Wisdom of the Land - Marina Tabassum's Installations at Venice Biennale 2018

16th

International Architecture Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia

of

FREE SPACE A publication of Marina Tabassum Architects.

Dhaka, Bangladesh. www.mtarchiteckts.com

wisdom of the land

Ananda Pal’er Uthan celebrating wisdom of the land

First drops of monsoon rain - as it touches the earth vanishes at the blink of an eye leaving a faint trace . .

The courtyard has been thirsty for a good rain. It hasn’t rained for five long months. . . The most blessed fragrance comes from the earth with the first shower of monsoon.

An event of celebration in the Bengal Delta, home to 150 million people. As women rush to secure drying cloths hanging on the liner, children of the village run wild embracing the shower. It’s a happy rain.

A courtyard ‘uthan’ as it’s called – the lived space – is the soul of a Bengali household.

Physically not defined by any boundary - only an assortment of elements of daily life casually ensembled that provides a sense of enclosure. Earth as its floor and sky as the ceiling, the room leaks from one court to the other, creating a social atmosphere – where every household is unique yet with a deep sense of communal connectivity.

Between dawn to dusk the space changes character as the users move through daily rituals of livelihood. It is a theatrical display of life lived with nature in a symbiotic relationship.

Parul Pal cooks lunch while keeping an eye on the household. The rain has come to a halt. Her kitchen is an open pavilion on a mud plinth. Arjun, her seven-year-old son, takes their two goats for grazing before running off to school. Her husband Ananda Pal is a potter. His day begins at dawn turning wheel. The rain has settled the dust of the past months, but it also marks the end of pottery season and that troubles him.

Their household includes their son Arjun and daughter krishna, two goats, some chickens, one-bedroom mud house, a mud kitchen and a toilet, all gathered around the courtyard. Ananda Pal and Parul Pal makes pottery all year round. During monsoon work slows down as he’s unable to dry earthenwares. He is a son of a potter but he doesn’t want the skill of pottery be handed down to his son; ‘earthenwares are not in high demand these days’, he complains. Not a potter, he wants his son to become something else.

Ananda Pal’s immediate neighbors in Pal Para (potters’ community) are his extended family who are also in the crafting of earthenwares.

Some pursued the craft, some moved to the cities in search of better lives. The villagers, especially younger generation are fascinated by the glitz of the city life. For them city holds all the answers to the troubled questions of a ‘better life’.

The Ganges delta is defined by the fluidity and chemistry of land and water. The constant shift and changes in the landscape shaped the history and culture of people. Their lives and living are stories of negotiation, adaptation and appropriation. Pursuing architecture in such landscape requires understanding and embracing informality. Quite often it becomes a search for innovative and creative ways of defining life that goes beyond space-making.

Through this project, Panigram Resort, we saw an opportunity to bring back the lost pride and belief in the wisdom of the land crafted over hundreds of years of dwelling in the delta. We tend to believe that creative thinking of our time need to engage in reconnecting with the values of living meaningfully and symbiotically as a natural being. We opted for a minimally intrusive approach by including the villagers to take part in construction incorporating their local knowledge of vernacular technics.

Keeping people in their location requires empowering them with opportunities, reviving the pride of craft, place and belonging.

Reversing the trend of migration will require good living condition, work opportunities, ensured facilities of health and education. We believe, the focus of twenty first century needs to center around the villages for comprehensive growth of society at large. The design intelligence of our time needs to look beyond the visual spectacles and focus on livelihood and living condition holistically.

Thus, we are drawn by the idea of ‘Freespace’ ‘going beyond the visual, choreographing the daily life.’

Courtyard of a Bengali hut is our focus - ‘uthan’ in local terms – the lived space – the space where we spent hours talking to villagers of Taherpur and Modonpur, encouraging them to strategize communally through creating savings groups in order to realize their common dreams of better life and living. Nimai Pal’s courtyard quite often transforms into a meeting room where people engage in conversation about the future, a space where Delta dwellers dare to dream.

The elements displayed in the Biennale are unique of their location, sourced over a period of time. These utilitarian objects, used, bruised with the mark of lived life are tested through time, representing culture and wisdom of the delta dwellers. Objects extracted from their origin and staged in an abstract context of Arsenale while freeing it of its purpose, adds to the complex nature of Freespace.

Kuthi Granaries from North Bengal Made with rice husk and clay these granaries can be as high as 300 cm with a diameter of 150 cm. Kuthis are made by women during dry season in their leisure time after the day’s work.

Each of these containers can hold grains up to 100 tons.

Mud absorbs the moisture and keeps the grain fresh for a full season.

Rahima Begam contributed one of her newly constructed kuthis for the exhibition.

Poloi

Dheki

Fishing trap made from split bamboo. This is used for fishing in shallow water.

A common household tool, polo is found all over Bangladesh. Poloi are also used as cover while drying food or protection to chicklets from danger.

Jogin from Shantal village of Kakonhat, Rajshahi made the polio in display for his personal use.

Made out of a tree trunk Dheki is essentially a grinder to grind large quantity of rice into flour. It is a common site in the villages during dry season symbolizing festivity of winter cakes and delicacies.

Aklima Mondol from Jhenaidah contributed her Dheki for the exhibition.

Dungi boat Dungi boats are curved out of the trunk of Taal Palm tree. With a length of 325cm, these boats are efficient for movement in shallow water during dry season.

Faruk Hossein of Chougachha, Jessore made the boat in display and contributed for the exhibition. Dungi boats are unique of the Bengal Delta.

Khatiya Khatiya is a day bed widely used along the GangesBrahmaputra belt. It’s a furniture used in the courtyard for leisure and social interactions.

Selim Islam from Shibganj donated his Khatiya for the exhibition.

Putul Handmade mud dolls for children to play with are in high demand during the Bengali new year in mid April.

Potters’ village turns into a playful landscape as the toys dry in high sun.

Kitchen utensils From the mud oven to cutting and chopping to pots, pans and spoons to grinding spices every element is unique of its location and sourced from the land.

Marina Tabassum Architects is currently working on 2K Home projects in collaboration with community architects group POCAA and savings groups of Taherpur and Modonpur villages close to Panigram resort site supported by Bishal Foundation. The process began by encouraging villagers to accumulate seed capital through savings groups. With sufficient growth of the capital, members of the group can apply for loan of USD2000. This is budget for two bedrooms and a bathroom project. As architects, we listen to peoples aspirations; they design their dream houses as they have done for generations. We provide our technical knowledge and insight of space making. The process involves mutual respect and sharing. It is minimally intrusive to maximize the impact of architecture. 2K Home projects are part of Panigram resort’s community initiatives. Panigram’s commitment to socially and environmentally responsible co-existence in the context of delta compelled several programs bringing craft, food, agriculture, health-hygene and education in focus.