Lakhi Chand Jain
Text translated by Meeta Surana
Text translated by Meeta Surana
The Meena tribes who reside near the Bundi, Tonk and Sawai Madhopur district in Eastern Rajasthan excel at the art of mandana paintings.
It was the an opportunity visit to Ranthambore National Park that Set off a train of thought - maybe I could combine this journey with a long-held desire of viewing and archiving the mandana paintings of the Meena tribe of Rajasthan.
I got in touch with Dr. Madan Meena, an artist friend of the Meena tribe, he known as a Salim Ali in the art of mandana, based in Kota, who was equally enthusiastic. He is in the process of archiving this continuously changes in the mandana tradition, having coaxed the Meena women to draw their designs on paper for posterity. This is very difficult as some of the designs are huge.
It was the an opportunity visit to Ranthambore National Park that Set off a train of thought - maybe I could combine this journey with a long-held desire of viewing and archiving the mandana paintings of the Meena tribe of Rajasthan.
I got in touch with Dr. Madan Meena, an artist friend of the Meena tribe, he known as a Salim Ali in the art of mandana, based in Kota, who was equally enthusiastic. He is in the process of archiving this continuously changes in the mandana tradition, having coaxed the Meena women to draw their designs on paper for posterity. This is very difficult as some of the designs are huge.
After reaching at Kota, we spent a pleasurable evening discussing the various aspects of mandana paintings. Though extremely keen to accompany me on my quest of authentic mandana paintings in the interiors of Rajasthan, unfortunately he was unable to do so.
I was put in touch with Mr Radheshyam Meena, who happily acquiesced in accompanying me to the villages where this particular mandana painting is creatively seen. My co-traveller from Mumbai, Jayesh and I set off in a jeep the next day, 40 kilometers to Aligarh in Tonk district where we were to pick up Radheshyam. We saw quite a few mandana paintings on this route itself.
The small settlements of a thousand plus people were where we were headed, the home of floral mandana. The basic necessities of electricity, running water or roads are not available, but that doesn't seem to affect anyone here. At that time of midday, there were only the old women’s of the village to be seen, in some cases engaged with embroidery in a community fashion. The only other living things were the peacocks- in abundance. All the other able bodied people were in the fields, engaged with the main livelihood - agriculture.
Thanks to Radheshyam, who had relatives here, we gained admittance to the village - in itself a commendable deed! Everybody had warned us of the fierce nature of the Meenas, and how they do not let anyone near their villages. Mandana was all around us at last, on the mud walls and homes of the village. I couldn't believe the intricacy and sheer detailing of the work all around. It was like a carpet of paintings, laid out everywhere. Their Diwali efforts were the most prominently visible. Looking at all of this was getting me greedy about being able to view the interiors of the homes, which naturally had to be far superior! Radheshyam helped out here too, and soon enough we were invited to view the artistry on the walls of the living spaces, granaries, verandahs and even the kitchens. I even got to interact with some of the women who were answerable for these magnificent works.
Executed with just the assistance of a thin twig of the date palm, every depiction had character and a tale to narrate. The most common rendering was of the omnipresent peacock, all with a different look and bhav. Some were portrayed along with other fauna like the deer, tiger, cows, oxen, birds, parrots, elephant, crow, dog, cat, horse squirrel and flora. The Meena women have picked up things and instances from their real life and depicted it with love. Every home was beautified with a minimum of eight to ten paintings of a simply huge size. The illiterate and unsung Meena women are like poets, putting their creativity on the walls of their homes. Beyond the aim of beautifying their homes, they don't have any further idea. Learnt from each other, over the ages, most cannot even put a name to what they have depicted. They are intent on outdoing everyone else, especially during Diwali, when the whole village gets down to this activity. Even I am tired of looking at mandana, but there are so many more to witness. This particular tour has reconfirmed that this area has the largest conglomeration of this age-old folk art.
Trying to assimilate all that I have seen, we turn back toward Sawai Madhopur. The sun is setting, and I feel that it just may be symbolical as well as real. The future for mandana is bleak, as with greater progress, the mud houses are disappearing - so is the ambience and the interest in doing this kind of unpaid labour. The young generation doesn't have the time or the inclination for this kind of painstaking detailed work. Even now I feel that the work on display doesn't have that bariki or attention to detail and design as earlier. Mandana seems to have survived because it is far away from the modern world. It just might regenerate and get recreated in a new form, but otherwise our socio-cultural traditions mirrored by this folk art will get lost somewhere along the way.
Sawai Madhopur, Dec 2007
I was put in touch with Mr Radheshyam Meena, who happily acquiesced in accompanying me to the villages where this particular mandana painting is creatively seen. My co-traveller from Mumbai, Jayesh and I set off in a jeep the next day, 40 kilometers to Aligarh in Tonk district where we were to pick up Radheshyam. We saw quite a few mandana paintings on this route itself.
The small settlements of a thousand plus people were where we were headed, the home of floral mandana. The basic necessities of electricity, running water or roads are not available, but that doesn't seem to affect anyone here. At that time of midday, there were only the old women’s of the village to be seen, in some cases engaged with embroidery in a community fashion. The only other living things were the peacocks- in abundance. All the other able bodied people were in the fields, engaged with the main livelihood - agriculture.
Thanks to Radheshyam, who had relatives here, we gained admittance to the village - in itself a commendable deed! Everybody had warned us of the fierce nature of the Meenas, and how they do not let anyone near their villages. Mandana was all around us at last, on the mud walls and homes of the village. I couldn't believe the intricacy and sheer detailing of the work all around. It was like a carpet of paintings, laid out everywhere. Their Diwali efforts were the most prominently visible. Looking at all of this was getting me greedy about being able to view the interiors of the homes, which naturally had to be far superior! Radheshyam helped out here too, and soon enough we were invited to view the artistry on the walls of the living spaces, granaries, verandahs and even the kitchens. I even got to interact with some of the women who were answerable for these magnificent works.
Executed with just the assistance of a thin twig of the date palm, every depiction had character and a tale to narrate. The most common rendering was of the omnipresent peacock, all with a different look and bhav. Some were portrayed along with other fauna like the deer, tiger, cows, oxen, birds, parrots, elephant, crow, dog, cat, horse squirrel and flora. The Meena women have picked up things and instances from their real life and depicted it with love. Every home was beautified with a minimum of eight to ten paintings of a simply huge size. The illiterate and unsung Meena women are like poets, putting their creativity on the walls of their homes. Beyond the aim of beautifying their homes, they don't have any further idea. Learnt from each other, over the ages, most cannot even put a name to what they have depicted. They are intent on outdoing everyone else, especially during Diwali, when the whole village gets down to this activity. Even I am tired of looking at mandana, but there are so many more to witness. This particular tour has reconfirmed that this area has the largest conglomeration of this age-old folk art.
Trying to assimilate all that I have seen, we turn back toward Sawai Madhopur. The sun is setting, and I feel that it just may be symbolical as well as real. The future for mandana is bleak, as with greater progress, the mud houses are disappearing - so is the ambience and the interest in doing this kind of unpaid labour. The young generation doesn't have the time or the inclination for this kind of painstaking detailed work. Even now I feel that the work on display doesn't have that bariki or attention to detail and design as earlier. Mandana seems to have survived because it is far away from the modern world. It just might regenerate and get recreated in a new form, but otherwise our socio-cultural traditions mirrored by this folk art will get lost somewhere along the way.
Sawai Madhopur, Dec 2007
**