Chakai in Boner Pukur Danga

In Boner Pukur Danga, next to the pond, a strange arrangement. No words, just this drawing – by painter Bidyut Roy – hanging in the wind to set the mood of the placce. Something is about to happen…

Ajiki Hiro is a Japanese Chawan artist, a potter specialised in tea vessel, but also an eclectic photograph, a painter, in a word (or two) a contemporaneous artist. However, last Wednesday, in Boner Pukur Danga, it is not the avant-garde performer we’ve met but the Tea Ceremony Master. Serious, quiet and very respectful of Japanese tradition.

In Japan, not everybody is habilitated to master a tea ceremony. The delicate art of preparing tea is taught in dedicated schools or private homes.

The accessories were brought from Japan: Chawan – tea bowl, work of Hiro San himself –  and Chasen – tea whisk, made out of bamboo.

Indian, japanese, swedish, french, all the guests gathered, in this quiet bengali evening, below the full moon to enjoy some sweets and a thik and bitter green tea.