Pancake Maker

Haren Das was a prominent printmaker and master of academic naturalism, and unlike his contemporaries who were moving away from realism, he remained faithful to this style throughout his artistic career. Das was among the many refugees, who moved from a semi-rural life in erstwhile East Bengal to Calcutta (now Kolkata) during the Partition of 1947 and struggled to build a life for himself in the city. In this linocut, we see a ‘pancake-maker’ stirring something in a giant cauldron. Through his shack we see a row of buildings, suggesting that this is one of the many roadside food joints that the people of the city frequented for cheap meals and snacks.