Mumbai: This Kolkata-based hand shadow artiste will shine light on social issues through his art this weekend

A septuagenarian hand shadow artiste from Kolkata will cast shadows to shine a light on social issues at a performance this weekend

It's the late 1990s in Oman. At the Times of Oman Quiz Contest, quizmaster Derek O’Brien flashes an image on the screen, challenging his young contestants to identify the figure. There’s chatter among the participants — it’s a tough one. To be fair, the image on the screen is merely a shadow outline, and behind it is Kolkata-based hand shadow artiste Amar Sen painstakingly forming the silhouette. “My hands were trembling, and no one seemed to have an answer,” he recalls. A contestant hesitantly cuts through the chatter: “Is it... Sourav Ganguly?” The accurate guess is enough to make O’Brien, Sen and the audience burst into cheer.

Nearly three decades and countless shows across India, Europe and North America later, Sen makes his way to Mumbai this Saturday. At 75 years old, his hands don’t tremble now, and he has many more stories to tell. From animals like dogs, tigers and deer, to human figures donning hats, smoking pipes and sporting funky hairdos, Sen has it all in the palm of his hands. These characters will come alive in a 30-minute show organised by city-based Gems Kids Club to spread awareness about ecological conservation, road safety, and animal welfare at a SoBo venue.

Hand shadows depicting (from left) a man smoking; a man riding a horse; a bird drinking from a pot

Sen’s career in shadowgraphy, interestingly, didn’t have a bright start. “At my Kolkata residence in 1972, I found myself in a room lit by a single candle — it was one of those untimely power cuts. I formed a simple duck-shaped shadow using my hands, and my old friend late Sabyasachi Sen instinctively mimicked the quack of a duck, and there we had our first show,” he reveals. The duo would go on to spend the next 16 years visiting museums and Kolkata’s Alipore Zoo to study the skeletons and movements of tigers, swans and deer. “I remember we once left the Zoo authorities baffled by observing a swan for two hours at a stretch,” he laughs.

All those hours studying animal anatomy and mastering dexterity served the duo well. If you remember the catchy ‘MP Ajab Hai’ TV commercial featuring shadow art depictions of Madhya Pradesh’s wildlife, monuments and culture from 2010, the duo had a hand — two pairs to be precise — in popularising the tune. “By 2010, technological advancements had grown by leaps and bounds. What looks like multiple hands in the TVC, is in fact just layers of shadows superimposed using digital tools,” he reveals. But Sen swears by the novelty of live shows. “It’s when I perform with a single 55-watt light, a screen and my own hands, that the audience seems to cheer the loudest,” he shares.

Amar Sen practises the art form in 1989 in Kolkata 

When the curtain falls on Sen’s show this weekend, amidst all the applause, a concern will remain at the back of his mind. He explains, “The art form is not dying, but it is not exactly thriving either. We’re at a crossroads from where the future of shadowgraphy will be decided. I can attest that the charm of watching shadows talk in front of you will never die. When I peek out to catch a glimpse of the audience, they’re always in awe. Almost as if they’re saying to themselves ‘This can be done with just hands?’”

ON February 1; 4 pm and 7 pm
AT Sophia Bhabha Auditorium, Bhulabhai Desai Road, Breach Candy. 
LOG ON TO in.bookmyshow.com 
ENTRY Rs 499 

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