‘Bagha Natcha (Tiger Dance)’, celebrated in the Ganjam and Subarnapur districts of Odisha, involves men from the local villages who paint their bodies in yellow and black stripes to perform the famous dance. Coming from a family of such dancers, teacher, artist, and photographer Kannu Behera, decided to showcase this famous tradition of his village at the heart of Delhi.
“I grew up watching my family members perform the tiger dance in multiple celebrations. I myself took part in that a lot of times. But my life took a different turn when I moved to Delhi, a metropolis, from my village. My purpose in life, my education, everything pushed my life to a different corner. Through my exhibition, I wanted to pay tribute to those days and the festivals that used to be most significant in my life,” says the artist.
Starting from September 19 at the Open Palm Court Gallery in the India Habitat Centre, this exhibition includes paintings, photography, and prints. Using oil on acrylic and watercolours, Behera has tried to portray raw emotions performers feel while enacting ‘Bagha Nata’.
“Tiger dance is rooted in our religious celebrations. In our village, when someone from the family gets sick, the other family members pray to the local god that they will perform the tiger dance. Once the family member recovers, the dance promise has to be kept. As an insider, I have witnessed the entire process. When someone performs, what kind of posture he holds, what angle he creates. What expressions he gives. Hence, in my paintings, I have tried to replicate it all. I want to make the tiger dance popular not only in India but also in the whole world. This is a small attempt,” says Behera.
Life in art
Growing up in the Ganjam district, Behera found his early inspiration in art during his school days. It was his father who used to make Ganesha idols in local festivals. Little Behara began by making small idols. “When my father would begin to make Ganesha idols, I used to keep a little amount of clay for myself so that I could start making small Ganeshas. Later, under the guidance of my teacher, Baccha Sahoo ji, I started making paintings of deities, festivals, and others,” the artist adds.
The seeds sown in these early days, became mature in Behera’s college days. During this time, the artist heard about Delhi’s art colleges and about the city’s art and craft culture. “I was a student of Govt College of Art & Crafts, Kallikote in Ganjam, where my teacher, Bipin Bihari Marth, spoke about Delhi. From him, I came to know that Delhi has many art galleries and a lot of exhibitions take place here. I became interested and wanted to pursue my luck in Delhi. After a lot of obstacles--financial problems--I made it to Khairagarh University in Ghaziabad, and from there, my life started taking a different direction. My exhibitions were hosted in cities like Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and many others. Delhi offered me the exposure that I was looking for,” he adds.
The exhibition programme
As the exhibition is set to be unveiled next week, the artist has high expectations from his audience. He wants more and more people to connect with his paintings so that he can introduce them to his culture. “The exhibition not only has paintings, but also includes photography and woodcut prints. On September 21, a tiger dancer will come and perform. On September 23, there’s a lecture by Dilip Kumar Tripathi, a scholar on this subject,” says Behera.
The primary focus of the exhibition, he underlines, will be on one picture, which the artist refers to as the main attraction of the exhibition. “Here, a person performs a tiger dance, and everyone gets scared. They watch the performance with timid yet enthusiastic eyes. I have followed pattern painting in creating the artwork, and I hope people will like it,” he says in conclusion.