Gond Art

A famous Tribal Community Art , An Identity of Gonds...

GondArt  is a famous folk art of the largest Gond tribal community of Madhya Pradesh in India, It is mainly done in Patangarh Village in Dindori district of Madhya Pradesh .The word Gond comes from the Dravidian expression, “Kond “which means ‘the green mountain’. it is a form of painting painted and carved on the walls  with the  use of  vibrant colors like  orange, yellow, blue and red , these colors are usually derived and extracted from organic sources such as coloured soil, charcoal, plant leaves and sap, and even cow dung. The local sand called Chui Mitti helps in the production of the yellow colour, while Gheru Mitti serves the brown colour. Charcoal provides the black colour, Hibiscus flower gives red, and plant leaves impart green.

Previously it was painted on the walls of caves dates nearly 1400 years, back to the Mesolithic Period. Now a days  is practiced  not only by the Gond community of Madhya Pradesh ,but can also by the Gond peoples of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha.

Peoples of Gond community  believes that paintings are a reflection of man’s close connection with his natural surroundings. They also believe that viewing good images brought in good luck. Thus, traditionally, they painted motifs, tattoos, and images on the floors and walls of their houses. Gond paintings can best be described as ‘on line work’ that has an immediate effect on the viewer. Lines are used in such a way that it conveys a sense of movement to the still images. Dots and dashes are added to impart a greater sense of movement and increase the amount of detail. The artwork is finished in vibrant natural colors.These paintings are usually drawn during important festivals like those of Holi ,Navratri and Diwali .

With the passage of time, this art form has gradually shifted from the walls of the houses to canvas ,wooden trays, boxes, and other objects of smooth surfaces and papers . 

As In the 1980s, the director of the Bharat Bhavan Museum in Bhopal, J. Swaminathan wanted to exhibit urban and tribal art together. For this purpose, he sent some of his students to various villages in the Dindori district in search of artists. One of them was the exceptional painter, extremely skilled artist who are renowned for their paintings and music Jangarh Singh Shyam , a Pardhan Gond. He was the first tribal artist to use canvas and paper for his artwork. This ease of mobility has increased purchase and exchange of gond paintings , thus it adds the popularity also it enhanced  the modern Gond paintings into more vibrancy than its traditional counterparts. 

There are several Gond artists who have played a critical role in keeping this distinctive artistic heritage alive some of them are Jangarh Singh Shyam , Nankusia Bai , Mayank Shyam , Japani Shyam ,Subhash Vyam , Durgabai  Vyam , Dhavat Singh Uikey ,  Bhajju Shyam , Venkat Raman Singh Shyam , Suresh Kumar Dhurve , Narmada Prasad Tekam, Kala Bai, Gariba Singh Tekam , Rajendra Shyam. 

Along with Gond Artist Indian Government also promote and showcase the beauty of tribal arts  by organizing  many exhibitions all over the world .

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