Ansimit by Sampada

I have been really fortunate to have had this opportunity to display my art on the window of a wonderful eating place in Chapel Hill – Que Chula – housed on the popular Franklin Street, thanks to Downtown Windows – an exciting art initiative, by the Community Arts & Culture, a division of the Town of Chapel Hill, whose mission is to inspire creativity and celebrate community for a better Chapel Hill.

I was thrilled when Steve Wright, the Public Art Coordinator, reached out to me back in April to see if I was interested in displaying my art. I was interested, of course – more so, because the reason for this initiative – aimed to revitalize our community with public art that expresses positivity, diversity, inclusivity, and community as Chapel Hill was beginning its recovery from the Coronavirus crisis, resonated with me.

The project got delayed though, since the infection numbers kept rising and more precautions were needed to keep the numbers down. When Steve contacted me again in June, I was more than happy to see the project get traction.

The art that I had submitted and got accepted merged the East and the West plus fit in nicely with the need for the design to be bright, uplifting, and positive. The art depicts the Goddess Durga, in bright warm colors of red, orange and yellow. Devi Durga is considered as the feminine epitome of strength. She is considered as a divine potency responsible for keeping this material world in order and decorum.

The words “Still I Rise” seemed apt for this artwork – Maya Angelou’s words still seem so relevant. The fact that she has such close ties to North Carolina was an added connection. “Still I Rise” is primarily about self-respect and confidence. In the poem, Angelou reveals how she will overcome anything through her self-esteem and shows how nothing can get her down. She will rise to any occasion and nothing, not even her skin color, will hold her back.

Working with Erin Jobe, the Special Events Coordinator, was a real pleasure. Once I provided the art scaled to the size of the window of the eating establishment chosen for my artwork, everything – getting the art printed to installing it, was handled seamlessly by Erin. I was pleasantly surprised to see my art on this news coverage on television as well!

Seeing my art in person on that scale and on Franklin Street seemed like a dream come true! I can’t thank Steve and Erin enough for the wonderful opportunity – it was a pleasure working with them. Plus the food and ambiance at the outdoor food area at Que Chula was the cherry on top!

Do check out my art as well as some fantastic work done by fellow artists whose work is also on display on the windows of different businesses and visit (safely) the locations around town for yourself!

Since the last two posts, I have been sharing the amazing creations of the IIT-B Culture Club and their related experiences. This is the final and concluding post – sharing works and words from the rest of the group.

Solanki Ghosh, an artist and a dancer, chose to render the world-renowned area of Shantiniketan, an abode of learning unlike any in the world!

It is a neighbourhood, with: • Open air classrooms (in tune with nature) •Open air and community art development practices • Each and every corner has some folk musicians and dancers performing in open natural settings • Has folk arts museum and haats (small open markets) to promote their creation. • Organises a famous holi festival which is attended by thousands and thousands of people around the globe. • Is surrounded by khowai forests which gives the place a break from the outside world. • You can see various sculptures of famous Abanindranath Tagore, Ramkinker Baij all around the neighbourhood.

All these elements have been incorporated in this beautiful Warli drawing by Solanki:

In Solanki’s words,

Shantiniketan for me is a very near and dear place. It is one of the places where they have literally stopped the clock at 1940s and you can hear Rabindranath’s song and poem all around you. The way they have preserved the baul folk song and santhali traditions is also a great lesson to learn.

Pavan Kalyan has portrayed a fantastic idea through his story – an ode (visual) to women! According to Warli tradition, their gods are portrayed inside a chowk pattern. So on the occasion of Women’s Day, Pavan highlights the importance of women and related mythological stories, by making women a central theme inside the chowk, thus elevating their status. The upper border consists of Hindu goddesses and the lower border depicts scenes from the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, epic tales from Hindu mythology.

About this summer art project, Pavan says:

Warli-an art form close to reality, public emotions and community efforts. The workshop gave me a sense of happiness and I realised “every person is intelligent and smart, it is just that one needs to find the best suited field for oneself to glitter. I witnessed amazing thought processes and the friendship of a multi-talented woman Ms. Sampada. Finally a word for all warli artists: “who else can be smart other an artist who can bring the emotions on a paper with just some straight lines and circles”.

The next story, rendered by Shweta Vinayak Naik, is that of the process a farmer follows, when cultivating onions in the Rabi season in Nashik, in the state of Maharashtra, India. This is a representation of data collected in the field, and hence only those sheets are prepared for which data was collected. Shweta meticulously drew 10 such images recording each stage of growth of the onion crop! Here are the first two stages of her story:

Shweta’s own words regarding her experience with this project:

I have learnt something that I can never forget. Learnings of the warli art from Sampada ma’am was soo enriching. Without facial expression, how to express one’s feelings through warli is what I will always remember. Ma’am taking classes till midnight so that we could learn something new, is what I am thankful to her for. Her teaching was so simple and enhancing that it made me fall for warli art even more. Learnt many new things from ma’am as well as the other participants. Thank you all and specially Yashika for making this happen.

The next story is about a young boy on a quest for a healing herb for his ailing father, told pictorially by Utkarsh Gupta. His search for the wild medicinal plant in the jungle, showcases his adventurous journey he embarks on, to save his father’s life. Utkarsh drew 24 different slides to narrate the entire story.

Here are two of his wonderful slides:

Utkarsh’s experience in his own words:

I originally came to know about this Cultural Summer Project through the post of Cultural@IITB FB page. Among the list of the projects, I found the one on “Storytelling through Warli art” suited me the best.

I have had an interest in art from the early years and wished to explore a folk art form but lacked proper guidance. Through the workshops, I was able to revive my interest and get a headstart in Warli art. My experience with the workshop was great, I learnt a lot through them. Our instructor is a great artist and her artworks are fascinating. It is impressive how she uses her fabulous art on various mediums, and not restricted to just paper. This shows that Warli art is quite diversified even in its application and it brings life to even inanimate objects. 

While working on my project I learned how to frame a story and execute it through drawings. And honestly deciding a plot was the most difficult part for me. I tried to use as many elements taught in the class so that I can revise them along with sketching. Warli is not so simple as it looks but hands-on practice makes it easier. Since my story has 24 frames and some of them comprises of related scenes with a bit of difference and sometimes me drawing the same thing again and again while keeping in mind that they look alike made my job a bit tough but overall I enjoyed making those artworks.

My session with Prof. Mazhar Kamran from IDC, IITB was much knowledgeable and I found his suggestions insightful and will definitely take care of them in the future. I’m thankful to Roots club for organizing such a wonderful event and also Mrs. Sampada ma’am for helping a novice like me to gain the basics of a new art form.

The next rendering, named “Sunset” is by Shabnam, who documented visually the changes that occur in a village, its people and the surrounding area/jungle as day changes to night. She has attempted to show the passage of time through the movement of the scene from left to right, as well as the presence or absence of the sun and moon in the sky.

The first section is about daytime. Some people are working in the fields, two are churning butter in a hut, a few are discussing village matters in the panchayat. One person is returning from the forest outskirts having collected a few herbs and fruits, and children are playing in the open space.

The next section depicts evening, or the actual sunset period. Cattle that were roaming the fields during the day are being herded back. A villager kneels next to the tree of life, paying obeisance. Prepared food is being given to a villager to eat in the food hut. A woman is lighting and placing diyas in the panchayat area. A flock of birds flies overhead as they do in the evenings, and below a hunter returns from the forest with his spoils of the day. Nearby, a peacock dances to the music of the flute.

The last section shows nighttime. Throughout the village, a few villagers play various instruments while the rest dance to the music in their community dance. In the nearby jungle, the animals that roam at night come out to watch the festivities, but are kept at bay by a large fire. And under the light of the moon, a bat flies through the night.

In Shabnam’s own words:

This project has been a truly enlightening experience for me. Having had no formal training in drawing before (my few rare sketches would be limited to repetitive doodles or basic figures copied off the internet), I have always wanted to learn more about the structured expression of thoughts via this medium. Thus the opportunity to participate in an ICSP on the topic of Warli was something I couldn’t let go, and seven weeks later, I can say with surety that it exceeded my already high expectations. Sampada Ma’am’s mastery over the art showed in the way she deftly guided us right from the basic elements to creating entire scenes on our own. Since Warli is an art originating from the villages of the Sahyadris, the process of learning also expanded my knowledge of the village community lifestyle followed in such places. Getting to see many of Ma’am’s original creations, and the way she adds more life and beauty to her home with Warli and other art forms was really inspiring. Each class was a chance to learn more about a world full of possibilities, built from the simplest shapes, which really helped in creating the final story. Taking part in this project has given me more confidence in the belief that everyone is an artist; you just have to be willing to put that pen (or brush) to paper without judging yourself, and take that first step.

“Knowledge shared is knowledge squared.”

I truly feel that I tried my best to share the ethos of the Warli art style and inculcate a sense of originality and creativity. And, in turn, I learnt a lot from the students too! Geographical distance did not pose a barrier, except, since I do work full time at an investment bank in Raleigh, North Carolina, we had to juggle the timings a bit. Late nights on my end and early mornings in India did result in such fantastic artwork though, which is a feat in itself! I am so proud of each and every one for putting in the effort and paying heed to my teachings – I am thoroughly impressed and humbled. It made my volunteering for this engagement truly worthwhile.

I hope the best to all, especially in this difficult pandemic time. It is important that we enjoy the simple pleasures life has to offer. Hence this bucolic scene rendered using the Warli style – living in sync with nature can reap mankind long term benefits.

नमन्ति फलिनो वृक्षाः नमन्ति गुणिनो जनाः |शुष्क काष्ठस्य मूर्खश्च न नमन्ति कदाचन् |

Noble and virtuous people are always humble and and committed to help others, comparing them to a tree bowing down with the weight of its fruits. In contrast, dull and foolish people are always rigid and non adjusting like dried wood.

Here’s to a better tomorrow, where we can strive to live in harmony with nature and learn from it.

And, finally, here is a link to the magazine that the ICSP Roots team published with all the work done by me and all the participants over Summer 2020! Enjoy!!