Ranajit Ray

Tracing their origins to the region around the Tigris and Euphrates River basin in western Asia, the head-hunting Konyak tribe of Nagaland, which embraced Christianity, is now trying to rediscover itself and its fading culture.

A modest tradition of making clay images existed in Bengal in pre-British times. These craftsmen originally “Potters” by caste became the core settlers of Kumartuli, which means “Potters Quarter”. “Documentation of Clay Image Makers of Kumartuli”s an attempt to understand their plight and Kumartuli’s contribution to one of the biggest festivals in the world.

The art of making the inanimate move, talk, laugh, dance, cry was perhaps the most prized inheritance Madhab received from his father; he lapped it up and made it central to his existence. As he helplessly witnesses the fast fading popularity of the puppet theatres and his own team is nearly defunct, Madhab fears that he is heading towards obscurity. Dolls Don’t Die chronicles the battles and dreams of a man who is caught between the rugged realities and the ecstasies of a passionate artist. It celebrates his lonely, gritty fight, which he put up simply to keep his artistic practice alive.