This story is from May 14, 2020

Ranchi: Hazaribag’s iconic Sohrai tribal art gets GI tag

Ranchi: Hazaribag’s iconic Sohrai tribal art gets GI tag
Kohvar (koh means cave and var depicts a couple getting married) is generally associated with marriages, whereas Sohrai celebrates harvest and fertility
RANCHI: Jharkhand on Tuesday received the Geographical Indication (GI) tag for the iconic Sohrai-Kohvar art form from the Geographical Indications Registry headquarters in Chennai. Mainly practiced by tribal women of remote villages in Barkagaon block in Hazaribag district, these traditional and ritualistic paintings, made with only naturally available soils of different colours in the area, adorn adivasi homes made of mud or brick.

A GI tag is a symbol used on products that have a specific geographical location and possess qualities unique to that place of origin. With this status, no state or country can lay claim over the origin of Sohrai-Kohvar art. The recognition, a first for any product from the state, will help 360 tribals showcase this 5,700-year-old art form on national and international platforms and boost their income
Tribal women generally use Sohrai-Kohvar technique to decorate the walls of their homes during harvest and marriage season. Kohvar (koh means cave and var depicts a couple getting married) is generally associated with marriages, whereas Sohrai celebrates harvest and fertility.
Ranendra Kumar, director of Tribal Research Institute in Ranchi, said, “It is a matter of great pride for the entire state and art aficionados that the traditional painting form has been granted a GI tag. The art form may be more aptly called folk painting rather that a tribal art form. The recognition will give economic and social boost to Sohrai-Kohvar experts.”
Hazaribag DC Bhuvanesh Pratap Singh said he expects a surge in the number of tourists and students to Hazaribag once after the lockdown is lifted. “Art enthusiasts will visit the district, particularly areas where these paintings are made, to learn the unique technique. The recognition will have a great impact on the income and social status of tribals engaged in the practice.”
The recognition is the result of two years of hard work. In 2018, the then DC Ravi Shankar Shukla collaborated with Satyadeep Singh, a professor at National Law School of India University (NLSIU) in Bengaluru, to pursue a GI tag for the dying art form.

Sohrai Kala Mahila Vikas Sahyog Samiti Limited, a cooperative of the artists practicing this art form, said, made an official application for it in August 2019. While processing GI tag applications usually take five to six years, but the managed to get the recognition in just nine months.
Samiti member Alka Imam “We are happy to get the tag. We are grateful to Shuklaji and Satyadeep sir for the legal and administrative help. It will give the artists much-needed exposure and increase the demand for our paintings.”
Currently posted as the DC of East Singhbhum, Shukla said, “It gives me immense pleasure that Sohrai-Kohvar paintings have got the GI tag. It will help the area socially and economically.” Shukla and Singh are now working on getting a GI tag for Paitkar, another art form with its origin in East Singhbhum.
In the neighbouring states, the status had earlier been accorded to Darjeeling Tea, Madhubani paintings. In 2017, Bengal got the tag for Rosogolla after a long battle with Odisha.
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