India's Gifts To Foreign Leaders Bid To Promote Tribal Art On Global Stage

In a showcase of special focus towards the promotion of tribal art and culture, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his ongoing foreign visit presented multiple gifts to international leaders, which were prominently drawn from tribal art and craft from various regions of the country.

'Dokra art' to Australia

Dokra art is one of India's prehistoric art forms. One of the earliest expressions of this ancient art is the dancing girl artefact found in Mohenjo-Daro and Harappan excavations.

The common themes of Dokra art revolve around figurines of Hindu gods and goddesses and different animals. This particular art piece is crafted by artisans from Chattisgarh. 

PM Modi also gifted 'Dokra Art' to Brazil, Cook Islands, Tonga

Gond paintings to Canada, Tuvalu

Gond paintings are considered one of the most admired tribal art forms. The word 'Gond' comes from the expression 'Kond' which means 'green mountain'.

These paintings, created by dots and lines, have been a part of pictorial art on walls and floors of Gonds and it is done with the construction and re-construction of each and every house, with locally available natural colours and materials like charcoal, coloured soil, plant sap, leaves, cow dung, limestone powder, etc.

'Warli paintings' to Comoros

'Warli Painting', from the Chhota Udaipur region of Gujarat, illustrates the exuberant celebration of the meeting of the earth and the sky. This is achieved through the judicious use of the rustic mud brown of the wall and the white of the rice paste.

The paintings were originally depicted as murals on kitchen hearths in Warli homes. Graphic symbols depicting daily life through triangles, circles and squares deftly empower the paintings with a sense of lyrical energy. Today these paintings are celebrated and are gracing elite homes, and exhibition spaces and have established the Warli as modern painters.

Pithora folk art to Niue

A 'Pithora' is a ritualistic tribal folk art by the Rathwa artisans from Chhota Udaipur in Gujarat. It is considered a living testament to an ever-changing ethos exemplifying the highly enriched folk and tribal art culture of Gujarat. These paintings are depictions of the cave paintings that tribals used to make reflecting the social, and cultural life and beliefs of those tribals.

It incorporates all nature's bounty enmeshed with various aspects of human civilization encased in a childlike delight of discovery. A Pithora as a mural has a special significance in the annals of cultural anthropology. It brings a sense of exuberant energy in colour dating back to mankind's earliest expressions of creativity.

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