CHENNAI: Traditional artists from Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala, West Bengal, Odisha and Nilgiris went around the courtyard of DakshinaChitra for the Tribal, Folk and Traditional Art Conclave, organised by Lalit Kala Academy and DakshinaChitra.
Krishnan R sat in front of a three foot by four foot canvas, painting green leaves on the branches of a tree in a Kurumba painting. The scene depicted an ancestral shrine under a peepal tree. “We are from the Nilgiris, Kurumba painting is my family’s occupation. We have been doing this for over 300 years,” he said. Kurumba art is a 3,000-year-old style of art followed by the tribals of Nilgiris. They use barks of trees and powdered flowers to make the paint, which lightly stains the canvas.
Kalamkari artisans, Lakshminarayananan K and P Praveen, were painting floral patterns on a thick cloth with a bamboo twig. “The base of the twig fans out after being dipped into the paint, like a paintbrush,” said Praveen. After the design is sketched, colour is added in turns, between which the cloth is washed after addition of every colour. “It embeds the colour more permanently,” said Lakshminarayanan.
A few feet away from them, Dhanalakota Vinay Kumar sat in front of another painting which depicted a maiden in the forest. In contrast to the red background, the maiden and her handmaids were painted in bright yellow acrylic paint and the animals in the forest in green and blue paint. “My family is one of the last surviving ones to know the art of Cheriyal painting. The art originated from Krishnadevaraya’s kingdom,” he said. Most paintings in the art form have red backgrounds to bring out the vibrant colours of the painting.
Across the hall, Venkatramana, a thole bommal artist, sat puncturing holes in a piece of goat leather. “Many villages around Andhra Pradesh use shadow puppets to tell stories on a screen. We use goat leather because it is translucent,” he said.
Painting styles like Pattachitra, Tanjore, Kerala mural, Saura art and Warli are on display till November 20.
For details, call Gita Hudson, coordinator at 9841266149/ 9841011785