This year marks the 232nd birth anniversary of the social reformer and philanthropist, the founder of Dakshineswar temple, Rani Rashmoni of Janabazar. On this occasion the 210 years old Indian Museum, Kolkata, inaugurated a portrait of Rani Rashmoni in the Painting Gallery on 1 October this year. This gallery houses several valuable and precious paintings which document the illustrious history of art in India. This painting gallery is famous for its miniature painting collection which includes Persian Mughal arts to the 19th century Bengal artists like Rabindranath Tagore, Abanindranath Tagore and Jamini Roy.
Rani Rashmoni belonged to a humble background and as custom dictated during those times, she was married to Babu Rajachandra Das at the age of 11. In 1836 she inherited the vast estate belonging to the Janbazar zamindari after the death of her husband. Sayan Bhattacharya, deputy director of Indian Museum, “Every big event in history was an accident at first, then have the people planned around it” in the context of the inclusion of this portrait among the stalwarts. He added how the museum plans on centering this painting on giving a special platform to differently abled kids and their needs through historical spaces and places. The message of inclusiveness is clear which surrounded Rani herself also. She had resisted the British colonial powers forcing them to withdraw and abolish taxation on fishing, essentially saving the existence of the local fishing culture.
The portrait of Rani Maa, painted by Pradip Kumar Das drawn in 2019, showcases representation of a class of philanthropist who was a cornerstone of the Bengal renaissance; the movement which had names like Raja Rammohan Roy and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar inherently linked with it. The painting is a half-length portrait which focuses on the upper half of the subject and does not require a detailed background. The painting is oil on canvas with wooden frames, it has a traditional aesthetic popular among thousands of artists around the world who have done portraits before.
Bhattacharya, on being asked the significance of the portrait being included onto the museum, told The Statesman, “It is about legacy. Why do we keep reading the lives of social reformers? So that we do not forget them, and more importantly find our place among the crowd. It is to find representation, and not just for the Indians, but also foreigners; men and women who would learn a part of history which is mostly nuanced with colonial oppression.”
Bengal Renaissance and how it changed the intellectual make-up of the nation
Rabindranath Tagore in his novel Gora, talks about the details of the movement, the digressions and the dualities of the Brahmo Samaj in the late 19th century. He talks about the adaptation of British cultures, a complete disregard for the contemporary rituals and customs of the then Bengali society and the eventual existential crisis of the elite upper caste Hindus. But it was not dark and gloomy. The movement which later historians like Partha Chatterjee called the “gate kept intellectual exercise” also gave birth to people like Rashmoni; women who would find their voice and representation in the ardent patriarchy. Many social taboos would be eventually abolished like the Satidaha practices, and the widow castration from the society.
Society and social reforms have to be recorded, propagated and practised for the sole purpose of the collective ideology of a society. Individualism can very easily make one alienated but practices like what the Indian museum is under makes a netizen aware of their history.
Most museums in India are closed on Mondays, but the Indian Museum located at the heart of Kolkata hosts special events like quizzes, social activities and painting spaces for children with special needs. The Indian museum is becoming a platform for historical space and place, being inclusive and accommodating to all kinds and genres of culture. This includes the portrait of Rani Rashmoni. Just hanging up a piece of art is not the end of the event, but regular praxis of the principles on which Rani Maa stood is a part of the process. The inclusion of Rani Maa feels pious, and almost all too necessary to reflect the current state of matters in the society. If a renaissance is to happen, it might as well happen with history and the strong legacy of the women of Bengal during the colonial era.