Anokh’s birthplace, known as Bot Tola (বট তলা), has witnessed a tragic event. The banyan trees that once adorned her birthplace have been mercilessly cut down in the name of expanding the national highway. It is important to acknowledge that this act cannot be simply labeled as ‘eviction’, as it equates to nothing short of ‘murder’ when it comes to trees. As the sun now shines upon the barren land where the banyan trees once stood, the wind’s whirlpool stirs up memories of the past afternoons. When words fail to capture the emptiness, Anokh turns to her paintbrush, depicting memories, dreams, and a world that is both real and illusory – the earth, the sky, and the river. Sadly, these elements are now lost or forever gone.

Anokh first encountered the `Khare’ River, which was later named Jalangi on the map. The reason behind the local people’s decision to name it ‘in the straw’ remains unknown. The river has lost its navigability and is now awaiting its final moments. However, Anokh desires to preserve the memories of the river that she discovered during her teenage years. These memories sometimes transform into dreams, and Anokh wishes to capture and preserve them in vibrant colors. Nevertheless, the feasibility of preserving these memories in reality remains a significant question. In front of Anokh’s house stood a Shimul tree, where all the funeral prayers in the village were recited. Anokh’s friend, Bhaswati, once mentioned that people across the Saniyajan River considered the pair of Shimul trees as a pathway to heaven. Since then, Anokh has been searching for the shade of that tree in her drawing book, but to no avail. Instead, she embarked on a quest to find Bibir Dargah, in remembrance of her ancestral family. Adjacent to that house was a Maqtab, where two banyan trees adorned the courtyard. Bibir Dargah resided on the border between the light and dark shadows cast by those trees. A towering mound of red and white clay horses, symbolizing vows, could be found there. Every year, people would visit, make a vow, and leave a clay horse beneath the tree.

One day, the conflict between right and wrong commenced, recognizing that all of this was blasphemy. Bibi’s shrine was demolished, the trees were felled, the courtyard was cleared, and the Maqtab was set up on the stone floor. Subsequently, numerous lives were lost! The hundred-year-old mango tree by the pond stands tall, while the Krishnachura-Radhachura-Gulmohar tree adorns the roadside. Anokh observes silently, unable to resist reacting on a few occasions. Nevertheless, she persists in her efforts, aiming to immortalize his memories on paper and canvas for inner peace. Despite being a response to self-isolation, if she had voiced her thoughts and planted new trees in place of the ones that were cut down instead of sketching in a notebook, perhaps the journey would have taken a different turn. Nonetheless, her disability led her to choose the path of indirect confrontation, seeking solace in the strokes of a paintbrush. Indeed, this conflict is profoundly intense, often leaving our paintbrush and canvas incomplete and lost.

Anokh wishes to observe and grasp the language of deficiency and ineptitude through ‘Bibi’s Dargah’. In Bibir Dargah, Anokh Somuddur harbors many memories that stand alone, and she is unwilling to perpetuate that isolation. Ankh reflects on and ponders language during a time when discussing politics, filled with violence, is highly inappropriate. Consequently, Anokh seeks to convey something as a testament to the inability to articulate everything.

‘Bibir Dargah’ is the first solo exhibition of artist Anokh Somuddur. Chitrobhasha Gallery is delighted to present this young artist from West Bengal, India in front of the audience of Chittagong and Bangladesh. Art wins.