‘Pakhipahar’, the Sensational Marvel is Blooming up

Ever wondered how the miracle of art can transform a nugatory land into an exquisite paradise?

In the Purulia village of West Bengal, sculptor Chitta Dey is realizing his remarkable vision of transforming a hill into a contemporary rock sculpture. Historically, monumental rock carving has been an integral part of Indian tradition, inspiring the creation of iconic structures like the rock-cut temples of Ellora, Ajanta, Mahabalipuram, and the magnificent Elephanta caves.

These one-of-their-kind sculptures in intricate designs bagged a golden status for India since ancient times. The tradition, once considered a cornerstone of India’s archaeological heritage, has mysteriously dwindled over the centuries, surviving only through the limited practice of crafting small sculptures in a few locations.

To revive this long-lost ancient tradition of in-situ rock carving in India, Chitta Dey came up with a concept in early 1990s of carving a monolithic hill, famous by the local name of ‘Murraburu’, or ‘bald hill’ in Matha range of Ayodhya hills of Best Bengal into what he calls as ‘Pakhipahar’ (mountain of birds).

About the Project

The main project, run by his foundation, ‘Flight to harmony’ is the excavation of a flock of 110 giant wing-to-wing birds on the mountain where the largest sculpture would be 120 feet high and the smallest would not be less than 55 feet. As part of his project, he is also sculpting scattered boulders and smaller rocks at the base of the hill into representations of various endangered and extinct species, including deer, squirrels, tortoises, peacocks, and pangolins.

The sculptor said that he has always been fascinated by birds. According to him, they teach us to live in unity in the face of impending threat. “When they are at risk, it is our responsibility to help them in whatever way we can. This sculpture is secular and does not belong to any specific community. It is my homage to nature, symbolizing unity, peace, friendship, solidarity, and harmony.” Dey Said.

Apart from a very strong foundation, the project has endeavors of extending the frontiers of culture, creativity and social progress through visual arts.

Coming to the execution of work, Murraburu, had enough good reasons to be chosen as the site. Dey told that monolithic rocks stand out from the rest of the mountains group and are easy to work on. Also the tree cover is very scarce which provides lots of free space and minimizes the need of tree-cutting.

The work officially began after getting approval from the planning commission of India in 2008. The then president, Pranab Mukherjee appreciated Dey’s inspiring endeavor and sanctioned a fund of Rs 1.27 Crore while the rest of the project, costing approximately 4.5 Crore is being funded by Government of West Bengal. The project is being funded by contributions from various government and private entities, including the Information and Culture Department, Purulia Zilla Parishad, Panchayat Samiti, and donations from numerous individuals.

Schematic drawing was not an easy milestone. It took 8 years of struggle with erasing and redrawing of lines on the hill for its prodigious dimensions which could not easily fit in Dey’s imaginary illustration of 110 birds. “The design has already been mapped out on the hill, and work on nine bird sculptures is actively underway. The remaining work is expected to be completed by 2026, provided there are no political or financial obstacles.” Dey added.

Economic outlook

The project which on one hand aims to restore the Indian culture of art and posterity of extinct species has a tremendous potential to attract tourism on the other hand. This will give employment to the rural people and improve their lives manifolds.

Apart from these long-term aspirations, the on-going project activities are already playing following transformational roles:

• Employment to Locals. The project team as of now consists of 15-20 villagers on regular wage basis with Chitta Dey as the only sculptor. A group of local people are already being trained in rock climbing and the art of the monumental rock carving, which they are putting to use in carving small boulders, trying out the newly acquired skill and honing their creativity. When Dey was asked the reason behind not engaging any professional sculptors in his project, he told that his mission is not just to create an exquisite rock form, but do something for the living of tribal locals of Purulia.

• Infrastructural development. A 1-km-long road from the highway to the project site has been developed for better communication. A primary school for the local children has been set up with the sponsorship of the Government of West Bengal. A deep tube-well near the project site has been dug which is catering to the needs of the project as well as the neighboring villages.

• Rehabilitation for prisoners. Dey, who is alongside transforming the prisons into correctional homes in Bengal, sometimes takes prisoners on site to do the sculpturing. This, he calls as a reform for their lives by arousing the creative spirit in the afflicted, and make it an emancipatory agency.

• Preservation of rocks. Another motivation behind this project is to save the sculptured boulders from the inroads of crushing machines which are demolishing and fragmenting the rocks and hills of the Chhotanagpur terrain to gather stone chips for roadways, railways, industrial, commercial and domestic use.

• Experiential Tourism: While the village is slowly transforming into a vocational place, tourists are allowed to try their hand at sculpturing as they like. ‘By involving people in such creative projects that support environmental conservation, we can inspire them to coexist harmoniously with nature.’ Dey said.

Given this fathomless zeal and determination of the people of Murraburu, the enchanting fantasy land of Chitta Dey will soon stand in the list of the most beautiful wonders of the world. But the dream doesn’t end here. Dey has plans to raise similar projects in other states of the country to establish the lost art of sculpturing which India has lost 1000 years ago!