Warli Folk Art Is Now International Sensation : Pradeep Gupta

Warli Tribal Village Ganjad

I come to know about Warli folk paintings through a Maharashtra Tourism brochure. What attracted me in the paintings multitudes of tiny human forms hunting, dancing or cultivating the land transporting me to the pastoral environment.

I googled and found that the origin of this art form is somewhere near Dahanu. Till a month back to me Dahanu was land of Cheeku. I decided to take a journey to the area and find out the origin of this unique folk art. I traveled with my artist friend Sujiet Poddar.

The way traditionally women folk used to draw on the wall

Dahanu is only 135 km from Mumbai.The best way to reach this place is fast Dahanu locals started few years back. I took the fast local from Borivali. Once the train crosses Virar, it is difficult to believe that the area is so close to a cosmopolitan city. On the both side of track one can only see greenery, hilly terrains but very rare trace of population.

 Dahanu is a favorite past time of Bombay city dwellers who come here on weekends to enjoy less crowded beach otherwise it is a sleepy small town on the Maharashtra Gujrat border. But there is hardly any soul who knows connection of Dahanu area with Warli Art, which is now internationally acclaimed art form. Sujiet used his contacts in art circle to find out a local artist or an art lover who may guide us in the tour.

He had one reference given by  Prof Das an eminent artist retired from JJ School of Art. We called up that contact _  Anil Vangad. He is from Ganjad village on Dahanu Jawhar Road. Anil came to receive us at Dahanu Station, it took him an hour, in the meantime we were busy seeing  some of the Warli paintings done at railway station by some local artists under aegis of Roshni Foundation.

Anil took us to Ganjad vilage, it is 15 km from Dahanu and 2 km off the Dahanu Jawhar Main Road in hilly terrain. Believe me after entering inside the village, we realized that even after 70 years of independence not much has changed,  the huts are still made of  bamboo painted by geru, ceiling can hardly protect from drizzling water during monsoon season. No easy access or entry to doctors, whenever a person fell sick in the family, the only option is that family pray to their village god for speedy recovery and promise to sacrifice a chicken. Anil has got international recognition for his Warli painting, in the process earned  some money also. Now many folk art admirers from distant lands come and stay with him to understand  the environment in which he creates magic, He has been able to construct a pucca house with his new found prosperity, it is able to accommodate a group of 15-20 foreign visitors. 

While  sipping herbal tea at Anil's home, I ask him,'How this folk art form came to limelight ?'

He tells,' Someone from our village used to work at Keku Gandhi's place. Through him Keku come to know about this art form. Traditionally ladies of our Warli tribe used to draw with rice paste on walls of our houses on the occasion of festivals like Deepavali or at the  time of marriage. But it was a man from our area Jivya Soma Mashe  who broke the tradition and started to paint not for any special ritual, but on an everyday basis. Keku helped to bring Jivya's work to national and international limelight.  Yashodhara Dalmia and Jatindra Jain visited our area, they wrote book on Warli Art. The book has aroused lot of interest in Warli paintings. Jivya received Padam award for his work.' 

We ask, 'What is  the essence of Warli art form.'

Anil says,' While Madhubani folk art depicts stories from Ramayan, Mahabharat and other mythological tradition, our art reveres the land and uphold a deep belief in the divine balance between village folks and the earth. Using everyday landscape as inspiration, our dynamic folk paintings depict a life lived in purposeful coexistence with nature, using art to find the spiritual in the everyday.'

'Is there any change in the form and style of Warli paintings during last forty fifty years?'

'For thousands of years, the Warli tribal women painted on the mud walls of their homes as an invocation or blessing during important rituals such as marriages and harvests. Using rice paste as a medium, and painted with brushes made from frayed twigs, these intricate designs embodied  the balance between masculine and feminine, individuals and nature. But have now been taken over by the men who prefer to depict everyday scenes. Painting made with rice paste did not last longer as ants used to eat rice paste. 
All these years artists began to experiment with the medium using canvas and permanent paints, allowing them to create lasting works of art in what had formerly been an ephemeral tradition'.

In the backdrop traditional painting done at the time of marriage

Anil has studied up-to ninth standard but he has mastered in his art form so well. He was invited by American folk enthusiasts, he spent two months in USA and enriched his experience.He is the one who is taking Jivya's mantle forward.

This is interconnectedness with the ecosystem 

intricate work to show the village life

This is the way now Warli Painters are experimenting in various medium

I ask him, 'What seems to be the future of this art form ?'

'Our efforts are to keep this traditional art alive and also to make socially more relevant. One such experiment I had done in one of my painting to depict importance of saving trees. Also, we are mentoring many new budding artists from our tribe. We want to create paintings that detail the interconnectedness of our way of life and the tension inherent in our struggle to strike a sustainable balance as forest-dwellers in a rapidly industrializing society.'

Anil Vangad has painted contemporary subject : Save Tree Save Life

'How your paintings speak about your culture?'

" Look for example in this painting the crop is ready for harvest and fields of rice paddy are swaying in the gentle breeze of autumn. The village folk are anxious to harvest their produce. The rivers are full, and stocked with fish. The hunters have returned with two plump wild boars and the women folk are busy preparing for the night`s feast. Men and women join hands and hop along shoulder to shoulder in concentric circles matching the rhythm of the drum and the ghumroo. The people drink "Mahu Dharu", made from the fruit of the Mahua tree, which grows abundantly in this part of the Western Ghats.'

Basically this is way to show that life is  a celebration