When a bhopa and bhopi (traditional musicians) perform the all-night song and dance recital in rural Rajasthan, the audience is enthralled. The musicians sing of the local deity Pabuji’s adventures, his love life and an eventful marriage, often pointing at a large hand-painted scroll – called a phad.
The phad, which illustrates the different episodes of Pabuji’s life, makes this rustic concert sacred, magical even. Folklore claims phads have healing powers, which can cure sick cattle, a suffering child but can only be created by artists from the Joshi community. One among these artistes is Kalyan Joshi, a phad painter, who has been practicing the complicated, intricate art since he was 10 years old. In more recent times Joshi has moved on to painting other stories. “It was monotonous to do the same kind of thing every day,” says Joshi who has painted the Mahabharat, Ramayana and other Indian mythological stories.
Joshi’s first step towards innovation led him to another – to experiment with colour. He moved away from using a plethora of dark, bright colours to create a series of works just using indigo and gold. “The combination of this two gives a sophisticated touch to the paintings, which I enjoyed creating. It gave me the satisfaction of doing something new and challenging and the results are good,” explains Joshi.
Joshi is one of nine participating artistes in the ongoing group show at the city’s Jehangir Art Gallery called, Spirit of India. Each of the nine artists in the show represent the contemporary side of the artform that they are exponents of. These are Anwar Chitrakar (Kalighat paintings), Jamnalal Kumhar (Molela terracotta), Pranab Narayan Das (Pattachitra), Sanjay Chithara (Mata ni Pachedi), S Shakir Ali (miniature), Suresh Waghmare (Gadhwakam), Sushil Soni (pichwai), Venkat Raman Singh Shyam (Gond) and of course Joshi who is an expert at phad. The show’s goal is to make room for Indian folk art in the mainstream art space and give it the respect it deserves.
These nine artists, widely regarded as the best in their field, have woven in contemporary ideas and aesthetics, while keeping the traditional technique alive. Gond artist Shyam’s large work on gender equality has won him several compliments. His series on the 26/11 terrorist attack in Mumbai can be found Ottawa museum in Canada and Queensland art gallery in Portugal. “I was in the city then and was shocked and moved,” says Raman. “I realised that as an artist my main job is to tell stories and that my art would be put to good use if I could tell stories that matter today,” shares Shyam.
Amongst this group are artists who’d like to tweak the techniques their forefathers have taught them. Among them is Kumhar, an expert in making mythological wall art who has been hard at work to ensure that his hollow sculptures are lighter in weight and more durable. “I mix horse dung with the special mud found in a pond in our village [and] knead it hard with hands and legs. This avoids crack[ing] and makes it easier for artists to create works without a mould,” he explains.
Spirit of India is ongoing at the Jehangir Art Gallery, Kala Ghoda from 11 a.m.to 7 p.m. until September 3.