Raining patterns

Making a painting has always been a means for artists tosplash more than paint onto the canvas; a painting is like a doorway into theartist’s ‘being’, into his ideas, his knowledge and his feelings. And when onelets the paints speak, one would hear them gently unravel a story. This is justwhat happens when one gazes at the 25 Gond Art paintings on display at GalleryGitanjali in Fontainhas, Panjim.

“The Gond is a large tribe in Madhya Pradesh and thePradhans among them are the ones who paint,” says Padmajaa Srivastava, architectand Gond Art promoter at ‘Tree of Life’ – which is what the painting exhibitionis named.

The ancestors of these present-day Gond artists were prieststo the Gond kings at one time. They were responsible for perpetuating thestories of the kings from one generation to the next. This was done in the formof songs. With the conquest of the British and the subsequent downfall of thekings, the storytellers were left in the lurch and thus took to farming.

While the bright vibrant colours wash over you, you wouldnotice the other aspect that lends these paintings their uniqueness – filledwithin the outlines of the painted figures of peacocks, birds, trees, cowswhich make up the subjects of these paintings – you will notice the replicationof a motif or a geometric pattern. This pattern – a signature of the artist whomade the painting – could be dots, dashes, or “markings inspired by thingsfound in daily life, like the hexagon of a bee hive, the pattern of a paddyfield, the concentric circles of a cross-section of a lemon, the cracks in theearth, etc,” says Srivastava. This pattern forms the essence of the painting.

Originally, Gond paintings were made only on walls andfloors and they told stories. Coloured clay was used for the same. Thepaintings were called digna and bhittichitra. The paintings reflected theconnection of the people with nature and also signified important events suchas festivals, change of seasons, marriages, etc.

Gond paintings and their style were made known to the worldby the late Jangarh Shyam Singh, who at 17, was discovered by the late painter,J Swaminathan. “The young man was brought to Bhopal where he further developedthis art form which then came to be known as the Janghar Kalam. Janghar Kalamhas today gained national and international acclaim,” says Srivastava.

As patterns and nature get together in a seamless dance onthe canvas, one cannot help but feel gravitated to participate – such is the allureof these Gond paintings.