A multilayered cultural soirée
One among the seven sisters, the state of Meghalaya is endowed with rolling hills, expansive greenery, incomparable traditions, as well as a rich artisans’ community. In order to display the appeal of the aforementioned scenic and cultural qualities and promote multi-facets of this north-eastern state, the Meghalaya Age: The Store at Rajiv Gandhi Handicrafts Bhawan, Connaught Place, has been organising a number of events. ‘Maniani’—it commenced on Friday afternoon—is one such event that featured the arts and crafts, film, and food of the Garo Tribe of Meghalaya. Named after the Garo word for celebration, the one-day cultural event brought together Meghalaya-based ceramic artist Arak Sangma and multi-disciplinary artist Christine G Momin for demonstrations of their distinct art forms.
Of heritage and crafts
When we visited the store on Friday, we saw that it was decorated with works created by the two artists. “We are trying to add more value to the crafts sector of Meghalaya. To revive and conserve the heritage crafts of the state, it is important to work with the artisans and bring in their stories,” shared Rida Gamphoh, the founder of Meghalaya-based handcrafted products venture Dak_ti Craft, who was also responsible for organising the event. She added, “The place we come from is very remote and this culture is barely highlighted. This way we can bring this [culture] to the global market and also get people to experience the beauty of our state.”
figurine | TANMAY SHARMA
Keeping traditions alive
The event—it took place at the first floor lounge of the store—commenced with Momin’s explanation and demonstration of her terracotta work. The multi-disciplinary artist has too many feathers in her cap—she sculpts with terracotta clay, is a bonsai artist, and a textile designer. Momin crafts jewellery and daily utility products such as water carriers and hanging lamps using terracotta. However, her forte is in crafting these products in her signature shape of a bottle gourd. “The gourd is one of the most common vegetables in the Garo hills. Earlier, these natural gourds were used for important daily activities such as fetching and storing water, and serving rice wine,” explained Momin. The artist’s demonstration comprised a video that presented how she works at her studio in Garo hills as well as a live demonstration of her craft. Speaking to us about why she started making these bottle gourd-shaped terracotta pieces, Momin shared, “Nowadays, the vegetable is not as common as it was earlier. So when I first started crafting with terracotta, I instinctively made a bottle gourd. At that time, I felt a huge sense of relief that even though the vegetable is not grown anymore, I can still keep its tradition alive through my works.”
Sakshi Khanna and Prachi Aggarwal, third year-fashion designing students from Pearl Academy, who were present at the demonstration, shared how they were excited to know about the Meghalayan culture and encourage local artisans. Aggarwal added, “I loved how she [Momin] talked about her personal experiences, and how she is trying to stay in touch with her culture. In this fast globalising world, it is not that easy. I found her pretty cool.”
Similarly, Arak also demonstrated terracotta sculptures that were inspired by his childhood memories of crafting jackfruit leaf figurines of bulls. During the presentation, he taught the viewers how to make these bull figurines both out of jackfruit leaves as well as terracotta clay. “My friends and I would make these jackfruit leaf bulls, and I wanted to bring that memory into my artworks as well. Nowadays, children are also always engrossed in their phones. They barely look up and appreciate nature. With these, I also want to bring back the idea of simpler days,” shared Arak.
Space for stories
At ‘Maniani’, there was also a film screening of Garo-based director Dominic M Sangma’s film Ma. Ama along with a panel discussion on the film with film critic Saibal Chatterjee. This film follows the director’s relationship with his family and is both a personal journey as well as societal portrayal of the Garo family life. “I feel like being a Garo director with a film that has been screened at a number of festivals gives hope to a lot of emerging Garo youth to be able to dream. I always say that I don’t need to leave home to make a mark,” Dominic shared. Speaking of the importance of such events, Gamphoh concluded, “This is a space to tell their [Meghalayan community] stories. We plan to have events and activities such as these at the store every month. It will be an experience for the people of Delhi as well as tourists who visit the country to get to see the North East.”