The Folk and Tribal Cultural Centre under the aegis of the Government of West Bengal has engaged itself since 1996 in ceaseless pursuit to create a disciplined perspective where co-ordination between the folk and tribal cultural researchers may be achieved and also the standard of those arts and artists may be escalated to a desirable height. Though primary initiative started forming a "Parshad" soon after the Left Front Government took over the power.

It is imperative that the area of study and development of folk and tribal culture of West Bengal should be expanded not only for its survival and preservation but also fighting against the menace of invasion by commercial and decadent culture. The traits of this indigenous culture lie in its naivete, liveliness, social content, life-base, secularity and robustness.

Folk Village

The planning of this folk village has been so conceived that the characteristics of rural environments and attitudes remain unaltered. The village developed on a vast chunk of land (6 acres) will play a significant role as the pivotal folk & tribal cultural centre in Eastern India. Here, there will be a museum of rural and folk cultural exhibits, puppetry museum, auditoriums, separate venue for folk-tribal festivals, permanent fair ground, audio-visual repertory, library and reading room, handicrafts sale centre, conference room, artists-guest rooms, canteen etc.

The foundation of the Folk Village was laid on 30 June 1996 at Chhit Kalikapur area of South Kolkata in the district of South 24 Parganas. Hopefully, the completion of the construction work of the project will be over shortly.

Journal

"Lokoshruti" is a bi-annual research journal on Folklore, Cultural Anthropology, Sociology, Folk & Tribal Architecture and Archaeology, Folk Art and Artisans, Tribal Cultural Heritage and Oral history and tradition.

This research journal is being regularly brought out by and on behalf of the Centre. The contributors are renowned and erudite scholars, social anthropologists, subaltern historians and folklorists. Apart from this, a news bulletin named "Lokobarta" is also published bi-monthly from this Centre.

Publication

Recently publications on folk and tribal culture have expanded and more importance is being given to this. The objective behind the Centre's initiative for publication is to reach the high quality research books and those have been highly acclaimed in erudite quarters. Our publication list : (see Annexe-1).

Audio

The centre takes care to see that programme of folk artists, in every branch of their performing arts, do get proper expansion and support. A few such audio-cassettes have already been published.

Cassettes

	1.Songs of Lalan Fakir - Part-I
	2.Songs of Lalan Fakir - Part-II
	3.Jhumur - Part-I (songs of Purulia and Bankura)
	4.Jhumur - Part-I (songs by Salabat Mahato)
	5.Darbeshi Songs : Kalachand Darbesh
	6.Bhawaiya : (Sukhabilash Burma, Siddheshwar Roy, Uttam Kumar Das, Sumitra Roy)
	7.Maromi Songs : (Dinendra Chowdhury)
	8.Ballad of Dasorathi Roy : (Sunil Bhattacharya)
	9.Jater Name Bajjati : (Different artists)
	10.O Amar Jat Galare : (Somen Biswas)
	11.Bango Rango Mancher Lokosangeet : (Debojit Bandopadhyay & Riddhi Bandopadhyay)
	12.Baul Songs
	13.Kala Ar Na Bajan Bansuri : (Suniti Roy)
	14.Goyal Parar Bhawaiya : (Sulekha Roy)
	15.Dhamayeel Songs : (Anandomoyee Bhattacharya)
	

Compact Disc's

	1.Baul Songs
	2.Songs of Lalon Fakir - Part-I
	3.Songs of Lalon Fakir - Part-II
	4.Darbeshi Songs
	5.Jhumur - Part-I
	6.Jhumur - Part-II
	7.Bhawaiya Songs
	8.Kala Ar Na Bajan Bansuri : (Suniti Roy)
	9.Goyal Parar Bhawaiya : (Sulekha Roy)
	10.Dhamayeel Songs : (Anandomoyee Bhattacharya)
	

Centre for Cultivation of Folk and Tribal Culture
There are six such Centres for the cultivation of folk and tribal culture in the districts of Jalpaiguri, Birbhum, Paschim Medinipur, Bankura, Purulia and Murshidabad.

Survey and Research Project
The centre has already taken steps for implementation of a Survey Project. The work of this project centres around the folk and tribal artists of West Bengal who have scrupulously kept up numerous traditional streams of rural culture and enlivened them. Needless to say, Panchayats of all the districts have been actively associated with this stupendous work.

In recent past, Centre took endeavour to survey traditional fairs (melas) of Bengal which are more than fifty years old. Mainly for the purpose of documentation a compilation of survey of these fairs is soon to be brought out by centre.

Of late Centre have started to sponsor researchers in the field of folk culture. As a result, two research projects namely "Present Status of Bengali Folk Songs" and "Architecture of Traditional Bengali Hut" are receiving financial assistance from this Centre. "Midwives of Bengal" and "Tribal Weapon" are two such projects which have been completed and going to be published.

With the objective of preservation and documentation steps have been undertaken to start some projects by experts in the field of folk culture. Those are:
                              1) Collection of rare folk songs of Bengal.
                              2) Collection of Folk Tales and Folk Dramas of Bengal.
                              3) Compilation of a "Dictionary of Folk Language".

Memorial Lecture
Every year, on the occasion of foundation anniversary of the Centre on 7 December, Arun Kumar Roy Memorial Lecture is arranged. One more such lecture is being arranged in memory of Late Tarapada Santra from recent past. Subsequently, these lectures are published in form of books.

Training and Workshop
Training camps and workshops of folk and tribal artists and folk and tribal activities are being held in different districts of the State under the direct guidance and supervision of the Centre. The participants exchange views and analyse the problems of life and environment, motivation and improvement of individual media of folk and tribal art, crisis of folk medium and escape route etc. Detailed discussions are held as to how folk and tribal culture may be expanded, enriched and popularized.

Festivals
The rural folk and tribal artists can express their lively art spontaneously through folk festivals alone and the centre has attached due importance to it. A large number of folk festivals have been arranged in Kolkata and at the district, sub-divisional and village levels. Many folk and tribal media, due to want of patronization and care, were going to be extinct. But with the recognition and rejuvenation of the neglected artists in these festivals, it has been possible for those media to be revived. Following these instances, many more folk arts are becoming popular today; those are being capacitated to come back to limelight. The Folk and Tribal Cultural Centre has earned a unique success in this regard.

Seminars
There is definite necessity for academic discussion on folk and tribal culture. Viewed form this standpoint seminars are arranged from time to time of different folk and tribal media. Generally scholars and research workers are invited to participate in these seminars.

Grants
Stipend: A monthly stipend to the extent of Rs.200/- is granted to the prospective but indigent child folk and tribal artists for continuing their studies who have a future to blossom in their respective art.
Medical treatment: A seriously ailing artist is being granted a maximum of Rs.2000/- as grant for medical treatment.
Financial assistance: Every year financial assistance is being extended to distressed folk and tribal artist as well as economically emaciated folk and tribal cultural organisaitons.