By Rita Joseph
Kolkata, April 1, 2022: A Hindu engineer-turned-art connoisseur has been turning old Catholic churches in India into artistic attractions.
Subrata Ganguly said restoring churches, and adding “Indian flavor” to it, has become a passion.
He ventured into church art at a time when European art in India was gradually fading and was giving way to traditional Indian palettes.
One of Ganguly’s first major works is the Don Bosco museum in Mawlai near Shillong, the capital city of the eastern Indian state of Meghalaya.
The museum, located inside the Sacred Heart Theological College campus, is a hexagonal seven-story building that showcases the culture and lifestyle of India’s north-eastern states — Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura.
Ganguly has also turned the centuries-old Bandel church and the Shantiniketan church in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal into tourist destinations.
The engineer, a Hindu Brahmin from West Bengal, said his interest in Christianity started during his childhood when he studied the different religions.
“I am also a product of the Don Bosco School in Kolkata,” he admitted. He knows the Bible, the Catholic sacraments and even the laws of the Church.
He said it would be impossible to execute a work of church art without any knowledge of the Bible or the sacraments.
“If I have no idea of baptism, I cannot execute a baptismal font or design a church on the theme of Ascension,” said the 51-year old Ganguly.
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While I appreciate the contribution of Mr.Ganguli in making statues and helping our visual lovers a treat, let us not forget China produces some of the best statues and images for every religion..!
It’s like brahamiins exporting beef from India.