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Tribal Art Workshop

A 3-day tribal art workshop from 12 to 14 April saw many participants including  children, faculty, staff, spouses, HR, interns and many students. Five children from Savitribai Phule Drawing Class [a creative space for marginalised children] also took part in the workshop. Participation from a diverse group made the space a vibrant energy. All participants got  hands-on-painting experience along with stories of the role of the art form in the Gond community, its cultural significance and history. Gond painting is a lively art form by the people from the Gond community, an indigenous tribe of central India.

Tribal artist Parvati Paraste gave a glimpse into her world. She displayed her artworks and the participants were mesmerised that each work had a story. The painting about the Wedding procession and Haldi Ceremony, each element in the picture depicted a ritual; the painting of the Chetak bird, which announces the arrival of monsoon; in one of the painting, the mother bird was surrounded by baby birds, with its head turned towards the sky, it’s beak open to receive the first rain drops. Some of the participants  had endless conversations with the artist, her husband and her little baby girl.

On 14 April, the last day of the workshop was Ambedkar Jayanthi and Parvatiji taught how to draw a portrait of Dr. B R Ambedkar in Gond style. Many children and students made portraits of Dr. Ambedkar.

The workshop idea came from Prof. Harjinder Singh (Laltu)  who gave constant support and motivation. Prof. Indranil Chakrabarty,  the whole Student Life team gave good support and made the workshop a great success.

Last but not the least, this workshop opened the eyes of all the participants to the world of the Gond community and how art is an integrated part of their life, rituals and culture. Art is a stress buster and we need to make art an integrated part of IIITH way of life.

Text and images contributed by Puja Chauhan.

April 2024