Fairs are our cultural heritage. 

Judging by their vibrancy in India, one can safely assume that generations of fairgoers continue to preserve this heritage. Our project on Fairground Experience in Cooch Behar studies four seasonal fairs in Cooch Behar - a district in the north of West Bengal.  The project documents cultural customs, food systems and traditional medicines sold on the fairgrounds. We observe:

• Fairs through the eyes of the visitors

• Fairground living history 

We attempt a mapping of fairground experience on a popular form of folk-art - Shitalpati. This portal charts our experience of visiting the fairs. Here, you can listen to the sounds and stare at the images of the fairgrounds. 

We hope to virtually reproduce a more immersive experience of the fairs. 

This is an Arts Research Project supported by the India Foundation for the Arts. Dr Manas Kumar Ghosh, Dept of Film Studies, Jadavpur University is the coordinator of this project.