Living in harmony with nature: Reflections on Warli and Madhubani traditions by artist Sandhya Arvind – Maharashtra, Gujarat and Bihar

HARSHINI VAKKALANKA, The Hindu, November 4, 2013 | Read the full article here >>

It is as though a piece of their world has been brought onto the walls, mounted onto wooden boards to be taken away to the homes of people whose lives are so vastly different from those in the Warli and Madhubani regions of Maharashtra-Gujarat and Bihar, respectively.

And Sandhya Arvind, almost lives in their world through these little pieces that she paints, whose imagery, she says, is constantly running through her mind. […]

“I grew up watching my mother paint murals in my village, especially during festivals,” says the Vadodara-based artist. “I have been drawn to these ethnic art forms, which I have been painting since childhood.”

Sandhya’s paintings reflect the traditional themes of these art forms: nature, celebration, and the way of life in the Warli paintings, as well as scenes from Indian mythology in the Madhubani paintings.

“The Warli paintings reflect the rustic lives of the people in the region. They live with their animals, they live in harmony with nature, even with wild animals and give equal importance to its every aspect, even depicting snakes and ants in their paintings,” explains Sandhya who has been exhibiting her work for over 30 years. […]

“You will see that the Warli people are happy, even while working.” She also paints their festivities, depicting their gods or goddesses in all their splendour or their wedding rituals. […]

Unlike the Warli paintings, points out Sandhya, no space is left blank in the vibrant Madhubani pantings, every inch is filled with decorative motifs, mainly elements from nature.

“When I paint, I place the figures first and then add in the elements from nature whether it is flowers or animal figures. From this I pick a motif to decorate the border, which is integral to the Madhubani painting,” she explains.[…]

Source: Art, love and life – The Hindu
Address : http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/art-love-and-life/article5310368.ece
Date Visited: Wed Nov 26 2014 18:20:45 GMT+0100 (CET)

Melvyn Reggie Thomas, TNN | Jun 3, 2014

SURAT: The ancient Warli paintings that decorate the walls of tribal huts in the villages of south Gujarat and Maharashtra would now adorn T-shirts and shirts too.

A group of artisans from Warli tribe in Mandvi has started experimenting the art on clothes, mainly T-shirts and shirts. They intend to sell them to corporate houses in south Gujarat.

District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) is training around 30 tribal women in making the paintings on clothes.

While there are no records on its exact origin, its roots may be traced to as early as the 10th century AD. Warli is a vivid expression of social events of Warli tribe of Maharashtra and south Gujarat. The tribe members embellish the walls of their village houses with Warli painting. They depict scenes of human figures engaged in hunting, dancing, sowing and harvesting. It is believed that these paintings invoke the powers of the Gods. […]

Source: Warli paintings go from walls to T-shirts – The Times of India
Address : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/surat/Warli-paintings-go-from-walls-to-T-shirts/articleshow/35988560.cms
Date Visited: Tue Feb 03 2015 12:12:28 GMT+0100 (CET)

[Bold typeface added above for emphasis]

The Warlis or Varlis are an indigenous tribe or Adivasis, living in mountainous as well as coastal areas of Maharashtra-Gujarat border and surrounding areas. They have their own animistic beliefs, life, customs and traditions, as a result of acculturation they have adopted many Hindu beliefs. The Warlis speak an unwritten Varli language which belong to the southern zone of the Indo-Aryan languages.^[1] and the union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. […]

Tribal Cultural Intellectual Property

Warli Art is cultural intellectual property of the tribal community. Today, there is an urgent need for preserving this traditional knowledge in tribal communities across the globe. Understanding the need for intellectual property rights, tribal non-profit Organisation “Adivasi Yuva Seva Sangh” initiated efforts to start a registration process in 2011. Now, Warli Painting is registered with a Geographical Indication under the intellectual property rights act. With the use of technology & the concept of social entrepreneurship, Tribals established the Warli Art Foundation, a non-profit company dedicated to Warli art and related activities.

Source: Warli – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Address : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warli
Date Visited: Mon Feb 02 2015 19:36:37 GMT+0100 (CET)

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