Rarh Reimagined: A Heartfelt Tribute to Purulia’s Living Masks

A Message from the Founder & CEO of Indi Temptation
By Parna Banerjee Bhaduri

Some forms of art don’t just speak—they echo through time.
They sing. They dance. They burn with a quiet fire passed down from generation to generation.

That’s exactly what I felt when I first stepped into Purulia—a land where mythology comes alive not in books, but in movement, music, and masks. Under the open sky, the Chau dancers moved like living gods, their painted masks fierce with pride and grace. And in that moment, I realized: this is not performance—this is soul.

It stirred something deep within me.

Those masks—crafted from clay, paper, and soul—stirred something within me. I saw not just art, but inheritance. The kind of inheritance that filmmakers like Ritwik Ghatak so powerfully captured in his legendary film Jukti Tokko Goppo, where the Chau masks became more than props—they became metaphors for the contradictions, chaos, and cultural pulse of Bengal’s soul. That imagery has never left me.

And that is how Rarh Reimagined was born.

At Indi Temptation, we don’t just see masks. We see the hands that shape them—the fathers, mothers, and children who have lived this craft for generations. We see the stories that risk being lost to time and indifference. We see pride that deserves a place not just in museums or festivals, but in homes around the world.

Rarh Reimagined is a tribute. A promise. And, most of all, a collaboration with the Chau mask artisans of Purulia. Together, we work to preserve what is ancient while allowing it to speak in the language of today. We don’t edit their expression—we amplify it. Through fair trade, design integration, and cultural storytelling, we help these artists find the global stage they always deserved.

Every mask is unique—bold in color, fierce in character, divine in symbolism.
When you welcome one into your home, you don’t just support an artisan.
You carry forward a legacy.
You honour a lineage.
You say, “I see you. I value your story.”

This journey—from awe to action—has been personal and powerful.
Thank you for standing with me. For believing in beauty with roots.
And for helping us reimagine Rarh—not as a relic of the past, but as a living, breathing celebration of who we are.

With love and purpose,
Parna Bhaduri Banerjee
Founder & CEO, Indi Temptation