Dastkari Haat Samiti
Dastkari Haat Samiti
Gond Pradhans and Their Art
India’s tribal communities make up 8.6% of its population, of which the Gonds are only a little over 9 million out of 104 million. The Gond Pardhans, only a little over 20 thousand in number, live in central India in an area earlier known as Gondwana. A remarkable group of artists from this community show how cultural traditions from an indiscernible past can recreate themselves many millennia later through a contemporary art form that represents their unique identity.
Crafts Maps of India - Madhya Pradesh - Back (1993-2010) by Anand Singh Shyam, Kala Bai ShyamDastkari Haat Samiti
It is as if the artists have travelled backwards through incredible distances in space and time to create an art that is now uniquely Gond, uniquely Indian while also finding a place of respect in international art spaces.
Just consider that human migrations that took place 70,000 years ago bind the ‘very long-ago people’ of Africa, Australia and Asia. Known as Adivasis (indigenous peoples) in India, and Aborigines in Australia, their story telling, music and other cultural traditions originate in times so long ago that they disappear into mist.
Painting of Dighna Art (2009) by Deepa ShyamDastkari Haat Samiti
Women in many regions of India customarily practice the art of decorating in relief or painting the floors and walls of their homes.
It is ritual, creativity and celebration rolled into one.
Gond Art: Photo showing Gond house decorations (2017)Dastkari Haat Samiti
Gond women call this dighna and chowka. The patterns are bold, geometric, and stark in their natural pigment colours, usually of black, deep red, white and ochre.
Bharat Bhavan
Bharat Bhavan, a Museum establishment in Bhopal was where Gond art, as we recognise it today, was given its first opportunity to establish itself. It happened at a meeting between the Director at that time, J Swaminathan, and a young Jangarh Shyam, whose talent he recognised and promoted. Today, Bharat Bhavan is like a place of pilgrimage for Gond Pardhan artists.
Gond Art: Bharat Bhavan (2017)Dastkari Haat Samiti
Bharat Bhavan, a Museum establishment in Bhopal was where Gond art, as we recognise it today, was given its first opportunity to establish itself.
Gond Art: Bharat Bhavan (2017)Dastkari Haat Samiti
It happened at a meeting between the Director at that time, J Swaminathan, and a young Jangarh Shyam, whose talent he recognised and promoted.
Gond Art: Tree at Bharat Bhavan (2017)Dastkari Haat Samiti
Today, Bharat Bhavan is like a place of pilgrimage for Gond Pardhan artists.
Gond Art: Artwork for Crafts Map of Madhya Pradesh (1995) by Jangarh Singh ShyamDastkari Haat Samiti
Jangarh Singh Shyam
The jump from a simple domestic art form to the sophisticated
expressions of Gond art today is an incredible story of success. That of
excellence, unique creative vision, recognition and opportunity at the
right time, and even the tragic death of Gond Pardhan artist Jangarh
Singh Shyam (1962 -2001). These gave rise to inspiration and aspiration
among young Gonds who wanted to walk down his chosen path to
recognition.
Jangarh Singh Shyam, the prolific Gond artist flourished at Bharat Bhavan.
The exposure provided by Bharat Bhavan opened up a new perspective for the young artist.
These perspectives reflected in his work.
Gond Art: Artwork for Crafts Map of Madhya Pradesh (2000) by Jangarh Singh ShyamDastkari Haat Samiti
The artist, Jangarh Singh Shyam moved from his tribal village to the city of Bhopal.
Gond Art: Artwork for Crafts Map of Madhya Pradesh (2000) by Jangarh Singh ShyamDastkari Haat Samiti
His works combined the expressions of his magical and forest worlds.
Gond Art: Artwork for Crafts Map of Madhya Pradesh (2000) by Jangarh Singh ShyamDastkari Haat Samiti
The magical and forest worlds he created were interpretations of what he saw and experienced outside.
Bhajju Shyam's Embellishment at Bharat Bhavan
Gond Art is a story of how contemporary art emerges from ancient cultural wellsprings making it a shared community tradition within a few decades. Bhajju Shyam has contributed to the embellishment of Bharat Bhavan and Manav Sangrahalaya by combining dighna and chowkha patterns a symbol of his community to honour the very beginnings of their art in rural homes.
Gond Art: Bhajju Shyam with his mural at Manav Sangrahalaya (2017) by Bhajju ShyamDastkari Haat Samiti
Bhajju Shyam contributed to the embellishment of Bharat Bhavan and Manav Sangrahalaya by combining dighna and chowkha patterns.
Gond Art: Bhajju Shyam's mural at Manav Sangrahalaya (2009) by Bhajju ShyamDastkari Haat Samiti
The dighna and chowkha patterns were made to honour the very beginnings of Gond art which was done in rural homes.
Gond Art: Bharat Bhavan (2014) by Bhajju ShyamDastkari Haat Samiti
Bhajju Shyam's Bharat Bhavan
The Gond community were kings and rulers, forest dwellers and
agriculturists, but the Pardhans among them were the bards, singers,
musicians and story tellers who kept alive their cultural histories,
full of spirits, gods, legends and myths. Their beliefs are animistic in
nature. They differentiate these from the Vedas by calling the system
La-ved.
Their primary deity is Bada Deo who created the first humans, rather like Adam and Eve, called Naga Baiga and Naga Baigin.
In one mythological tale, Naga Baigin clad her entire body in tattoos to hide her nakedness.
From this came the intricate tattoo-like geometric patterns represented by dots, dashes and other elaborations that become tinier, finer, more defined and intricate as the skill of the artist develops.
Gond Art: Bharat Bhavan (2014) by Bhajju ShyamDastkari Haat Samiti
In his painting of Bharat Bhavan he paid tribute to J. Swaminathan, the first promoter of Gond art, and his hallowed Bharat Bhavan, which nurtured and gave succour to its artists.
Gond Art: Detail of Bharat Bhavan (2014) by Bhajju ShyamDastkari Haat Samiti
Like a giant tree in whose branches multifarious creatures shelter and thrive, the institution became home to many talents.
Gond Art: Detail of Bharat Bhavan (2014) by Bhajju ShyamDastkari Haat Samiti
Visitors came from far and near.
Gond Art: Detail of Bharat Bhavan (2014) by Bhajju ShyamDastkari Haat Samiti
Artists of all sorts flourished.
Gond Art: Detail of Bharat Bhavan (2014) by Bhajju ShyamDastkari Haat Samiti
Performers of all sorts flourished
Gond Art: Detail of Bharat Bhavan (2014) by Bhajju ShyamDastkari Haat Samiti
But inevitably, politics and competitive interests also came into play.
Gond Art: Detail of Bharat Bhavan (2014) by Bhajju ShyamDastkari Haat Samiti
The worm bore through the fruit...
Gond Art: Detail of Bharat Bhavan (2014) by Bhajju ShyamDastkari Haat Samiti
The crocodile snapped at the very branches of the tree that gave it shade.
Bhajju Shyam has imparted significance and several layers of meaning into this artwork of the place that gave birth to Gond art as we know it today.
Gond Art: Painting of Dighna Art (2017) by Bhajju ShyamDastkari Haat Samiti
Read more about Gond Painting here:
- Bhajju Shyam
- Stories and Signature
Text: Aloka Hiremath and Jaya Jaitly
Photography: Suleiman Merchant
Artisans: Bhajju Shyam, Deepa Shyam, Roshni Vayam, Dhavat Uike, Suresh Dhurve
Ground Facilitator: Aloka Hiremath
Curation: Ruchira Verma
