Shadow Play

San Marcos artist Debangana Banerjee grew up in West Bengal, India, in the small, idyllic university town of Santiniketan, where people hold a philosophy of simple living and high thinking. The school in which Banerjee studied is unique, operating in completely natural settings where all classes and activities were conducted outdoors, beneath the trees.

“It’s a place known for its natural beauty and cultural heritage,” Banerjee said. “It allows space for imagination and opportunity to be a complete human being. A very unique school. During my school and college days in India, I sang countless songs on rivers.”

Now that Banerjee calls San Marcos her home, that philosophy remains at the heart of her life and art.

“I learned wherever I travel and live in the world, I should make my nest significant,” Banerjee said. “But at the same time I should remember my roots. I try to find my connection with the natural world and the people around me.”

Before coming to San Marcos in 2010, Banerjee received her Master’s of Fine Arts in printmaking from Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan. She was a national scholar in India before joining the MFA program at Louisiana State University in 2007, where her husband, Suparno Banerjee, was earning his PhD in Science Fiction Literature.

Then in 2010, her husband, Dr. Banerjee, joined the faculty at Texas State University as an associate professor in the English department.

“After a state of transition, I started discovering this place,” Ms. Banerjee said. “I started studying this land and the people and the culture: The dry air, the big sky. Peach blossoms, bluebonnets, the Lone Star. Barbecue and tacos. I discovered the river gradually, and how it’s different from the River Kopai. This is how I find my home in different places.”

She also attributes the poet, Rabindranath Tagore, as a substantial influence on her work. His poetry focuses on the relationship between human beings and their natural surroundings, which is something she has carried with her throughout her life.

Using printmaking, painting, collage and poetry, Banerjee calls the journey of her work Inscapes, which are “deep intimate spaces, transitional moments of conscious and unconscious thoughts using both natural and personal imageries.” This enables her to focus on three things: Her existence as a stranger in America, her relations with others in this area, and the various struggles of life. In the space where these three concepts overlap is where she creates her home.

“I dream up imagined homes,” she said. “I carry my home from India and mingle it with my home here.”

In her 10 years in San Marcos, Banerjee has become an integral part of the arts community. Currently, she works as an art teacher for kindergarten through grade five at the Wonderland School. Fortunately, her experience at Patha Bhavana school has left her uniquely prepared to address her students’ needs.

“Teaching children, it’s oxygen for me,” Banerjee said. “I take them outside so that they can take their masks off and breathe. It’s a beautiful environment.”

Banerjee and the teachers at Wonderland School have maintained social distancing protocols to ensure their students’ safety, which means that they have had to adapt their ways of teaching.

“I used to do collaborative projects with them, but not these days,” Banerjee said. ”They are not sharing supplies and always maintaining distances. Sometimes it’s sad not to see their smiles and giggling faces behind the mask. But it’s amazing how quickly they adapted to the situation. They are happy to see their friends. It’s very difficult, but when you see the kids interacting, you will not feel that way.”

At the onset of the pandemic, when schools shut down and went to online instruction, like many of us, Banerjee and her family found that their sphere of interaction shrunk down to that of their home.

“With the pandemic, everything was at home,” Banerjee said. “Everything. I’m an artist, a writer, and an art teacher. I have a seven-year-old child. But what can a person do to have time for art and creating in such a time as this?”

These questions led Banerjee to think of creative ways to reach her students while allowing her daughter, Irabati, to participate as well. Thus the Banerjee Family Shadow Theater Productions took form.

Banerjee and her family constructed a shadow theater out of a cardboard box, set up lighting, made characters, and designed set pieces. Banerjee and her daughter performed all of the voices, while Dr. Banerjee provided music.

“My husband, daughter, and I made everything from scratch,” Banerjee said. Then they adapted children’s folk tales in the Bengali language to record and release on YouTube.

“I chose Bengali language for two reasons,” Banerjee said. “One, because my daughter will learn the language in a creative environment. And two, to share the Bengali language with others around the world.”

Soon the shadow theater project became a family endeavor.

“We rehearsed for several days for our performance,” Banerjee said. “The time after dinner became a time for theater for us. We practiced several times before recording our performance.”

After uploading the videos, which can be found on Banerjee’s YouTube channel, several Bengali groups reached out to her for shadow theater workshops, which allowed her to do what she enjoys most: teach.

In addition to teaching at Wonderland School, Banerjee has taught art classes to disabled and disadvantaged children and youths in India and is an active volunteer in various organizations here as well. Here in San Marcos, she co-teaches “Crossroads” which is a special education program for youth.

“Art is great therapy,” Banerjee said. “Art is a great way to keep your mind fresh and stable and peaceful. It engages people’s minds and creativity. I never think I am teaching and they are learning. We enrich each other together.”

Banerjee continues to be an active part of the San Marcos art community. In March 2019, she curated an art show titled "A Room of One's Own" at the San Marcos Public Library celebrating International Women's Day. She also co-curated an art show "Shilpa: Colors of India-Pakistan-Bangladesh" at Walker's Gallery, in 2012.

Additionally, she is a member of San Marcos Art League. She teaches at "ArtSpace" at El Centro and gives one-on-one private art lessons as well.

In this way, Banerjee has certainly made a significant nest here in San Marcos.

“I feel as a local person here,” Banerjee said. “It’s probably true for any immigrant, but when I go back to India now, I feel like I miss San Marcos. When I’m here, I miss my home there. We constantly look for home.”

Through art, Banerjee bridges the space between San Marcos and India, creating her own unique and special home.

To see Banerjee’s Shadow Theater productions, check out her Youtube channel at youtube.com/c/ DebanganaBanerjee To view more of Banerjee’s artwork, and to see a list of places in which her artwork will be displayed in the future, visit her website at debangana.weebly.com.