A circle, a triangle and a square…
What do I miss most about my childhood?
The time I spent wide-eyed, looking at the world around me… Scampering onto the roof on quiet noons to sleep under the faded blue sky and gaze at the fluffy clouds! Spotting a rabbit or two, up above in the sky…
Invariably my family house always had a handful of tropical tall coconut trees or few dense mango trees or maybe a gigantic jackfruit tree in the premises!
Despite the city’s cacophony, having a congregation of few old trees in the precincts was an indispensable blessing.
The trees often felt like family…
Most of those ‘family trees’ even shared birthdays with members of the family :) I shared mine with a moody Mango tree, that charmed us by alternating the fruit it bore each year.
No kidding! A sweet ruddy pulpy fruit one year swapped for a greenish tangy one, the other year. Joys of grafting!
I guess an elated grandmother would plant a sapling every time a new baby was born into the household. I know mine had! Or maybe it was an unsaid celebratory ritual followed by people earlier.
Facts blend with fiction as time passes 🤔 ?
The knotty, gnarly and generous branches of a huge tree would creep onto the roof, caressing it a little each time a gentle breeze blew. It must have felt like a tickle!
Growing up with Nature is a utopian state of living which is under appreciated when we have it and most missed when gone!
One of the ancient forms of Indian Folk Art — the Warli Tribal Art centres around this rustic understated ageless wisdom — ‘living harmoniously with nature’. Originating from the Western Corridor of Indian Subcontinent, the tribe from North Sahayadri range in Maharashtra state of India shun all urban influences from the commercial epicentre (Mumbai) of India to cherish their time with nature.
Warli Art form drawn with white rice paste on mud walls is a visual chronicle of the life, livelihood and nature around the tribe.
And it has so much wisdom to offer, here are my Top 3 Insights!
1. “Less is More”
Art, as a tool of expression and communication would date back to the first yawns of civilisation. Tells a lot about how visual our brain is! Words were never our first go-to option…
I found ‘Warli Art' straight to the point rendition of life around… No fuss depiction!
You have a bush, you draw a likeness of bush; there are people around, draw their basic figures; there are animals moving, draw them with enough likeness that you can tell a bull from a dog!
And that is it!
I found, ‘Warli’ consciously chose to be not about colours, strokes, what is better, what is not; rather mirror life as it is!
From a world of social noise, stumbling into the minimalist world of Warli Art' is therapeutic!
2. “Step onto the Balcony”
When 'Warli Art' champions minimalism; it shows how it never loses focus of its main goal.
From my lens, most of the Traditional Warli paintings narrate a collective story of communal living with a sneak peek here into a character’s life, which you can cherish if you are watching closely.
Elbowing around in chaos may leave little time to make sense of the humdrum; but climbing up to a high balcony and peering down creates just the pinch of solace to connect the dots…
I feel Warli Art often strings together those pearls of ‘balcony moments' to create a wreath of clarity.
3. “Keep it Simple”
Decoding a Warli Painting is not reserved for a niche audience…
It is a fine specimen of Effective Communication at Scale!
From a toddler to a sexagenarian, everyone would infer almost the same (if not exact) meanings from a Warli Painting. They speak to all visually and evoke similar emotions.
Five stick figures dancing around a crackling fire, or a few figures blowing trumpets cheerily; symbolises celebrations for most people.
Precise, Playful and Pragmatic ! Warli Art’s life lessons have stood the test of time!
Explore on….
- Anyone can start their Warli Art journey today through online or physical lessons. Worth checking out bitclass portal for live virtual classes by artists.
- One of my favourite friend (an incredible artist)’s creations @ashwattha_by_maneesha on Instagram.
- For further reading on Warli Art history — News chronicle on the ancient art
- My aesthetic skeletons @moodymuggle_charm on Instagram
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