Seeds to Flowers: A tribal experience
A striking collection of traditional Indian folk and tribal art is on display at the Open Palm Court, Indian Habitat Center until May 6, from 8 am to 10 pm. Titled 'Seeds of Flowers', the exhibition displays preservation of our cultural heritage. It is a fusion of ingenious works of our folk community – coming together to speak for the 'solidarity in diversity' of our nation.
One of the craft displays, 'Mati' is grounded in our cultural roots displaying works by folk artisans pan-India. The works will represent Bengali Pattachitra, with motifs drawn from mythology, folklore and folk narratives. The craft makers trace their ancestry to the 13th century.
Apart from that, other painting choices include the five-century-old 'Pinguli Chitrakati' by the Thakar community from village Pinguli, in tribal Maharashtra. Their themes are drawn from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and the Nandi Purana.
To round off the tribal experience is a contingency of Warli art, from the Warli tribes of Maharashtra, with works centered around the concept of Mother Nature. Domestic activities, such as farming, harvesting and the celebration of festivities introduce variety and vibrancy to the display.
Besides, works from tribal communities in eastern India include wall paintings in the style of Saura art from Hazaribagh depicting Pashupati, the god of animals and trees. Also, Khovar art, or paintings for the marriage chamber, done in the Jharkhand and Hazaribagh regions draws heavily from the dense forest-based existence of its tribals. From further east in Odisha, is the Yatripat paintings from Raghurajpur.
As no representative craft exhibition would be complete without a contingent of works from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, this iconic exhibition also has specimens of Gond Art depicting the tree of life motif decorated with animal and bird life, encircling the central tree figure. The Rajasthan Bhil Art is full of local details and done in vivid colours. The Pichwai cloth paintings portraying Lord Shtinathji (Krishna) is a classic depiction of the entire Raaslila, in a well defined stylistic format.
Moving up north is a selection of Chamba rumals from Himachal. The circular design of neat stitches showing gopis dancing around Krishna is done with painstaking neatness. The contrasting display of 'Bhuta' sculptures from Karnataka and puppets painted on parchment, from Andhra, that can be manipulated with sticks, is fun for those with dexterous hands.
In short, there is some takeaway for every visitor that will remind them of the very roots of Indian aesthetics.
