Festive Home Decor : A tradition of lighting the lamp

In our country, lighting an oil lamp has been an important ritual integral to festivals and ceremonies. The tradition began thousands of years ago and continues to this day, in temples and in homes, especially in the southern part of the country. The ritual of lighting a lamp is a deeply symbolic act of dispelling darkness or ignorance and spreading light or wisdom and knowledge. The mere act of illuminating the area by lighting a lamp is considered propitious and an important part of commencing any auspicious event such as a ceremony or festivity.

There are several types of lamps made of different materials such as clay, silver and brass which have been used traditionally and have specific symbolic associations and are therefore used for varying purposes. Amongst these, a brass lamp is a very popular artifact used in most homes as part of the daily ritual, while the more ornate ones are brought out on special occasions. Lighting a lamp is not necessarily a religious gesture but can be looked upon as a part of a spiritual or meditative process and therefore it is as relevant today as it was thousands of years ago.

Deepawali, which is considered to be the festival of lights is a celebration of good over evil and heralds new beginnings, and is celebrated with lights and firecrackers across the length and breadth of the country with great joy and enthusiasm. It is common to see people spring cleaning their homes and decorating with great fervor, and lighting up their homes with diyas and fairy lights.

During this festival, an ornate traditional brass lamp can not only be the centerpiece of the décor but also be an essential part of the festive rituals. Elaborate brass lamps of varying heights either singly or in pairs are a wonderful way to give a traditional touch to interiors and to form a focal point around which the ceremonial aspects of the festival can also be carried out. It is also interesting that there are so many variations of a traditional brass lamp available, with intricate patterns and motifs, which can make these artifacts so stunning and extraordinary. While some may have a traditional vintage feel, there are others which reflect a more contemporary look, but either way one cannot deny that these artifacts go far beyond their functional value and have a delightful old world charm. 

(An edited version was published recently in Times of India - The Address)

Antiques in Home Decor

Book Review: Between the Lines: Identity, Place, and Power

The publication accompanying the exhibition of selections from the Waswo X. Waswo‘s collection of Indian printmaking traces the growth of Indian art in a sociological and historical context. The scale of the exhibition and its significance in mapping the evolution of printmaking from 1916 onwards makes this publication much more than a catalogue. And, as Jyoti Bhatt has aptly pointed out in the introduction that a book has a much larger reach as compared to an exhibition which becomes limited by time and geography, this publication becomes an important documentation effort.  

In this survey of Indian print making, art historian and curator Lina Vincent Sunish explores notions of identity, place and power that shape artistic creation.  The exhibition of prints (from Waswo’s collection) held at NGMA earlier in the year, represented 79 Indian artists from diverse geographical regions and featured woodcuts, etchings, lithographs and screenprints spanning an almost 100 year period from 1916 to the present. “The thematic distribution of works according to the interconnected concepts of identity, place and power originates from the desire to take advantage of the time span the collection represents, and the Indian histories that directly and indirectly played a part in the creation of the works.”

During this phase, the transformations in the Indian landscape have been enormous and the collection attempts to ‘generate connections of thought between artists disparate in time and space, and make them visible to a viewer in the context of an exhibition’ while rejecting chronology.  The emphasis is on exploring imagery and meaning in the printmaking practice of various artists.

The works by some of the finest printmakers are a part of Waswo’s collection and are therefore featured in the book.  One cannot help but recall the exhibition and appreciate the effort behind it.  From senior artists such as Mukul Dey, Haren Das, Nandalal Bose, Jogen Chowdhury, KG Subramanyan, Laxma Goud, Krishna Reddy, Somnath Hore, Anupam Sud, Bhupen Khakhar and Chittaprosad Bhattacharya to works by the new generation of Indian printmakers like Maripelly Praveen Goud, Kurma Nadham and Jagadeesh Tammineni, the vast collection presents a remarkable selection of prints across time, location and artistic sensibilities.

 

The afterword by Waswo is a fascinating account of his collecting journey detailing his passion for artworks on paper; a modest beginning which soon grew into an extensive and noteworthy collection.

One of the highlights of this book is definitely its readability factor and this book is as much for the lay person curious about Indian printmaking as for the art connoisseur. In a sense, a large format coffee table book would have perhaps done more justice to this publication.

Between the Lines: Identity, Place, and Power can be purchased here

Consider sharing this post if you liked it.

Also Read,
26 Best Books: The A to Z Must Read Book List 

Book Review: Folktales from India by AK Ramanujan

 

26 Best Books: The A to Z Must Read Book List

When The Sunday Book Club (TSBC) recently published an A to Z list of books on their blog, I was inspired to do the same and compiled this must read book list, which includes my favourite books from over the years.  Having discovered the magical world of books at an early age, I remember eagerly waiting for the latest editions of Phantom, Mandrake and Amar Chitra Katha comics to arrive, not to forget children’s magazines like Chandamama (does anyone remember that? Apparently, its first issue was out in 1947!) and Champak!  Then came my involvement with Enid Blyton, Biggles (don’t remember the author), Agatha Christie, Alistair Maclean, and Hindi and Bengali authors Premchand, Shivani, Sharad Chandra Chattopadhyay and poets such as Jaishankar Prasad and Nirala amongst others.

Our entire group of friends then moved on to Leo Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Robert Ludlum, Frederick Forsyth, Somerset Maugham, RK Narayan and so many others.  Today, I just cannot imagine how I went through the voluminous War and Peace and Crime and Punishment or even She for that matter!

So here's my A-Z list of books, which I hope you will also enjoy.

Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking

Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain

The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth

Exodus by Leon Uris

Freedom at Midnight by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins

The Guide by RK Narayan

How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be: The 25 Principles of Success by Jack Canfield

Ice Station Zebra by Alistair Maclean

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Many Lives, Many Masters by Brian Weiss

No Full Stops in India by Mark Tully

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

Phantoms in the Brain by V.S. Ramachandran

Quantum Healing by Deepak Chopra

The Razor's Edge by Somerset Maugham

She: A History of Adventure/Ayesha, Return of She by H Rider Haggard

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri

Vital Signs by Robin Cook

The Wonder that was India by AL Basham

In Xanadu by William Dalrymple

You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay

A Zoo in My Luggage by Gerald Durrell

A few more books which come close are Ageless Body Timeless Mind by Deepak Chopra, Kane & Abel by Jeffrey Archer, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee, Through Time into Healing by Brian Weiss, Godfather by Mario Puzo, Nine Lives by William Dalrymple and The Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy.

Do let me know other books that you have enjoyed reading and those that you would like to recommend.  I look forward to adding more books to my list.

Jangarh Singh Shyam’s Legacy – Gond Art Continues to Thrive

A tribal art demonstration was organized at Gallery Sumukha, Bangalore recently and it was a delight to see Jangarh Singh Shyam’s family members (his wife, Nankusia Shyam) and their associates diligently paint canvases and paper with Gond art.  Bright acrylic colours and meticulous detailing filled every inch of the space inside the outlined figures!

   Jangarh Singh Shyam – his Kalam

The Gond tribe is one of the largest Adivasi communities in India and they inhabited the dense forests of the Vindhyas, Satpura and Mandla in the Narmada region in Madhya Pradesh*.  As is common with most tribal communities who express their joys and sorrows collectively and in a ritualistic manner, the Gonds too have been celebrating their festivals and rituals with songs and dances. For centuries they have been rooted in their cultural practice and traditions.  However, in the 1980s many men from villages began to leave for the cities in search of work.  In those circumstances, Jagdeesh Swaminathan, who was the Director of Bharat Bhawan in Bhopal and was constructing the tribal art wing at Bharat Bhawan found Jangarh Singh Shyam who became the first Gond artist to use paper and canvas for his art.  As most of us know, Jangarh Singh Shyam’s tribal art found great support and success and was exhibited widely not only in India but also abroad.  When in Japan for a three month visit, while he was still in his thirties Jangarh Singh Shyam took his life, under circumstances which are still not clear.  When I met Nankusia Shyam, the late Jangarh Singh Shyam’s wife, one could see that she still carried the burden of the pain and loss.

  

 Nankusia Shyam creates her own identity

Nankusia Shyam revealed that she had no interest in art initially, but later on at the insistence of her husband she began to fill in colours in the figures and drawings.  Once Jangarh Singh Shyam passed away, for her, painting was a way to continue his legacy as well as a means of survival.  During this phase, many artists tried to take advantage of the situation and promote themselves as Jangarh Singh Shyam’s heirs in the art world.  That forced Nankusia Shyam to come out of her mourning and establish herself and her family as the legitimate practitioners of Gond art – or rather the form which was initiated by Jangarh Singh Shyam.  She gained confidence as she worked more and often found herself working late in the night to complete images for paintings which had to be delivered.   

Incidentally, when Jangarh Singh Shyam was alive he already had a system in place where members of his community were apprenticing with him while painting and assisting him.  As a result, there is a whole community of Gond artists who are practicing this tribal art form and are exhibiting in art galleries in India and sometimes even abroad. The particular style and genre of Gond painting which was initiated by Jangarh Singh Shyam is termed Jangarh Kalam. Bhuri Bai and Lado Bai who were also present at the demonstration in Bangalore have been associated with Nankusia Shyam for a long time.

 

Coming back to Nankusia Shyam, she has clearly come a long way.  If you compare her early works to the recent ones, there is a greater clarity and confidence in the paintings now.  Images are refined and there is finesse in her works.  Mythical animals, fables and other stories along with elements from nature are reflected in her paintings.  Her two older children, son Mayank and daughter Japani are also accomplished artists as they have been painting for many years.  I came across one of Japani’s paintings which was a delightful black and white work, with a fascinating imagery and contextually much more contemporary in nature. Nankusia Shyam’s youngest son has not shown much interest in painting until now, but she is optimistic that he may take it up soon!

Folk and Tribal Art – Survival?

Gond art in its current form has been able to establish itself in the mainstream galleries and has also been part of curated exhibitions.  And, although there is a lot of competition amongst the Gond artists to find recognition and acceptance in galleries and auctions, I feel it has fared much better than other folk and tribal arts, which are rendered as crafts displayed in handicraft and lifestyle stores. 

No doubt, commercial and business aspects have crept into the Gond art practice as well, but then one must accept that at the end of the day it is a question of survival.  As I have said many times before, what is much needed at this juncture is sufficient government and corporate support to ensure that our folk and tribal art and other cultural practices/traditions can be sustained and conserved.

*http://ignca.nic.in/tribal_art_intro_gonds_mp.htm