Srijani Shilpagram- North East India Inside Santiniketan

That was not a one-day tour for me, not even a two-day holiday trip. That was like going back to my second home. Yes, the place was Santiniketan, where I spent 5 years in my childhood. So, after almost twenty-two years when we planned to go to that very place I was naturally excited. I was excited to meet my old friends, I was excited to go to my school and above all, I was really excited to see those places as an outsider that were once my residence.

There were many such places in my list which I explored during my last holiday trip, but there were some new entries to that list and I am going to share one such experience of mine. The place was Srijani Shilpagram.

How to Reach

We took a “Toto” from Santiniketan (in front of the Rabindra Bhavana Gate) to go to Srijani. The person charges Rs 200 for going there and back. The waiting charge is included in it.

The Tour

The first thing that came to my mind when I first saw the place was “Oh! It is so artificially decorated, not like Santiniketan where once I lived.” At the entrance there was a ticket counter, we brought our tickets from there. The rates of the tickets are: for adults it is Rs10, for child Rs 5, still camera charged Rs 10 and video camera Rs 500. You can use the mobile camera for free.

The most attractive part of the place is that you don’t need a guide to see the place. All the things that are displayed there have well-written information beside them so that you can easily understand the facts and figures.

In Srijani, there were 6 cottages that display the house structure and everyday life of the tribes of north east India. Each cottage represents the lifestyle of the tribes of a particular state. Like the cottage that represents Orisa is built like a tribal house of orisa. Inside the house, we saw a vivid display of the tribal cloths, their household items, their accessories, everyday tools that they use in their daily life. One thing that I liked the most was the wall paintings of these tribal huts. They are so natural that for once you will forget that you are now inside a model tribal house that are not a real one.

Here are some pictures that we take there.

The other thing that we enjoyed there was a tribal dance performance, performed by Santhal dancers.

The performance was going on an open stage and some visitors also took part in the dance. Here is the video of that show.