1.

Tanjore Art

Folk art is linked with the forgotten art of story telling. Paintings are
used to depict the visual counterpoint in narration in every region of
India. Art forms of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Bengal narrate the myths and
legends of local heroes and deities and construct a kaleidoscopic image
of our glorious past and rich cultural heritage. Each work is a complete
narration in itself, giving us a glimpse of the past, which has been kept
alive by talent and devotion of our artists.

'Religious paintings with a royal heritage' is the best definition for

Thanjavur paintings, now better known as Tanjore paintings. Tanjore
painting ranks among the greatest traditional art forms for which India is
noted worldwide. Their themes are fundamentally mythological. These
religious paintings demonstrate that spirituality is the essence of creative
work. Few art forms match the beauty and grace of Tanjore paintings.

Originating in Tanjavur about 300 kms from Chennai, this form of art
developed at the height of cultural evolvement achieved during the rule
of mighty Chola empire. The art form evolved and flourished under the
patronage of successive rulers. These magnificent paintings adorned the
royal dwellings and later found their way into every household.
An extraordinary visual amalgamation of both art and craft, Tanjore
paintings mainly consist of themes on Hindu gods and goddesses, with
figures of Lord Krishna in various poses and depicting various stages of
his life being the favourite. The characteristics of the Tanjore paintings
are their brilliant colour schemes, decorative jewellery with stones and
cut glasses and remarkable gold leaf work. The liberal use of gold leaf
and precious and semi-precious stones presents a splendid visual treat.
These give life to the pictures such that the pictures come alive in a
unique way. Adorned with rubies, diamonds and other precious
gemstones, and trimmed with gold foil, Tanjore paintings were true
treasures. Nowadays, however, semi-precious stones are used in place of
real ones, but the use of gold foil has not altered. The shine and glean on
the gold leaves used by the Tanjore style paintings, lasts forever.

2. Madhubani Painting
Madhubani painting, also referred to as Mithila Art (as it flourishes in
the Mithila region of Bihar), is characterized by line drawings filled in
by bright colours and contrasts or patterns. This style of painting has
been traditionally done by the women of the region, though today men
are also involved to meet the demand. These paintings are popular
because of their tribal motifs and use of bright earthy colours. These
paintings are done with mineral pigments prepared by the artists. The
work is done on freshly plastered or a mud wall. Trains of Japan and
Canada to be decorated with Bihar’s iconic Mithila Painting
 The ancient art form of Bihar has garnered fans wherever it reached.
And recently this art form got wheels of its own, literally. You might
have seen the trains that are adorned with Mithila paintings and
thanks to this, this art form has reached all around the country. But that’s
not it as Mithila paintings has found their fans abroad as well.
Impressed by the Mithila painting artwork on the Indian trains, the
government of Japan and Canada have requested the Indian
railways to provide them a set of Mithila artists who can decorate
their trains as well.

For commercial purposes, the work is now being done on paper, cloth,
canvas etc. Cotton wrapped around a bamboo stick forms the brush.
Black colour is obtained by mixing soot with cow dung; yellow from
turmeric or pollen or lime and the milk of banyan leaves; blue from
indigo; red from the kusam flower juice or red sandalwood; green from
the leaves of the wood apple tree; white from rice powder; orange from
palasha flowers. The colours are applied flat with no shading and no
empty space is left.

Figures from nature & mythology are adapted to suit their style. The
themes & designs widely painted are of Hindu deities such as Krishna,
Rama, Siva, Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Sun and Moon, Tulasi plant,
court scenes, wedding scenes, social happenings etc. Floral, animal and
bird motifs, geometrical designs are used to fill up all the gaps. The skill
is handed down the generations, and hence the traditional designs and
patterns are widely maintained.

In order to create a source of non-agricultural income, the All India

Handicrafts Board and the Government of India have been encouraging
the women artists to produce their traditional paintings on handmade
paper for commercial sale. Madhubani painting has become a primary
source of income for scores of families. The continuing market in this art
throughout the world is a tribute to the resourcefulness of the women of
Mithila who have successfully transferred their techniques of bhitti
chitra or wall painting to the medium of paper.

3. WARLI PAINTINGS

Prominent- Maharashtra

-Warli is the name of the largest tribe found on the northern outskirts of
Mumbai, in Western India. Despite being in such close proximity of the
largest metropolis in India, Warli tribesmen shun all influences of
modern urbanization.
-Discovered in the early seventies, Warli art is the vivid expression of
daily and social events of the Warli tribe of Maharashtra, used by them
to embellish the walls of village houses. Women are mainly engaged in
the creation of these paintings.

-Images of human beings and animals, along with scenes from daily life
are created in a loose rhythmic pattern. They usually depict scenes of
human figures engaged in activities like hunting, dancing, sowing and
harvesting.

4. PATTACHITRA PAINTINGS

Prominent- Odisha

-One of the oldest and most popular art forms of Odisha, Pattachitra has
evolved from the Sanskrit words patta, meaning canvas, and chitra,
meaning picture.

-Pattachitra is thus a painting done on canvas with natural pigments, and

is manifested by rich colorful application, creative motifs and designs,
and portrayal of simple themes, mostly mythological in depiction. These
paintings are based on Hindu mythology and specially inspired
by Jagannath and Vaishnava sect.[10] All colours used in the Paintings
are natural and paintings are made fully old traditional way by
Chitrakaras that is Oriya Painter. Pattachitra style of painting is one of
the oldest and most popular art forms of Odisha. The name Pattachitra
has evolved from the Sanskrit words patta, meaning canvas, and chitra,
meaning picture. Pattachitra is thus a painting done on canvas, and is
manifested by rich colourful application, creative motifs, and designs,
and portrayal of simple themes, mostly mythological in
depiction.[11] The traditions of pattachitra paintings are more than
thousand years old.[12][13]

Nowadays it is also done on Tussar silk, palm leaves, wall hangings and
showpieces.

5. KALAM OR KALAMEZHUTHU

Prominent- Kerela

-Kalam is essentially a ritualistic art practiced in temples and sacred

groves of Kerala where the representation of deities like Kali and Lord
Ayyappa, are made on the floor.

-Kalamezhuthu is practiced using natural pigments and powders, usually

in five colors. The drawing is done with bare hands without the use of
tools. The figures drawn usually have an expression of anger or other
emotions.

-The powders and pigments are all extracted from plants - rice powder
for white, burnt husk for black, turmeric for yellow, a mixture of lime
and turmeric for red and the leaves of certain trees for green. Lighted oil
lamps placed at strategic positions brighten the colors.

-Ritual songs accompanied by a number of instruments (namely

ilathalam, veekkan chenda, kuzhal, kombu and chenda) are sung in
worship of the deity, on completion of the 'Kalam'.

6. GOND ART

Prominent- Madhya Pradesh (Central India)

-This art has been inspired by the hills, streams and forests in which the
Gond Tribe lives. Nature and social customs are depicted by the Gond
artists with a series of dots and dashes intricately arranged into forms.

-Gond paintings are made on walls, ceilings and floors of village houses
in honor of customs and festivals.
-The Gonds also believe that their paintings are infused with a luck
factor. The paintings are a combination of earth tones and vibrant hues,
which bring the canvas to life.

7. Bandhani work

Bandhani or Bandhej is the oldest form of tie & die art which began about
5000 years ago. As per the historical evidence, the first Bandhani saree
was worn at the time of Bana Bhatt`s Harshacharita in a royal marriage.
One of it’s earliest visual representations can be seen in the Ajanta caves.
In India, Bandhani work was started by the Khatri Community of Gujarat.
Places in Rajasthan like Jaipur, Sikar, Bhilwara, Udaipur, Bikaner, Ajmer,
and Jamnagar in Gujarat are the well known centers producing odhnis,
sarees and turbans in Bandhani. It is an ancient form of art which is still
in practice.
Technique

The art of Bandhani is as exciting as it’s history. The fabric to be dyed is

tied very tightly at different points in knots and then dyed with
extraordinary colors. When this tied cloth goes for dyeing, these threads
or knots doesn’t let that part catch color & allows it to stay white or
whatever color the cloth has. Once the cloth is dyed, it is left for drying in
open air. Drying can take some time depending upon the weather
conditions. In monsoon, it takes around 2 days to dry while in summer it
takes only 4-5 hours. In winter it takes around 6-7 hours for drying.

8. Kalamkari
Kalamkari is an ancient style of hand painting done on cotton or silk fabric
with a tamarind pen, using natural dyes. The word Kalamkari is derived
from a Persian word where ‘kalam‘ means pen and ‘kari‘ refers to
craftsmanship. This art involves 23 tedious steps of dyeing, bleaching,
hand painting, block printing, starching, cleaning and more. Motifs drawn
in Kalamkari spans from flowers, peacock, paisleys to divine characters
of Hindu epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana.

Centuries ago, folk singers and painters used to wander from one village
to other, narrating stories of Hindu mythology to the village people. But
with course of time, the process of telling tales transformed into canvas
painting and that’s when Kalamkari art first saw the light of day. This
colorful art dates back to more than 3000 B.C. According to the historians,
fabric samples depicting Kalamkari art was found at the archeological
sites of Mohenjo-daro.
9. GOND ART

The Gonds, are the largest Adivasi Community in India and are
Dravidian's whose origin can be traced to the pre-Aryan era. They are
mainly found in Madhya Pradesh and its surrounding States. The word
Gond comes from Kond, which means green mountains in the dravidian
idiom. The Gond called themselves Koi or Koiture.Their language is
related to Telegu and other Dravidian languages. About half of Gonds
speak Gondi languages, while the rest speak Indo - Aryan languages
including Hindi.
The Gonds traditionally painted on mud walls of their houses. Rich in
detail, color, mystery and humor, these tribal artworks brilliantly employ
modern means to evoke the pre-modern psyche. Gond paintings bear a
remarkable likeness aboriginal art from Australia as both styles use dots
to create the painting.

10. Pithora paintings

Pithora paintings are highly enriched folk art culture of Gujarat done on
the walls by several tribes such as the Rathwas and Bhilalas who live in
the central Gujarat, 90 km (56 mi) from Vadodara, in a village called
Tejgadh. The painting usually floods the entire wall with figures. Three
walls are prepared for the painting, the front wall and the two on either
side of it. The front or central wall is very large, twice the size of each of
the sidewalls. These walls are treated with two layers of cow dung paste
and one layer of white chalk powder. Unmarried girls bring in these
materials. This procedure is called Lipna. The main wall of the verandah
that divides it from the kitchen is considered sacred to the Pithoro. The
wall paintings related to the legends of creation and Pithoro, are done on
this wall. The two sidewalls of the veranda are also painted with figures
of minor deities, ghosts and ancestors.

Even in the cave paintings of thousands of years older to us in history,

roots of Pthora paints are available. Rathwa community of Central
Gujarat’s art tradition also seems pre historical in nature. The very
crudity of the nature of Pithora paintings forms the basis of its beauty
and appeal. The fact that only men are allowed to paint these Pithora
murals is a historical anachronism.