THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Thiruvananthapuram International Airport has geared up to observe the 75th Independence Day uniquely. The airport authorities in collaboration with ‘Craftroots’ -- a group that promotes the empowerment of artists -- are organising a 10-day passenger engagement event ‘Hastkala’ till August 16.
The event will focus on two traditional art forms -- Mata Ni Pachedi and Warli painting. Mata Ni Pachedi (Behind the mother goddess) is also referred to the Gujarati version of Kalamkari due to its resemblance to the South Indian painting technique and usage of a similar bamboo brush (kalam).
“When the Gujarati Vaghari nomadic community, who worship Mata, were forbidden from entering temples, they constructed their own temples using images of the Mother Goddess (Mata) drawn on cloth.
‘Warli’ is an ancient kind of Indian folk art that originated in Maharashtra’s Warli region. Geometric shapes like circles, triangles, and squares are primarily used in this style of the tribal art to create a variety of designs that represent the Warli tribe’s way of life and beliefs.
Warli art was once painted on walls for significant occasions.The painting will be applied over a brown background that was essentially made of cow dung cakes and mud. A mixture of rice, water, and gum was used as the white pigment to draw forms and figures. A spiral chain of people revolving around a single centre motif is one of the most well-liked themes in Warli art.The central motif is the square in each ritual painting. This is known as ‘chauk’ or ‘chaukat’. Passengers can watch the artforms live at the Hastkala platform in the departure area of the international terminal (T2).