One of the new galleries at the State Archaeological Centre. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

Two new galleries opening at the State Archaeological Centre in Behala in the first week of July promise to be eyeopeners. If one of them showcases findings dating back to 20,000 years ago, another will have an impressive range of metal artefacts from all over Bengal.

The Haatpara Gallery will display findings from excavations carried out by the state directorate of archaeology early this year at the Chandthakurer Danga mound, in mouja Haatpara of Murshidabad.

Scholars claim the excavation proves beyond doubt that man walked the soil of Bengal 20,000 years ago. The samples are being tested by leading geo-archaeologists S.N. Rajguru and B.C. Deodare of Deccan College, Pune, but the gallery gives Calcuttans a chance to check out implements made with agate, chert and quartz.

On display are tiny blades (measuring 1 to 4cm), points, sickle-like blades, awls and scrappers — all of which must have been parts of microlithic tools. Scholars claim that since the percentage of finished tools found is lower (40 per cent) than the findings of raw material, flakes and residue (60 per cent), this must have been a sort of factory for stone age tools.

Also found in upper layers of the same site were items from the Sultanate period (15th-16th century) like vessels with spouts, dishes, bangles and decorated bricks. Embedded at a lower level were medieval era terracotta figurine, pots of kadi among other things.

The Metal Gallery presents, for the first time, several acquisitions of the State Archaeological Museum that had been lying in stores over decades and also recent additions. Ranging in size from 6cm to 32inches, these sculptures in bronze, copper and brass show the amazing talent of craftsmen from the Pala dynasty to the first quarter of the 20th century AD.

It is also significant that only one of the items on display, a Buddhist Marichi deity, was actually excavated from Jagjivanpur. The rest of the exhibits were items retrieved from smugglers caught by Tapan, Salash and Chopra police stations in North and South Dinajpur. A handful are gifts from wellwishers like Debi Shankar Middha of Kankandighi.

There are finely crafted Gaja Laxmis (an ancient motif of a Lakshmi with two elephants on either side), Ganeshas, Matrikas, Garudas, Uma-Maheshwars, Ram, Lakshman and Hanuman, the Navagrahas starting with Surya and ending with Rahu and Ketu. The graceful poise of these figurines is remarkable. Some space has also been given to metal sculptures of folk traditions. So we have cheerful festive deities from the Dokras. There is also a panel of Buddhist icons from Tibet of the 13th and 14th centuries.

“There are more galleries in the pipeline like Pre-history to Proto-history, Coin Gallery and a large Ethnic Gallery which will present objects of daily use like toys, metal utensils, wooden objects, temple terracotta, kantha, folk painting and other things,” said Amal Roy, the superintendent of the state archaeology department.

Screen cause

Fashion designers Dev and Nil (first and third from left) with participants at the LGBT film festival. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

For greater exposure to contemporary and classic cinema dealing with alternate sexuality, Sappho for Equality and Pratyay Gender Trust are hosting the second edition of Dialogues, an international lesbian gay bisexual and transgender (LGBT) film and video festival on June 14 and 15 at Max Mueller Bhavan.

“Our focus is not on creating an exclusively queer-centric space, but a platform for a diverse audience interested in conversing with us on queer issues,” said Anindya Hazra of Pratyay.

Aimed at drawing college-goers, film buffs and members of the gay and lesbian communities, the weekend package includes foreign films that explore “friendship, fun and fear”. The festival began on Saturday morning with three short monologues based on real-life stories of Sappho and Pratyay members, directed by Debalina Majumder.

This was followed by back-to-back screenings of films from Philippines, Japan and the US. Of these is The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros by Auraeus Solito, which won 12 awards at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2006. It tells the tale of 12-year-old Maximo leading a gay life in the slums of Manila. Jon Avnet’s Fried Green Tomatoes is about an old woman recalling the relationship between two women, while award-winning director Wong Kar-wai’s Happy Together is the story of a gay couple trying to revive their relationship.

Day 2 begins with But I’m a Cheerleader by Jamie Babbit. It’s about a young cheerleader who has been accused of being gay by her parents.

Next up is a special section on experimental short films from India made by professional and amateur directors. Dialogues concludes with three more films from the UK, Belgium and Mexico including Sixth Happiness, Antonia’s Line and Strawberries and Chocolates.

Cop act

Santanu Mazumdar (left) in Juari. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

Chasing goons and sniffing a crime trail is no big deal for Santanu Mazumdar. But becoming a criminal himself never occurred to him. It happened when film director Panna Hossein decided to cast the Calcutta Police sub-inspector as a villain in the film Juari.

A chance meeting with actor Shotu Mazumdar and director Hossein landed Mazumdar the lucky break. “I am playing the main villain, Gokhna, alongside Mrinal Mukherjee, the other goon in Juari. When Panna Hossain made the offer I couldn’t refuse. I felt it would be more challenging to act as a villain,” says the 38-year-old, who loves to sing and act.

On the days of shoot, Mazumdar would be up and about from early morning before joining his patrol duty or the day.

“I had to shoot for two weeks. There were lots of chase and run sequences and it was quite hectic because of my job but I really enjoyed it. I would love to take up more offers like these,” added Mazumdar.

(Contributed by Sebanti Sarkar and Mohua Das)