Labani Jangi hails from Bengal's Nadia.
Credit: Special Arrangement
Chennai: Carnatic vocalist T M Krishna and People’s Archive of Rural India on Thursday announced an artist from rural West Bengal as the first recipient of the TM Krishna-PARI Award, instituted to honour individuals who bridge the worlds of art and journalism.
34-year-old Labani Jangi, an artist and painter from Dhubulia in Nadia district of West Bengal will receive the first award which includes a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh.
“Labani’s work reflects the resilience and complexities of rural India, combining artistic expression with critical social commentary,” Krishna said in a statement on Thursday.
Labani Jangi, a research scholar at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta, is pursuing a doctoral thesis titled “The lives and world of Bengali migrant labour.”
“My work with PARI focuses on capturing stories that bring attention to both the systemic challenges, and the enduring spirit of rural life. By integrating these narratives into my art, I aim to create visual expressions that resonate with the complexities of these experiences,” the statement quoted Labani Jangi as saying.