Honorable Mention / 2022 / Portraiture / Culture

• Photographer
  Soumya Ranjan Bhattacharyya, India

Purulia is a district in West bengal, India with a rich tradition of culture. Chauu is a traditional dance routine where dancers in bright and elaborate dress and paper masks perform the tales of Goddess Durga, Shiva and their lores through a dance and drama routine along with the beat of traditional drums. When visiting the village in Purulia, I came across a young man carrying a chauu mask and probably his nephew, a baby boy in his arms. I asked him to wear the mask and pose for a photograph with the backdrop of a traditional mud hut wall decorated by indigenous hand prints.