Design Movement in Tagores Santiniketan: Alpana-An Experiment in Aestheticism

Design movement in Tagore’s santiniketan by Swati Ghosh chronicles the evolution of hand-drawn designs across nations, cultures and time. It narrates the journey of Bengali traditional alpanas—from a folk art to a symbol of cultural identity, from a medium of aesthetic expression to a medium of learning, in santiniketan, under the great masters. Set in a rich cultural landscape and a colourful art and craft Panorama, this book also documents Rabindranath Tagore constructive effort in successfully bringing about a cultural regeneration through education in art and craft in India after independence. The photographs and the hand-drawn sketches by the author attest to an aesthetic heritage which is as old as human civilisation itself.