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With a view to generating public interest in its displays, this new exhibition at the Museum seeks to inspire local interest in ancient Indian artistic styles by adding a whole new dimension story-telling! Traditional craftsman and artists will be narrating stories from Hindu mythology, and from the folk tales of various Indian cultures. These stories are also depicted in paintings at the gallery, which the narrators will point out during the exhibition.
Tree of Life: Featuring in paintings as well as a sculpture in the exhibition, The Tree of Life is a reference to the Mahwa or Mahua tree, not the Banyan or the Peepal tree, as you may imagine. In areas like Chattisgarh, weddings take place around this religiously significant tree. For the tribals the tree is a symbol of survival and sustenance, since every part of it is employed in some aspect of their daily life.
Telling-tales: Assistant curator Prasanna Mangrulkar took us through the exhibition explaining that curator, Sofia Karanjia may have chosen Durga statues and sculptures depicting Navratri to echo the spirit of the festive season. But as Mangrulkar points out, works on display also have stories featuring Krishna, Vishnu's avatars and paintings that depict the life of Pabuji, in a form of art that is considered sacred in Rajasthan.
Meet Rajasthan's hero: "So revered is the Rajasthani hero Pabuji," explains Mangrulkar, "that among the Bhopa community of Rajasthan, these paintings that depict the adventures of the 14th century hero, are sacrosanct." Mangrulkar tells us that should such a painting be ruined, "it can only be disposed off into the sea, like you would dispose prashad or flowers from a temple."
Pabuji Rathor, predictably a Rajput prince, has been depicted in what is called a, "phad" painting at the exhibition. Such paintings are often used in dance-performances by members of the Bhopa community, and may also revolve around the stories of Devnarayan, who is believed to be an incarnation of Vishnu.
The devil lives happily ever after too: Brightly-coloured Gond paintings displayed near the entrance of the gallery relate the story of "Kallu and Kalka". This tale, out of Madhya Pradesh's folklore revolves around the encounter between a farmer named Kallu and the devil Kalka. According to the tale, posted beside the art-work, Kalka falls in love with the farmer's beautiful daughter Dulari but interestingly, he does not run off with the girl. Instead, the charming devil decides to score points with Dular's father by helping him with daily chores like wood-collecting. Eventually the farmer approves of the devil and actually consents to the marriage. Legend has it that the couple is happily-married.
Painted poetry: Verses from Sant Jaideva's, "Geet-Govinda," believed to have been written in the 12th century, can be seen in one of the creations on display. And Bengali poet, Bijoy Gupto's Padma Purana, which was believed to have been composed in the 15th century is also here. While "Geet-Govinda" relates the story of Radha and Krishna, "Padma-Purana" featuring in a Patua painting at the exhibition, revolves around the victory of the Goddess Manasa, a part-human-part-snake-deity who is connected with the Earth and worshipped primarily in the East and South of India.
At: The Curator's Gallery, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, MG Road, Fort. Till October 22, from 10.15 am to 6 pm. Call: 22844484 / 22844519
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Prasanna Mangrulkar takes us through various painting styles. PICS/Anjana vaswani;
(Right) A Geet Govinda painting |
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