G O N D PA I N T I N G

Gond painting has been practiced by

the Gond tribe of Madhya Pradesh.
Generally painted with dots and dashes
or short lines, their illustrations feature
complex patterns.

A type of Mural painting, done beautifully

on the walls and floors as part of
festival celebrations. Primarily using natural
pigments for colours from vegetables,
flowers, cow dung or mud etc

Gondi Culture is the main background for

the designs and patterns selected. Gondi is
an Indian tribe that lives in the regions of
Madhya Pradesh, Assam, and Andhra
Pradesh. The unique feature of Gond
painting is the fusion of living creatures
with nature, they all seem connected.

Jangrah Singh Shyam- Gond Tribal Artist

 D O K R A A RT

Dokra Damar tribes are the main traditional

metalsmiths in West Bengal and Odisha,
whose technique of lost wax casting is
named after them.

Dokra Art (also called Dhokra) named after

Dhokras tribe, a nomadic group that extends
from Jharkhand to the southern state of
West Bengal and the eastern state of Odisha.
They can be traced back to a few hundred
years ago when they traveled extensively,
going as far as Kerala and Rajasthan.

Dokra is non–ferrous metal casting using the

lost-wax casting technique.This sort of metal
casting has been used in India for over 4,000
years and is still used. One of the earliest
known lost wax artefacts is the dancing girl
of Mohenjo-daro.
 KALAMKARI
PA I N T I N G
The term Kalamkari is said to have
come from two words, “Kalam”, which
means pen, and “Kari”, which means
craftmanship. Kalamkari Painting
became popular under the patronage of
the Golconda sultanate.

Kalamkari is the oriental word for

the Indian village of Kalamkari where
this type of hand-painted or block-
printed textile was originally produced.
Now, Kalamkari paintings are also made
in Isfahan (Iran), Andhra Pradesh (India)
and Telangana (India).

Only natural dyes are used in

Kalamkari, which involves 23 steps.
There are two distinctive styles
of Kalamkari art in India– the
Srikalahasti style and the Machilipatnam
style.
 K A L I G H AT PAT
PA I N T I N G

Kalighat paintings are a tradition of

religious art prevalent in West Bengal,
India. The paintings of the Hindu
goddess of the same name, Kali, are
painted on cloth and can be seen on
roadside stalls and shops. These
paintings depict various scenes from
Hindu mythology and people believe
that they bring good luck and
prosperity.

The Kalighat paintings originated from

being items people would buy when
they visited the Kalighat Kali temple in
West Bengal. The paintings have been
around since the 19th century and have
developed a lot over time.
KERALA MURAL
PA I N T I N G

Kerala Mural paintings are one of the

most well known and distinctive
forms of art from Kerala, India. The
Kerala Mural paintings are a form
of temple art that have been
practiced in Kerala for over 2000
years and has been preserved
through generations by local artists.
Although they have been influenced
by western techniques, they have
retained their Indian roots.

A mural is a large painting on a wall

that often depicts a story. The word
is the Latin word for the word ‘wall’,
which correlates with them being
painted on either side of a wall.

Traditional murals are painted with

five colors, which are red, yellow,
green, black and white.
 K U T C H L I P PA N
A RT
It is a form of art that originated from
the Kutch region in Gujarat. This form
of art is a result of a fusion of the
traditional Kutch crafts with British
and Indian techniques.

The mud and mirror work features

materials such as clay and the dung of
the local camel population, which
allows for an interesting effect that
keeps homes cool.

Women from the Rabari community

are typically in charge of mud and
mirror work. They don’t trace or draw
a pattern before beginning the work.
This has made them especially skilled
at this art form.
 MADHUBANI
PA I N T I N G
It is also known as Mithila painting
which is a traditional Indian folk art.
It uses geometric patterns,
contrasting colours and line
drawings. It dates back to the time
of Raja Janak, a king in Mithila and
father of Sita.

The five distinctive styles are Bharni,

Kachni,Tantrik, Godna and Kohbar.

Madhubani paintings are always two-

dimensional and come with no
empty spaces, usually filled with
drawings of flowers, animals, birds
and other geometric designs.
M A N D A L A A RT

Mandala is a Sanskrit word that

can translate to “circle” or “discoid
object.” These geometric designs
have deep symbolic meaning in
Hindu & Buddhist cultures.

It is a representation of various
aspects of the universe which are
used as instruments of meditation.
They are also symbols of prayer,
most notably in the East Asian
countries, China, Japan and Tibet
M A S A N PA I N T I N G

The Hindu festival of Masan Pooja.

This is still practiced by the
Rajbanshi tribe, particularly in
North Bengal. They believe that
Masan Devta exists as a ‘rudra’
god. This might seem at odds with
other Hindu celebrations but it
should be done nonetheless.

The word masan is derived from

the word ‘shashan’ in Bengali. An
ethnic group-the Rajbonshis are
the main patrons of this art form
that they call masaņ chitrakala.
MEENAKARI
PA I N T I N G

The Meenakari painting originated

from Rajasthan. Subsequently,
Meenakari work took roots in India
and Jaipur went on to become the
hub of Meenakari work in the
country ever since.

There was no tradition of metal work

in India before the Mughals. Many
centuries ago, a Mughal ruler known
as Raja Man Singh brought skilled
artisans with him from Lahore and
set them up in Jaipur.