Ok.....this one is a piece on something that really, I mean really swept me off my feet. A few days back, I was browsing through Flipboard, and reading an article on Indian tribal/folk/indigenous art. A link led me to discover an independent publishing house based in Chennai, called Tara Books, founded by a lady named Gita Wolf. Now, what she does has been something I myself have been wanting to do since a long time, given my absolute love and fascination for Indian Folk Art. Not only does Tara Books bring to light amazing art works in the form of illustrated books by marginalized, little known tribal artists representing the various tribal art forms in India, like Madhubani, Gond, Warli, Kalamkari etc, it also employs local workers to turn these illustrated stories into handbound books!! Now that, I say, is sheer brilliance. I am so so impressed!!
It is amazing, rather so inspiring and heartening to see people giving a boost to this cottage industry that deals in indigenous art. And wait till you see the stunning works of these artists. Hailing from little villages, harboring an insularity that is the very source of their genius, and wielding brushes that produce intricate, detailed portraits and vignettes from our Hindu epics, oral stories and their bordered lives, these artists and their works are a joy to behold, as well as a testimony to the beauty and simplicity of these marginalized art forms.
Have a look at this video to appreciate the art of making handbound books:
http://www.tarabooks.com/about/media-gallery/
Also, the sheer beauty and resonance of some of the art works in the illustrated books left me spellbound.
"Alone in the Forest" by Gond artist Bhajju Shyam.
The Night Life of Trees: Gond art by Bhajju Shyam
"Gobble you up": Mandana traditional art by Sunita
The London Jungle Book: Gond art by Bhajju Shyam
Drawing from the city: Gond art by Tejubehan
Waterlife: Madhubani art by Rambharos Jha
Hope is a Girl selling Fruit: Madhubani art by Amrita Das
A long, long time ago, my art teacher, late Mr Venkat, had introduced me to Madhubani art. His descriptions about these slowly disappearing art forms had created a special interest in my mind. Although quite interested to pursue this art form by actually going to the Madhuban region of India, also referred to as Mithilanchal or Mithila, and finds mention in the great Indian Epic Ramayana, I have yet to see this cherished dream come true. But as is with things, when you desire something, you do stumble across ways to achieve it. That opportunity came my way through a fellow- Phd mate, now my best friend, Ajit Prakash, who happens to be from Darbhanga, which falls in the Madhubani District in Bihar, India. He too expressed an interest in this art form, as distant relatives of his have been doing this since a long time. We have plans of creating a startup to employ these little known artists, who are mostly women, and give them a better platform to not just give them a steady and decent source of income, but also make this art form more popular and appreciated. At the moment, we have created an e-commerce website that is called " Chitrankan, The Indian Art Store" (www.chitrankan.in). But the idea is still in it's inception, and may take a while to be on the floor as we are too busy to take time off from our PhDs to pursue this full time. But I'm glad it's happening finally.
