National tribal artists camp in Dehradun draws large number of art lovers

NEW DELHI: Uttam Parchane, an eminent artist and sculptor, who heads the Lalit Kala Akademi, India's premier arts organization, was a bit skeptical about the success of an exclusive tribal artist camp in Uttarakhand, but as things moved on, he was the greatest support to the idea and finally the camp proved to be a trailblazer.
Lalit Kala Akedemi and Dehradun-based tribal school, Information Technology Institute for the Tribes of India (ITITI) jointly organised a unique 'National Artists Camp' from June 1 to 7.The participants included internationally renowned tribal artists like Venkat Shyam Singh - Gond style, Hiraman Urvati, Sunil Kharpade and Kishor Sadashiv Mhase - Warli art masters, Subir Rayal - Kalamkari style, Raj Kumar Deena, Dayanithi M, and D Deendayalan from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, Satish Kujur from Jharkhand - Sohrai (wall paintings of Jharkhand are traditionally known as Sohrai, one of the oldest art forms of wall painting, this tribal art has ... and styles once used to create rock arts in the region).
Avinash Karn came from Bihar, who is a renowned master in Madhubani style of art. He created an amalgamation of the old Madhubani and the modern theme of a father with his kids flying balloons.

The best part was the fusion of modern realist art by Uttarakhand's famous artists like Monica Talukdar and Anjali Thapa, who brought their canvasses and created marvelous Garhwal and 'Mother Nature' (like Gaura Devi's Chipko) paintings.

Warli artist Mhase said that he paints for nature's balance as human greed is eating away the vitals of the Mother Earth - his paintings depict honey bees going to "PavasDev" (god of the rains) and bringing back the clouds of rain as humans had been failing to please him. Similarly, Venkat Shyam Singh's paintings show how urban city dwellers cut all the trees, make rivers and canals vanish and live their lives luxuriously, which is suffocating and anti-environment.

Local artists joined the camp in large numbers, as Sadhna Jairaj, an artist, who had been painting birds and wildlife so far, learned to draw warli lines beautifully, and Vandana Bisht began her journey into the realm of art with the help of tribal artists. It was great fun, a week of learning as Monica Talukdar said: "We have to learn from these pure-hearted adivasi artists who have earth, animals, birds balancing their lives with humans in a happy way that helps grow enough food to fulfill the requirements but the modern urban city dwellers follow their insatiable greed.

Tarun Vijay, a former MP, and a passionate art promoter was the person who made this fabulous camp possible. From Lalit Kala Akademi, Himanshu Dabral and Nawal Kishor came as conveyors and Uttarakhand's cultural department's Beena Bhatt provided the local support.