A sensational crime took Calcutta (present-day Kolkata) by storm in 1873, becoming the subject of a high-profile court case, newspaper articles and societal gossip. Referred to as the Tarakeshwar murder trial, the case involved an upper-caste Bengali man Nabinchandra Banerji, who was accused of murdering his 16-year-old wife Elokeshi over her extramarital affair with the chief priest or mahant of the Shiva temple in Tarakeshwar.
The startling extent to which the case garnered interest in Calcutta’s society can be seen through the many Kalighat paintings that chronicled the events of the crime, as well as the trial and resulting punishment. The Kalighat style, borne out of the changing society of 19th-century Calcutta, was a popular medium among the patuas (painters) who worked in the vicinity of the Kalighat temple. Characterised by bright colours and deft brushstrokes, these paintings were easy to reproduce using lithography, allowing for their large-scale production and wide circulation. Though these paintings were originally intended to be souvenirs for devotees visiting the temple of Kali and featured primarily Hindu imagery, they expanded over time to include other religious traditions as well as socio-political commentary. The paintings came to reflect a wide array of themes, ranging from topics such as courtesan culture, and wrestling — and, of course, murder trials such as this one.
The Kalighat paintings on the Tarakeshwar case did not always depict actual events from the trials; many were semi-fictionalised exaggerations to bolster the commercial popularity of the prints. One particularly graphic image has Nabinchandra and Elokeshi in the centre of the frame; Elokeshi’s decapitated head tilts to one side, as her black hair unravels, while her husband holds a fish knife and stands — in a rather nonchalant pose — next to her. Another shows a jailer receiving Nabinchandra in prison, as he gets ready to serve his sentence.
These images provide a fascinating insight into the social world of 19th-century Calcutta — highlighting the role Kalighat paintings and prints played in circulating information, chronicling contemporary events and commenting on social issues. From these paintings, we can see how society at the time may have responded to the details of a tragic incident. Depictions of Elokeshi also raise questions about how women who may have been victims of their circumstances were treated. We see her depicted as a complicit adulteress in some images, while others show her as a naive innocent who is seduced by the Mahant. More than anything, these depictions serve as important reminders of a shared obsession with salacious news stories that continues in popular visual representations today.
Discover Indian Art is a monthly column that delves into fascinating stories on art from across the sub-continent, curated by the editors of the MAP Academy. Find them on Instagram as @map_academy
