Anurag Paul
Samiddha Choudhuri
The first kick-off session offered us a different perspective on one of Kolkata's evolving spaces, helping us see the cracks in the mindset of our time.
In the spirit of the happening, we planned a performative drawing session in public at Coffee House, one of the places that used to be a hub for intellectuals who fueled many progressive cultural and political movements in 60s and 70s Kolkata, and even earlier.
However, after 2000, such concerns in public started to diminish, and Coffee House, like other adda places, has almost lost its spirit of creative impulse over the years. So, we gathered and decided to create an act at the Coffee House with drawings and illustrations, which also disrupted the conventions of café culture, questioning movements, ideation, and expression.
We chose the Coffee House for its popularity and the public opinion board it features. To draw images and write remarks, which is what it was meant for, highlighting the Voices of Kolkata or 'Ganakantha.' In the spirit of happenings, participants and session conductors emerged from the crowd with the aim of building an illustrative narrative on Kolkata, intending to capture the public's reaction.
The public opinion board was seen as a free space where participants could express themselves with images and words. This simple act of drawing drew the attention of the Coffee House authorities, which they did not entertain.