dolls that Speak
Doll making is an ancient craft of West Bengal. Tucked away in the Burdwan district, the charming village of Natungram is the epicentre of Bengal's age-old wooden doll craft.
For breathtakingly lifelike clay and terracotta creations, the villages of Krishnanagar, Bishnupur, and Bankura remain the ultimate destinations — each doll a silent storyteller of Bengal's living heritage.
Village Life & Cuisine
Unwind at a tranquil farm away from the city. Start your day with birdsong, harvest fresh vegetables for lunch, and cook authentic Bengali meals on a clay stove with local village women.
A perfect break from hectic life — where every meal tells a story of the land it came from, and every moment connects you to a pace of living that the modern world has all but forgotten.
Theatre Village
Tepantar stands as the exclusive theatre village of West Bengal, nestled in a bucolic setting amidst the natural beauty of the Ajoy River and Garh Jungle. It boasts a rich history and cultural heritage unlike anywhere else.
Here you can experience theatre workshops with Folk Artists, Baul singers and Traditional Puppetry. Engage in their workshops and training sessions — a must-visit for theatre enthusiasts and people who love creative art.
Bell Metal Craft
On the bank of River Ganga lies the "Brass Village of Bengal" where the entire village functions as a living workshop. The local metalworking community transforms raw metal into beautifully crafted plates, bowls, and decorative items using traditional hammering and casting methods.
Enjoy interacting with the warm artisan community of village Matiari — navigate through narrow village alleys, watch vibrant furnaces burning, and listen to the rhythmic sound of hammering as deft hands create intricate patterns on metal artefacts.
Dokra
Dokra is one of the earliest methods of non-ferrous metal casting known to human civilisation — the most complicated metal casting done with the lost-wax technique, unchanged for over four thousand years.
A visit to the Dokra tribal village is captivating with the rustic and pastoral charm of this art — its primeval simplicity and beguiling folk motifs. The art is deeply ethnic and boasts of a real folk essence that speaks directly to the soul.
Song On Paper
About 120 kms South from Calcutta in a village in West Midnapore lives a patua or painter community. This community produce delightful scroll painting. Along with being painters they are lyricists, singers, performers and true artists. This traditional art is performative in nature where the painters not only paint but they sing and narrate the story depicted in the painting.
The patuas also paint wooden souvenirs, decorative hanging, textile, leather bags, vases and even their own mud walled homes with striking natural colours.
Join CALCUTTA AND BEYOND to explore this unique village with its distinctive style of painting which not only adorn peoples home but also conveys important message and tales rooted in the rich history of an Indian clan. It is a gem you can’t afford to miss.
