alamezhuthu is a unique form of floor art that is predominately found in South Kerala.
It is a ritual art, done mainly in temples as well as at the entrance and courtyard of homes as a symbol of welcoming the deities in the house. Goddess Kali is the central depiction of this form of art. It is a harmonious blend of Tribal, Dravidian and Arian cultures.
LGond art is a form of painting from folk and tribal art that is practiced by one of the largest tribes in India – the Gond – who are predominantly from Madhya Pradesh. The work of Gond artists is rooted in their folk tales and culture, and thus story-telling is a strong element of every painting.
Gond paintings are a reflection of man’s close connection with his natural surroundings.
Reference: Tree of Life by Jangarh Singh Shyam
Chittara art originated in the Shimoga district of Karnataka and can be found in the huts of Deewaru tribe. Chittara drawings are intricate patterns, that represent the auspicious ceremony and rituals of life, symbolized in geometric patterns.
A form of Chittara art, Hasegode, depicts the wedding hall with elaborate details of the mantap (the wedding altar), guests, the couple and festive mood. In the center is the sacred place (altar) where the bride and the groom are seated. Reference: Hase Gode Mudige Chittara Painting on Jaypore.com
Dhokra (also spelt Dokra) is non–ferrous metal casting using the lost-wax casting technique. This sort of metal casting has been used in India for over 4,000 years and is still used. One of the earliest known lost wax artefacts is the dancing girl of Mohenjo-daro. Reference: Dhokra Brass Elephant from Jaypore.com
LEFT: Kalamkari, an Andhra art, is an ancient style of hand painting done on cotton or silk fabric with a tamarind pen, using natural dyes.
This art involves 23 tedious steps of dyeing, bleaching, hand painting, block printing, starching, cleaning and more. Motifs drawn in Kalamkari span from flowers, peacock, paisleys to divine characters of Hindu epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana. Nowadays, this art is primarily done to create Kalamkari sarees.
Reference: Kalamkari Painting by Mizhi Art
RIGHT: Kalighat painting or Kalighat Pat originated in the 19th century West Bengal in the vicinity of Kalighat Kali Temple, Calcutta and from being items of souvenir taken by the visitors to the Kali temple, the paintings over a period of time developed as a distinct school of Indian painting.
Reference: Artwork on Dolls of India website
LEFT: Bandhani (Hindi: बांधानी), also called Bandhej, is a type of tie-dye textile decorated by plucking the cloth with the fingernails into many tiny bindings that form a figurative design. The term bandhani is derived from the Sanskrit verbal root bandh ("to bind, to tie"). Today, most Bandhini making centers are situated in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Sindh, Punjab region and in Tamil Nadu where it is known as Sungudi. Bandhani is also known as Bandhej Saree.
RIGHT: Bhil Art is the painting style of Bhil tribe residing in Central and Western India. Stories, prayers, memories and traditions are painted onto plain backgrounds in a symphony of multihued dots. The first step to learning the art for many Bhil artists began with mastering the dots— skillfully repeating equal sized, uniform dots in rhythmic patterns and colours. The dots are the distinct identity of Bhil art, and have multiple layers of symbolism.
RIGHT: Bhil Art is the painting style of Bhil tribe residing in Central and Western India. Stories, prayers, memories and traditions are painted onto plain backgrounds in a symphony of multihued dots. The first step to learning the art for many Bhil artists began with mastering the dots— skillfully repeating equal sized, uniform dots in rhythmic patterns and colours. The dots are the distinct identity of Bhil art, and have multiple layers of symbolism.
LEFT: Kantha, a popular style of embroidery that comes from West Bengal, is a significant symbol that displays the skill and talent of the rural women in Bengal. It consists generally a running stitch on the sarees in the form of motifs such as animals, birds, flowers, simple geometrical shapes and scenes from everyday life.
RIGHT: Kingkhap is one of the styles, inspired from the Ahom dynasty and signifies the royalty and magnanimity of the erstwhile kingdom. The design consists of two lions facing each other.
The silk of Assam has various weaves and each has unique designs and motifs inspired from the culture, numerous indigenous tribes and flora and fauna of the region.
LEFT: The Kutch Embroidery is a handicraft and textile signature art tradition of the tribal community of Kutch District in Gujarat. The embroidery is generally done on fabrics of cotton, in the form of a net using cotton or silk threads.
The signature effect of the colorful embroidery sparkles when small mirrors called abhla are sewn over the geometrically shaped designs.
RIGHT: Madhubani Paintings, also known as Mithila painting due to its origins in the Mithila region of India and Nepal, Madhubani is a traditional Indian folk art made on canvas, cloth or cow dung washed hand paper. Natural dye and colors are used in creation of Madhubani artworks with geometrical figures and vibrant colors being key elements.
LEFT: Mandala (Sanskrit मण्डल, maṇḍala – literally "circle") is a spiritual and ritual geometric configuration of symbols or a map in the Indian religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism. The basic form of most mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point. Each gate is in the general shape of a T. Mandalas often have radial balance.
RIGHT: Manjusha Art is a popular art form of Ang Pradesh (Bhagalpur, Bihar) In Manjusha Art, the most striking feature is, it uses only three colors: Pink, Yellow, Green. The borders are also very important. It is also called Snake painting or Bhagalpur Art.
This art is completely based on the folklore of the Bihula-Bishari story. The characters are displayed as X letters of the English Alphabet.
Reference: Manjushakala.in
LEFT: Naga tattoos are incredibly bold tattoos. They were typically worn usually by men who had proved themselves on the battlefield and could earn the right to mark their bodies. However, the indigenous forms of Naga tattooing are becoming quite rare in the 21st century.
But there is new hope of a tattoo revival. Mo Naga (@headhuntersink) is an ethnic Uipo Naga tattoo artist. In 2008, Mo Naga opened his first tattoo studio in Delhi and over the course of his career, he has become recognized as one of India’s most prominent tattoo artists.
RIGHT: Pahari painting is an umbrella term used for a form of Indian painting, done mostly in miniature forms, originating from Himalayan hill kingdoms of North India, during the 17th-19th century.
Each created stark variations within the genre, ranging from bold intense Basohli Painting, originating from Basohli in Jammu and Kashmir, to the delicate and lyrical Kangra paintings.
LEFT: Paithani (Marathi: पैठणी) is a variety of saree named after the Paithan town in Aurangabad Maharashtra, where they are woven by hand. Particularly, the motifs that set Paithani above all other traditional fabrics points to the special significance of living in harmony with nature and its elements. Traditional motifs that are still popular since its birth over 2000 years ago are derived from nature that forms an essential part of human life.
RIGHT: Parsi Embroidery is an aesthetic composition of pictorial traditions and an emblem of elegance. Combining the beauty inherent in four cultural traditions – Persian, Chinese, Indian and European – this exquisite textile form is truly an intercultural craft.
LEFT: Patola is a centuries-old double Ikat weave, with its origins in Patan, the northern region of Gujarat.
Involving a very intricate and complex process of tie-dyeing on the warp and weft before weaving, this highly esteemed weave is acknowledged by connoisseurs as a traditional and ancient art that needs to be preserved and promoted.
RIGHT: Pattachitra style of painting is one of the oldest and most popular art forms of Odisha. It is manifested by rich colourful application, creative motifs and designs, and portrayal of simple themes, mostly mythological in depiction.
LEFT: A 700-year-old legacy Phad finds its origins in Shahpura, near Bhilwara, Rajasthan.
Phad is a type of scroll painting that narrates elaborate religious stories of local deities and gods. These traditional paintings were carried by priest-singers, who would sing and perform stories of their local deities - Devnarayanji (a reincarnation of Vishnu) and Pabuji (a local hero). The Phad painting would be unrolled, or unfolded after sunset, and the performance in front of village members would last into the night.
RIGHT: Pichwai is a style of painting that originated over 400 years ago, in the town of Nathdwara in Rajasthan, India.
Intricate and visually stunning, pichwai paintings, made on cloth, depict tales from Lord Krishna's life. Creating a pichwai can take several months, and requires immense skill. Lord Krishna is often depicted as Shrinathji in Pichwais, which is the deity manifest as a seven-year-old child. Other common subjects found in pichwai paintings are Radha, gopis, cows, peacocks and lotuses.
LEFT: Pithora is a highly ritualistic painting done on the walls by the Rathwa and Bhilala tribes who live in central Gujarat. Pithora paintings are executed on three inner walls of their houses. These paintings have significance in their lives and executing the Pithora paintings in their homes brings peace, prosperity and happiness.
RIGHT: The Toda Embroidery, also locally known as "pukhoor", is an art work among the Toda pastoral people of Nilgiris, in Tamil Nadu, made exclusively by their women.
The embroidery, which has a fine finish, appears like a woven cloth but is made with use of red and black threads with a white cotton cloth background. Motifs are worked by counting the threads. Both sides of the embroidered fabric are usable and the Toda people are proud of this heritage.
LEFT:
Kathputli is a string puppet theatre, native to Rajasthan, India, and is the oldest form of Indian puppetry. It has also inspired Kathputli styled paintings.
Being a string marionette, it is controlled by a single string that passes from the top of the puppet over the puppeteers. Whether it be the village fair, religious festival or social gathering the Kathputlis were an essential part of it.
RIGHT: Rogan Art, with its origins in Persia, came to Kutch, Gujarat around 300 years ago.
It is the technique of painting on fabric, crafted from a thick brightly coloured paint like substance made with castor seed oil. Artisans place a small amount of this paste into their palm and at room temperature, the paint is carefully twisted into motifs and patterns using a metal rod. This metal rod never comes in contact with the fabric. In effect, it is a very basic form of printing but the designs are very intricate.
LEFT: Sanjhi is the ancient art of paper stenciling practiced across Mathura and Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh. It was traditionally used to make ritualistic and ceremonial rangolis in temples dedicated to Lord Krishna.
Traditionally, the stencil was used to create the only rangolis, but gradually the stencils are considered at par with the final decoration. The cutouts are available as framed artworks as well.
RIGHT: Saura tribal painting is a style of wall mural paintings associated with the Sauda tribals of Odisha, India. These paintings, also called ikons, hold religious significance for the Sauras.
Many of the figures are recurring motifs and symbols, which all hold their own symbolism. With simple forms and figures that come together to compose intricate narratives in very few colours, the captivating art of the Sauras has told the story of the tribe for hundreds of years.
Warli, one of the oldest forms of Indian folk art, has its origins in the Warli region of Maharashtra. This form of tribal art mainly makes use of geometric shapes such as circles, triangles and squares to form numerous shapes depicting life and beliefs of the Warli tribe.
One of the most popular themes in Warli art is a spiral chain of humans around one central motif. This is in accordance with their belief that life is an eternal journey, and it has no beginning and end.
LEFT: Santhal Paintings are about merry times, whether it is harvest or finding joy in daily activities, the tribal figures manage to lift up your spirits and give a soothing feeling.
These tribal paintings are drawn by a special community called Jadu Patua in the Santhal Paragana district of Bengal/Bihar borders. Originated during pre Aryan period, Santhal tribe is ancient but their paintings are interestingly contemporary in Human figures design. The figures are dramatic yet realistic and symmetrical.
RIGHT: The art of applying henna in hands and feet is called Mehendi. It is widely believed that it was introduced in India by the Mughals. The patterns are intricate and have a lot of floral and peacock patterns.
It is a ceremonial art form typically applied during weddings - both for Hindu and Muslim brides. Apart from weddings, it is also applied during many other Hindu festivals.It was originally used for only women's palms and sometimes for men, but as time progressed, it is more common for men also to wear it.
