Unseen, unheard, unparalleled Indian treasures!

Migration is a part of life. We move from one place to another in search of better opportunities. It can either shifting from your home town to a bigger city within India or even settling abroad. But wherever we go, we continue to remain true to our roots. We love to flaunt the rich and varied culture we come from. As a result, a number of traditional and tribal arts have not only found takers PAN-India but also reached out to a wider audience across the globe. No wonder, the whole world, from the length and breadth of India to western countries, European nations and the whole of Asia, is in awe of our cultural heritage.

Earlier, it was just the small tribes or communities living here that would strive to establish their identities but today when we are trotting the globe, we represent India as a whole and therefore, what we wear and how we live, everything becomes a glimpse of our great nation. This sense of responsibility, along with increasing fan-following of Indian designs, has further inspired our jewellery designers to explore our traditions, capture some of the rare, lesser known designs in their creations and present them to the world.

In this endeavour, some of our most revered and celebrated arts have been already roped in and still, there is no dearth of unseen, unheard and unparalleled designs. Let’s take a look at our folk arts that has all the trappings to grace jewellery designs and in this series, Madhubani paintings, also called Mithilia arts, tops the chart. 

Originated in the kingdom of Raja Janak (Mata Sita’s father in Ramayana) in Nepal and in present-day Bihar, Madhubani painting is mostly practised by women who want to be one with God. Characterised by geometric patterns, depicting Gods and Goddesses and flora and fauna, this art form wasn’t known to the outside world until it was discovered in a broken house after the 1930’s earthquake.  

Warli painting is another design galore that jewellery designers can explore. Coming from the Warli tribes from the Western Ghat of India, this art form is traced back to 2500 BCE. Mainly using circles, triangles and squares to form different shapes, it depicts everyday activities like fishing, hunting, festivals, dance, etc. Created on a red ochre or dark background, the design patters are white in colour and interestingly, the human shape is made of a circle and two triangles that bears out their creative brilliance.

Gond is another masterpiece left by our ancestors. Inspired by nature, the Gondi tribe in Madhya Pradesh created these bold, vibrantly coloured paintings, portraying mainly flora and fauna. Drawing colours from charcoal, cow dung, leaves and coloured soil, the Gond painting is made up of dots and lines. With the advent of acrylic paints, Jangarh Singh Shyam revived the Gond art in 1960s.

From down South, Tanjore or Thanjavur paintings, originated in 1600 AD, promoted by the Nayakas of Thanjavur, can be pictured into jewellery. Borrowing its styles from Maratha and Deccani art, as well as European styles, these panel paintings on wooden planks illustrate devotion to gods, goddesses and saints. As the artistes use gold foil, this painting glitters and exudes a surreal look.  

Literally meaning ‘drawings with a pen’, Kalamkari is another popular art that exists in two types – Machilipatnam from Machilipatnam and Srikalahasti from Chitoor, Andhra Pradesh. While the former refers to block-printed form of art, the latter is a free flowing art with a pen on fabric. Today, Kalamkari art is used on clothes and depicts anything from flora and fauna to epics such as Mahabharata or Ramayana.

Originated in present-day Telangana, Cheriyal scrolls is a dying art form that is practised by the Nakashi family only, where it has been passed down for many generations. Depicting puranas and epics, these 40-45 feet scrolls were an essential visual accompaniment as saints wandered around singing or narrating the epics. They resemble modern-day comic panels, with about 50 on each scroll. Using primary colours and a vivid imagination, they show a stark contrast from the traditional rigour of Tanjore or Mysore paintings. The tradition of long scrolls and Kalamkari art influenced the Cheriyal scrolls, a much more evolved version of Nakashi art.

Mysore painting is another form of a classical South Indian folk art, which evolved in the Mysore city of Karnataka. During that time, Mysore was under the reign of the Wodeyars and it was under their patronage that this school of painting reached the zenith of its popularity.

A recently discovered painting style, Kalighat paintings originated during the 19th century in Kalighat, Bengal. On cloth and pattas, at first depicted gods and goddesses, these paintings took a turn towards social reform at the time when upheaval against the British was a possible, exciting idea. Sought to raise awareness about social conditions amongst its viewers, rich zamindars were depicted drinking wine with women, while police and babus were shown being sloppy. With cheap paper and paint colours, squirrel hair brushes and colour pigments, the art was characterised by flawless strokes, brushwork and simple yet bold drawings.

A cloth-based scroll painting from Odisha and West Bengal, Patachitra paintings show sharp, angular bold lines depicting epics, gods and goddesses. Since it originated in the fifth century across the religious towns like Puri and Konark, around the same time when sculpturing began, there was no known distinction between an artist and a sculptor back then. Interestingly, the dressing style depicted in the paintings has a heavy influence of the Mughals that hints of their invasion.  

Originating in Rajasthan, Phad is mainly a religious form of scroll painting that illustrates native deities - Pabuji or Devnarayan. Characterised by vegetable colours and a running narrative of the lives and heroic deeds of deities, this art is essentially a 30 or 15 feet long canvas or cloth that it is painted on, is called Phad.

Distinguished by its miniature size but intricate details and acute expressions, miniature paintings originating around 16th century after the invasion of Mughals. Later, it was adopted by Rajputs and is now popularly practised in Rajasthan. Just like most other art forms, the paintings depict religious symbols and epics. These paintings stand out as humans are portrayed with large eyes, a pointed nose and a slim waist and men are always seen with a turban. But when the same art came to be practised in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir during the 17th to 19th century, it came to be knowns as Pahari painting.

Kangra painting is another pictorial art named after its place of origin Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, that can be adorn our jewellery line. With the fading of Basohli school of painting in mid-18th century, Kangra painting became prevalent and gained popularity of a kind that the Pahari painting school came to be known as Kangra paintings. One striking feature of Kangra paintings is the verdant greenery it depicts. While the style is naturalistic, the foliage illustrated is vast and varied. Using multiple shades of green, the Kangra paintings feature flowering plants and creepers, leafless trees, rivulets and brooks. Besides using light pink on the upper hills to indicate distance, Kangra paintings also depicted nocturnal scenes and storms and lightning. 

Cave paintings of India date back to the prehistoric times. The finest examples of these paintings comprise of the murals at Ajanta, Ellora, Bagh, Sittanavasal, etc., which emphasises on naturalism. Ancient cave paintings of India also serve as a window to our ancestors, who inhabited these caves.

A harmonious blend of Aryan, Dravidian and Tribal traditions, Kalam (Kalamezhuthu) is unique form of this art found in Kerala and is a ritualistic art practised in temples and sacred groves of Kerala where the representation of deities like Kali and Lord Ayyappa, are made on the floor. Neither Rangoli, Kolam etc., are new to our culture, nor is the tradition of drawing them at the entrance of homes and temples. In fact, it is part of the domestic routine in Hindu households, who consider it auspicious to draw certain patterns at the doorstep and courtyard to welcome a deity into the house.  

With a culture so rich and distinct, how our designers can ever run out of ideas.

Author: Deepa Mishra

Disclaimer: All images used in the blog have been sourced from Google purely for the purpose of informative reference. The models, celebrities or products showcased in these pictures are not to promote any brand in any manner.