Terracotta to reach ancient Bengal

An initiative has been taken to make replicas of terracotta, a key element of ancient culture of Bengal, available across the country. Oitijhya Anweshan (OA), a non-government organisation working on ancient history and culture, has taken the exceptional initiative in cooperation with Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation and Asian Development Bank. OA’s executive director Sufi Mostafizur Rahman, who teaches archaeology at Jahangirnagar University, said they believed Bengal’s history and culture of around 2,500 years would reach every nook and cranny of the country through the efforts. Under the initiative, making replicas of terracotta relics has begun at Shekherkola in Bogra district, a home of terracotta art. They will be marketed across Bangladesh. OA has already trained 8 pottery artists from different places of the country, where terracotta relics were found, on the ancient art. In the first batch, 650 replicas have been made by the artists and baked. Terracotta was once a key means to beautify important establishments. The artists of Bengal used these terracotta works for architectural purpose. Stones were not readily available in Bengal and so these artists challenged this limitation and turned the alluvial soil of the lower Bengal basin into an object of art for architectural decoration of the temples. Terracotta relics of different sizes and shapes from ancient times have been found at archaeological sites such as Mahasthangarh in Bogra, Paharhpur and Sompur Buddhist Bihar in Naogaon, Kantaji Temple in Dinajpur, and Shat Gombuj Mosque in Bagerhat, according to a news agency.