Chronicle Reporter, Bhopal
A fortnight-long Aadi Mahotsav, a festival celebrating the spirit of tribal culture, cuisine and commerce, will be held from December 16 to 31 at Bhopal Haat to encourage interaction between the young and urban population of the city and tribes from across the country who will showcase their age-old practices in a contemporary avatar.
The festival will have adivasis setting up stalls selling traditional tribal handicrafts, art, paintings, fabric and jewellery, as well as giving foodies a taste of simple yet tasty cuisine that is based on recipes passed down generations using produce that their local forest offers as the main ingredients.
There are also cultural performances every evening showcasing music and dance that several Bhopalites may not have been exposed to.
Unique culture
The organisers said various tribes in India constitute over 8% of the country’s population. This is a very significant number. In real terms it corresponds to over 10 crore Indians. The national object of inclusive development (sabka vikas) includes the development of tribes as an important component.
Our constitution enjoins upon the Government the responsibility of addressing the special needs of the tribals. On sale at various stalls in the market will be handwoven cotton, wool and silk fabrics, wood crafts, metal craft, terracotta, bead-work, masks and paintings.
As the name of this event Aadi Mahotsav suggests, it is the ‘adi’ factor that is important about them. The Adivasi way of life is guided by primal truths, eternal values and a natural simplicity. The greatness of the tribes lies in this that they have managed to retain the primal skills, the natural simplicity.
Their creations issue from the depths of time. This quality gives their arts and crafts a timeless appeal. The crudest tribal handicraft instantly touches a primal instinct in all of us. This is particularly true of tribal music and dance.
The tribes of India have a wide range of handicrafts. These include handwoven cotton, wool and silk fabrics, woodcrafts, metal craft, terracotta, bead-work, masques and other objects. They also produce compelling paintings. It is true that the tribes did not develop these arts and handicrafts for the market.
They developed them for their own captive use. But we all live in a changing world. Nobody can remain unaffected by these changes. Not even the tribes. Like all of us, the tribes too now need cash for sundry purposes. It is therefore important that their natural skills must be channelled to promote their sources of income.
It is for this reason that the Government seeks to promote interaction between the tribal artisans and the mainstream designers from reputed design organizations. The idea is to expand the product range and designs.
The synergy between these two can generate marketable products of art and handicraft for the top-end global market. Single items of bell-metal produced by the late Jaideo Baghel of Kondagaon in Bastar sold for as much as five lakh of rupees!
This only points to the fact that on the one hand there are skills in the tribal pockets of India, and on the other hand there is high-end demand in our cities and in the international market.
