How's this for an inspiring story on a wall?

A snake drinks the milk of a cow tied to her tether. A peacock tries valiantly to free the cow from the snake while a rat nibbles at the pole.

It's an instance of a painting in the Sohrai style - tribal wall art common in many villages in Jharkhand - that signifies how civil society, represented by the peacock and rat, should act if someone is being blatantly exploited, like the cow is by the snake.

The painting was part of the exhibits at the ongoing Art in Industry camp organised by Tata Steel at the Centre for Excellence where along with stalwarts such as Jatin Das, tribal artists from Jharkhand, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh are also grabbing eyeballs.

If Sohrai is Jharkhand's gift to art, Soura and Gond are from Odisha and Madhya Pradesh.

Malati Besra and Sonaram Soren, who are Sohrai experts, displayed their skill in the craft at the Centre for Excellence.

Sohrai paintings are basically murals with natural dyes and animal figures, giving a fable-like aura to the art.

"I usually paint walls with Sohrai on festivals and auspicious occasions. I use natural colours bought from the local Sunday market in Sundernagar," she said.

This time, Malati painted on a canvas, not a wall. "I am painting on a canvas for the first time. But, I am using natural colours," said Malati about her canvas populated with animals and birds.

Another Sohrai artist Sonaram Soren, who painted the fable of exploitation and its revolt, is also using clay to make the animal figures instead of oil or acrylic.

But, Soren also said he was experimenting with colours. "Since Sohrai is done on village walls with white paint made out of rice powder, experimenting figures with colours is a challenging task. But I am open to it."

"To appeal to wider tastes, we have to innovate. Otherwise painting in the same old way will not help us. As an artist I am trying to use bright colours. In the future, I will try to create a three-dimensional picture with shadows and more detailing," Soren added.

Madhusudan Majhi, who paints Soura, which is similar to Warli traditions of Maharashtra, and Vijay Shyam, who excels in the Gond style, also said they were very happy at the exposure here.

Majhi said he was painting Soura on canvas with the base colour being red. "I am also experimenting with my family tradition," he said.

"I have started Soura on saris, dupattas, kurtas and T-shirts. This is one of the ways tribal art can be preserved. Who will buy canvases everyday?" he asked.