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| Artists give final touches to their creations in Dhanbad on Thursday. (Gautam Dey) |
Dhanbad, Dec. 23: An art exhibition with a difference — that is what Prakriti, the tribal art exhibition at Kala Bhavan, promises to be.
The exhibition, which was inaugurated by district MLA Mannan Mallick here today, saw the presence of divisional forest officer Sanjiv Kumar, among other dignitaries, on its inaugural day. Rural artists from Dumka, Jasidih and Chatra, with their counterparts from neighbouring Bengal, will display their works during the two-day art exhibition, which already has the city residents making a beeline for it.
“Exhibitions such as this which promote tribal arts should be organised on a regular basis,” said Mallick speaking on the occasion. He further urged the government to come forward and support these rural art forms, which were staring at extinction.
Though art varieties like Sohrai murals and Kohbar competed with Patchitra and Chitrapat from Bengal at the exhibition, Jadupatia paintings, a dying form of artwork specific to the Santhal Pargana division of the state, was the winner, attracting the most footfalls.
“All Jadupatia painters use natural colours to give shape to their creations. The tribal population uses this form of painting to propagate religious messages,” explained Pawan Rai, who has been working for the promotion of the art for nearly a decade.
He added that more than 200 families, all belonging to the priest clan of Nawasar village in Dumka were currently working as Jadupatia painters.
Artist couple from Bengal’s Midnapore also showcased Patchitra art on the occasion. Layla Chitrakoot and Pavitra Chitrakoot said that the paintings that they make were inspired by common fold stories.
“We have been to Delhi and Calcutta before coming here and our paintings, when sold in the local market, usually fetches us a handsome sum,” they said.
DFO Sanjiv Kumar speaking on the occasion said that unlike the previous years, they decided to shift focus from contemporary arts to the artworks being produced in the rural and tribal heart lands of the state.