Chhattarpur/Damoh (MP)
As one traverses the Bundelkhand region, famous for its grand art and architecture, fascinating tribal murals made on walls and near the doors and windows bear testimony to the creative richness of the region.
At the house of Suraj in Bhil-dominated Damoh, his wife Uma shows the attractive murals made by her around doors and windows during Diwali.
A woman named Sukka, who is from the same village as Suraj and Uma, explains that after cleaning and plastering the mud walls, colours are procured to make the paintings. A cock and a hen resting on a cot against a black wooden door decorated by pinkish murals on all sides made for a good visual treat.
Similar murals are common in Bijawar, a tehsil (an administrative unit within a district) in Chhattarpur district too. The district has a considerable population of Rajgonds, a nomadic tribe of central India.
Surya Pandey, who works at the India Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sanghralaya, a museum in Bhopal, tells The Indian Tribal that such murals are general ornamentation carried out during the festive season by the tribals of the region.
It also proves that despite grappling with poverty and water availability issues, the tribals find out time to give vent to their artistic talents.
Apart from the general ornamental motifs seen in the villages of Chhattarpur and Damoh, one also comes across embossed murals or clay relief work on white walls in and around Khajuraho in Chhattarpur district.
Such clay murals on walls, which can be felt with fingers, were spotted in Toriya village near Madla, about 25 km from Khajuraho. The figures were mainly of animals and birds such as peacocks and pigs as well as a few general designs.
“The art is called khel khelona. Women make them with hands. There is no specific name for it,” said a resident Deendayal Yadav.
At the Aadivart museum in Khajuraho opened a year back, such embossed designs again come to light.
Ashok Mishra, curator of the tribal museum in Bhopal, shares that the museum showcaases tribal art so that tourists from all over the world can catch a glimpse of the rich Adivasi heritage of central India, especially of Bundelkhand.
“The relief clay work is done by both tribals as well as by non-tribals. It is one of the first human expressions made on walls. Earlier, they used to be made on floors but would get easily wiped out. So, the walls started bearing such murals by acting as a canvas. There is no particular name for it,” Mishra tells The Indian Tribal.
If people move towards pucca houses aided by government schemes, many arts and murals traditionally made on floors and walls are in danger of vanishing.
Even though development is necessary, feels Mishra, such art must be preserved at all costs. In such a situation, Aadivart serves the purpose.
In this dry region, known for water scarcity and high migration rate, many tribal families have been persuaded to try out a second crop in the Rabi season and are aided by irrigation facilities.
Some are also growing fruits for added income. Non-profit Haritika is encouraging natural resource management and water conservation in both Chhattarpur and Damoh districts.
Dinesh Adivasi, a resident of Surajpura village in Damoh, says that earlier he could not sow wheat in Rabi due to water shortage. In Kharif, he only cultivated maize aided by rainfall. Things are slowly changing though, he avers.
(All Pics By Deepanwita Gita Niyogi)
