The tribal art that's making waves in India and has gone global

Entrepreneur couple Divya Srivastava and Ashish Singh Patel are committed towards uplifting tribal art from Chattisgarh and introduce it in markets across India and abroad. Currently in Goa to tap the local market, the art works displayed by the couple at the CAI expo caught the fancy of Goans and were much appreciated

BHARATI PAWASKAR | DECEMBER 11, 2017, 03:45 AM IST
The tribal art that's making waves in India and has gone global

 

 

It's simple, intricate and beautiful. Entirely handcrafted out of scrap, waste, discarded throw-away iron pieces, this unique traditional tribal art from Bastar has earned a special place in art décor in the homes of the elite and hence a stall of this wrought iron home décor and utility products - Chinhhari Arts - finds a prominent place, attracting visitors at the on-going CAI Expo (Construction, Architecture, Interior Expo) 2017 at Shyamaprasad Mukherjee Stadium at Dona Paula.
"Chinhhari Arts is about promotion, modification and commercialisation of tribal art from Chattisgarh which includes wrought iron artefacts, bell metal Dhokra and Terracotta. The designs are unlimited because these art forms have less exposure and no commercial angle. Since the next generation of tribal artists are not keen in embracing their traditional forms, the art is in danger of getting extinct. We, at Chinhhari Arts, are committed to preserve this unique art form and offer it the required exposure and market. The word Chinhhari means a token or a symbol in our language, Chattisgarhi," states Ashish Singh Patel who mentions that almost a third of the population of Chattisgarh is tribal.
Carved out of the state of Madhya Pradesh and spanning an area of 1,35,194 sq kilometres that embraces 16 districts, Chattisgarh, a newly declared state in central India that celebrated 17th anniversary on November 1, this year, is known for its sizable tribal population. With agriculture as the main occupation of the 80 per cent of the population, Chattisgarh, the ‘rice bowl of India', has many races and tribes - Banias, Gonds, Madia, Dhruvas, Bhatras, Halbas which have made forests their home.
Reverberating life in the lap of nature, these ethnic groups celebrate the festivals with music, dance and liquour, the tribal community has weaved art into their living, handcrafting objects of utility which now have earned aesthetic value in outer world. The wrought iron pieces showcase forms of humans and nature - birds, animals, flowers and fauna.
"Art does not need sympathy, once exposed it is capable enough to attract people," says Ashish, a BE in Electronics, who worked with BALCO for eight years before joining his wife Divya Srivastava to promote the local tribal art and finding a global market for it. Their firm Chinhhari Arts is looking forward to commercialisation of products by marketing it to a larger audience and modifying the products and the art forms, according to market demand so that the artists as well as art get what they rightly deserve.
"There are items of utility and decorative value, human forms, bird and animal figures, candle stands, pen/newspaper/card holders, lanterns, masks, token gifts, wall hangings, photo and mirror frames and more," mentions Ashish who is vocal about the positive response from the visitors at CAI expo. "People fall in love with the artefacts but they do try to bargain and bring down the price," he adds. While it is affordable to offer some discount at the exhibition sales, the price goes little high when ordered online, he admits.
The bell metal or Dhokra is one of the earliest known methods of metal casting, and perhaps the only living tradition of metal image making in eastern India. The technique has managed to survive many centuries in the tribal traditions of Bastar, Chattisgarh, inhabited by more than 10,000 traditional tribes. The entire artwork of metal casting is done by hand. The cutting, twisting, moulding and fixing is done by ancient methods of casting. The craftsmen used to create only traditional items but now with the intervention of people like Ashish and Divya, newer product range has been added as a market is created for these.
While it was Divya who took the initiative to venture into this concept after her electronics engineering and then MBA in marketing in 2010, Ashish joined her in 2014. "We both passed out in the same year, 2006, from Bhilai and were keen on generating jobs for the people in Chattisgarh then opting for continuing in our own jobs. As this is the most popular art form from our land, we thought of creating a market for it. The traditional art was on the verge of dying and those who are expert in it were deviating from it," shares Ashish.
Chinhhari Arts has had exhibitions in Delhi, Mumbai, Odisha Goa and very recently in Greece. In September 2017, Chinhhari Arts exhibition in Greece saw lot of admirers. Encouraged by the positive response in foreign land, the couple is trying to promote the art in other countries too. The products are sold online too through their website, Flip cart and Amazon.

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