Keeping traditions alive

The discipline of wall and floor paintings is still living in India in spite of the rapid process of urbanisation and questioning of hereditary values. For many urban women, this tradition is representative of beliefs which are no longer important to them. ALKA PANDE writes on the folk art practised by some women from the Kumaon and Madhya Pradesh.

SUSHMA, Prema, Krishna and Asha were bound together by an invisible rope at the Indira Holiday Home, Chandigarh. What held them together was the tradition they were following. They were all practitioners of folk art traditions from their respective states - Sushma and Krishna from Madhya Pradesh and Prema and Asha from the Kumaon Hills.

Watching them work together for a week, it was evident that their art had a lot in common. Following the "little" or folk tradition, all the women had learnt their art from their mothers.

Both regions have a robust tradition of wall and floor paintings of which modernisation has taken a toll, particularly in urban homes, where motifs, designs and patterns of this living art are objects of exotic curiosity. But, in the rural homes, particularly in the Malwa region and Ujjain of Madhya Pradesh, the tradition is alive and well preserved. "Women and girls in Ujjain are well versed in this tradition and, during festivals and weddings, the women gather to decorate their homes and walls. Maadana and bheeti chitra are still pursued with the same dedication and interest," said Krishna Verma with quiet confidence.

Sushma Sitoke, a post-graduate in Fine Arts from Bhopal, has gone back to the art she learnt as a young girl in her parental house. Today, her mission in life is "to spread the art and craft of Nimaand as far as possible, at least in every corner of the country." It is for this that she came, with her three-year-old son, to participate in the week-long workshop organised by the Haryana Cultural Affairs Department.

Wall paintings are typical of Nimaand. Painstakingly tedious, the craft is symbolic of a way of life, of the hopes and aspirations, of the religious and social beliefs of the region. The two popular panels of the region are jirothi and the dussehra panels. The colour is applied using the end of a steel pin. This technique of application gives an elegant and fine finish to the final product. While making the Jirothi Devi panel, the main colour is haldi, which provides the lines for the images made on a red background of gobar and geru. To make the images of the Kula Devi, red sindhoor and rice flour is used. Images made on Naga Panchami are with black on a white background.

In addition, there are drawings made mainly on the walls and some even on the floors, on almost all religious and festive occasions. In fact, hardly a month passes by without some fresh work being done by the women. It is also a way of entertainment for them. "It provides relief from the routine of daily household activity. The women discuss their respective ideas, and each household has its own particular parameters of design. "What I learnt at my mother's house was slightly different. After I got married, I follow the traditions of my husband's family. My mother-in-law taught me the finer nuances of the household," says Sushma Sitoke.

Both Asha Upreti and Prema Pant, skilled practitioners of the floor and wall traditions of the Kumaon Hills, learnt the art from their mothers. Like Sushma and Krishna, these two women are also busy conserving the languishing craft of their land. In the Kumaon hills, there are two parallel traditions, one the Brahmanical tradition which is simpler and the Vasihya tradition which is more decorative and colourful. The floor patterns are called aripan or aipan and are done with rice flour or biswar which drips through the forefinger and middle finger onto the ring finger with which the patterns are made on the floor which has been painted an earth-red colour with geru. Most of the patterns are done on the floor.

The first step is placing the dots, which are then linked with lines resulting in simple looking but intricate patterns. Chaukis or ritualistic boards which are symbolic of the religious aspirations of the people are made for a number of auspicious occasions, associated with rituals from birth to weddings. The Naamkaran chauki or the naming ceremony board, the Yagyopaveeth chauki or the sacred thread ceremony board, the Dhuliargh or the chauki on which the bridegroom stands while being welcomed into the bride's home are part of the ceremonial patterns.

Festivals have their own ritualistic designs, the Chamunda design being the basic design for all havans. Different festivals have their own set of patterns. Through the length and breadth of the country, Deepavali is associated with the visit of the Goddess of wealth, Lakshmi. All households prepare for the welcome by laying fresh patterns and cleaning the walls and floors. For maadana jirothi from Madhya Pradesh and aipan and barboondh from Kumaon can only be laid on a freshly layered background.

In floor decorations throughout the country, it is seen that the tradition has been transferred through mother and daughter specifically. In all traditional Indian homes, art is a way of life. From the moment she wakes till she sleeps, the woman is engaged in daily chores which have their own rhythm, their own peculiar manner, which follow patterns laid down through an old and traditional manner. Today, when lifestyles have become more mechanical, flower arrangements, planned interior design and specifically designed murals are more the order of the day in contrast to the past when art flowed from mundane activities.

In most traditional homes, the home is the womb of existence, that from which all life springs, a place of nurturing and nourishment. It is a source of identity personal and familial - every action, every decision, every moment is tied in some way to the home. The home is a place of generation and regeneration, of life and death and all the concurrent seasons and stages.

The identity pervades the spaces on floors, walls and ceilings. Every aspect of the universe, animate and inanimate, is imbued with life. Therefore, the spirits in the home must be respected and honoured since the home is a sanctuary from the outside world. In this way, these floor patterns are a woman's domain, handed down from mother to daughter, making this art an important tool of communication.

The designs applied to the surface of the house not only guard against evil, they are also reverential celebrations of the beneficence of the deities which protect the home. The guardian deity of the home is the female. She is a caretaker, nurturer and one who is benevolent. Most often referred to as Lakshmi, the Goddess of prosperity, fertility, abundance, the supreme provider and protector of the family, it is her spirit which pervades the home, ensuring the well-being of every one within it and defending the home from adversity. There are specific symbols and designs which are used to honour the Goddess while others ward off harm and the evil eye. These adornments are not permanent, wearing off with use, and are redone from time to time. The colours and pigments used in wall and floor decorations are traditionally made from natural organic substances. In most cases, red and white are the two traditional colours used in the floor and wall paintings. White is composed of rice soaked overnight in water and ground into paste or powder, symbolic of prosperity and fertility, it feeds even the world's lowest creatures such as insects like flies. Red is generally the organic vermillion, the primary colour associated with deities and their worship. Some other traditional colours are yellow made from haldi, green pressed from leaves, blue from flowers such as datura or black from burnt coconut shells or coal dust. The techniques of making and colouring the diagrams varies from State to State.

As was evident from the traditions of Madhya Pradesh and Kumaon, it is obvious that the discipline is still living in India. It is known by different names through the length and breadth of the country. Known as kolam in South India, alpana, aripan or aipan in the Gangetic plain, mandappa or sahitya in West India, rangoli in Maharashtra, osa and chieta in Orissa, and alpana in Bengal. It is a tradition which has its roots in family and ceremonial functions and religious rituals which are also community celebrations. Here the motifs also become symbols. Symbols which are born, changing patterns which change according to context, need and the psyche of the community. In some individual cases they also become totems of the family.

The floor patterns have survived for so many years within families and communities because both the giver and the recipient, the mother and daughter, are on the same mental plane. The recipient was eager to receive and carry on the tradition. Simplicity, another important vehicle of communication is very much part of this process. In the transference of communication sensitivity too is dominant. It is this sensitivity which helps in understanding. The expressive content needs to be conveyed with sensitivity.

The discipline is still living in India inspite of the rapid process of urbanisation and questioning of hereditary values. Every year fewer floor decorations are being produced. With cement, marble floors and walls, the wall paintings are dying a natural death. For many urban women this tradition is representative of beliefs which are no longer important to them. But what is encouraging is the fact that this tradition is still existing in the villages and the interest shown by art historians and documenters will at least prevent an untimely death.

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