Hello everyone, today I will share with you the experience of seeing a village with ancient traditions in modern society. Charida is a village in Purulia of West Bengal. About one hundred families live in this Charida village. For several generations who have been doing the same thing which is making Chow dance masks. Here every house is decorated with only colorful masks.
Actually the real name of Mask Village is not Muksha Village. Most of the families in this village are involved in the mask industry. A long road runs through the middle of the village, and the houses on either side of it are decorated with various masks. Some are complete, some are still in progress. Everyone in the village is somehow involved in this industry. Hence the name of the region has become Mask village.
It is heard that earlier only low caste artisans used to do this work. But nowadays it is not stuck in the boundaries of caste. All willing artists can come forward for this work. However, in most families, mask-making has been passed down from generation to generation.
It takes approximately 5 to 7 days to make a mask. First, clay was brought from the river near Charida village and the shape of the mask was made with that clay. Then it is coated with thin paper. This coating is given quite thickly. When dry, a layer of sandy soil is applied over it. Then the nose eyes and face are slowly modeled, and then the mask is allowed to dry.
When the mask is dried, various colors are painted on it. But this time the weather should be dry and hot. If it's cloudy, or raining, all efforts are likely to go in vain. And finally it is decorated with various ribbons, fake flowers, leaves, colorful ropes etc.
The artists of this village have kept this art alive even today despite many hardships. It is heard that the king of Bagmundi popularized this mask. He used to make it with glue and paint on paper.
