Manav Sangrahalaya in continuation to its popular series of ‘Exhibit of the Month’ exhibits one specific object on the dais. In the same series, for the month of August, 2015 the ‘Exhibit of the Month’ is ‘Ser-Pai’ from West Bengal.
The exhibit of the month has been jointly inaugurated by Prof Sarit Kumar Choudhuri (Director, IGRMS), Dr Swaroop Bhattacharya (Curator, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Museum) and Arun Kumar Shrivastava (Joint Director, IGRMS). This exhibition has been compiled by Soma Kiro (Assistant Keeper, IGRMS).
Ser-Pai is the grain measuring pot/bowl also known as Suri bowl in Birbhum area of West Bengal where this craft was originated and developed. The word ‘Ser-Pai’ is derived from Ser referring to a unit of weight and Pai means a quarter units. The traditional measuring units are found all over India made from different materials like wood, metal, cane & fruit shell, known by different names as Kunke, Poila, Para, Padi, etc.
The museum organised the next chapter of its popular series, Museum Popular lecture on Tuesday. Dr Swaroop Bhattacharya, the Curator of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Museum spoke on ‘Typological Variation and Technological Excellence in Bengal boat design’. Bhattacharya commenced his lecture with the historical significance of boats and its presence which dates back up to 40,000 years.
He said, “From time immemorial people have taken to water for a number of reasons like – to survive, to explore, to travel, to trade, to fish, to fight and for fun. For thousands of years, they have been developing new ways to make their acquaintance with water easier, safer and quicker. The earliest crafts used by ancient man were simple rafts and floats. Then the hollow shell, which sat on the water, was invented and initially it was probably a simple hollowed log. This was the boat in ancestral form, which is an invention as important as the wheel”. Rivers, canals, streams, lakes, bills and other water bodies form an important source of cheap transportation. This is specially so in West Bengal, where there are numerous water bodies. There are about 3,000 km of navigable waterways in the State, of which 300 kms are canals.