Chaal-Chitra is a visual and psychological inquiry centred on an object or material that acts as a silent witness to the passage of time and space. The project celebrates impermanence—the transient nature of existence, an exploration of how time, space, and existence dissolve into the void. The work primarily unfolds during autumn and late autumn in Bengal, seasons that mark both festivity and decay, abundance and emptiness. Chaalchitra reflects upon the evolution of familial structures as depicted in mythology and Bengali literature, where cities are often glorified as “shohorer chaalchitra”-the urban tapestry—only to transform endlessly with time. The project contemplates the Chaalchitra — the painted backdrop of the Puja idol — as a witness to transformation. Once a sacred object of collective devotion, it becomes ephemeral, discarded soon after immersion, becomes a metaphor for evolution, an overview of the region’s landscape—for how tradition, identity, and emotion are continually rewritten.
**work in progress (2025-)