Theatre artists repaint Kolkata Academy of Fine Arts white from saffron

Theatre artists in Kolkata repainted the old ticket counter at the Academy of Fine Arts white, a month after members of a Hindutva group painted the heritage structure saffron and installed a portrait of Bharat Mata beside it. The counter, originally terracotta, sits by the main gate of the institution founded in 1933 by Lady Ranu Mukherjee and Maharaja Prodyot Kumar Tagore.

Prominent theatre figure Chandan Sen said artists met BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya after the saffron paint job, and that Bhattacharya said he did not support the act and would arrange a repainting. When that didn't happen, Sen and colleagues, including Meghnad Bhattacharya, Bibhash Chakraborty, Arun Mukhopadhyay and Debasis Majumdar, decided to do it themselves rather than wait further.

Bhattacharya had earlier said the BJP does not believe in 'the politics of changing colours,' even as the letter from the artists noted the culprits identified themselves as BJP workers. The Academy has hosted the state's annual theatre festival since 1984 and once staged the work of Sambhu Mitra and Utpal Dutt.

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