AN ODE TO THE ETHNIC

Four works from the Face series, acrylic on canvas, 2013-14.

The Things That Live, acrylic on canvas, 2014.

What is new about Kanak Chanmpa Chakmas's attempt at Bengal Lounge? As the centre piece of 'Life is here', her two year solo attempt, is 'Eternal Vigilance', a 90 cm by 90 cm acrylic on canvas. There is as usual the yellow and blue but all that is overshadowed by grey – representing the conflict faced by ethnic groups says Kanak. It reflects the pain of not being understood and therefore left vulnerable. As a symbol of this there is the man wearing the ancient 'serong' of old, who carries the bow and arrow; behind him are homes in stilts, the people living as a community, with the sun rising behind. He stands for hope for the future - and the man is protecting the land, forest and culture of the people, the culture which is fast fading. This is the preservation of the identity of the Hill people. The wild elephants at the back are a symbol of pain through which the indigenous people of Bangladesh are passing, says Kanak.

The wild animals like the elephant destroy houses and fields. This is a symbol of torture from which the land is to be recovered.

'Spirited Tradition' (2014), an acrylic on canvas attempts to bring in many figures and create people, lake, river, and other elements of daily use. The banana leaves, flowers, items of worship in the basket, with girls in the foreground to float the flowers. In the centre of this bewildering piece, already bagged by culture lovers, are women who are gathered to offer food to the tiny image of Buddha, made inside the mini temple, praying for the prosperity of the future. All the people are wearing Chakma dress, the material symbolises the Chakma community where Kanak has spent her happy, youthful days of sunshine and never-ending laughter. This is while her mother went about spinning and weaving the prize –winning pieces. Kanak believes that her genius is inherited from her hard-working mother, now in her 70s and who is the winner of many accolades overseas.

Eternal Village, acrylic on canvas, 2014.

A pearly mist envelopes the main gathering in the centre. The canvas has indeed been carefully thought out-like some overwhelming 'jewel in the crown' of creation. A chameleon at one end looks on from a wooden pillar at one end. People don in, Chakma traditional Khadi, 'pinon' and blouse, with heavy traditional jewellery, carrying items for the festival arrive as in an Egyptian scroll. One would say that it is a piece as breathtaking as Delacroix' 'Victory' or Ingres' 'Women at the bath' scene from the Middle-east women's Hamam—so buoyant are her colours and crystal is her objects. The chiaroscuro is tremendous. The Goya -like play with ideas and colours is tremendous. There has seldom been this depiction of flurry of feminine activities. There are many layers of the painting which may be seen from foreground,mid-ground and far- ground, says Kanak. This is the truth of the Hill people seen through the imagination of the painter. As a child she has shared the joys and sorrows of the Hill people and she understands their beauty and innocence as only an insider can. This landscape merged with strong political feelings was lone overdue, says Syed Manzoorul Islam. She distributes the light and shade as the mood requires.

There is the subtlety of sounds and silence, objects and reflections – it is surly celebration of life to which every onlooker takes off in appreciation and applauds, the hills and valleys have never been given the exact delineation. The hills and dales have left an indelible mind of the painter so that it remains for her “An untold realm of joy and harmony.” The lake for her a place of retreat and where people sit and dream, the hills a delight to rest in.
'The things that Live' - an acrylic on canvas, bring the daily things of the lives of the Hill people. The water pot is something one uses every day. 'Nadeng' is a game is played by children from pots on a string. They are made of wood. There is an item made from the inside of a fruit and is used for ironing. 'Tehre' is the comb and the hair pin. There is the bottle for holding drinks. There is the black and red basket for collecting rice from the paddy field. There is then the basket for holding the silver jewellery of the women. Chakma alphabets are scattered among the melange of the household items.

Monochrome colours are found also in 'Face'. Faces, which play a vital role in the depiction in the ethnic life of the Hill people. Kanak has made a special effort to catch the different moods of the indigenous women.
Kanak's images are breathtaking in their beauty but they reflect an urgent plea to save a community from the wrath of ethnic violence.

The exhibition will end on December 6, 2014.