Japani Shyam, daughter of Gond artist Jangarh Singh Shyam, who painted the interiors of the Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, is taking her father's legacy ahead with her works that speak of tribal traditions, rituals and folklore. She talks to Divya Kaushik about giving the popular art a modern touch
Jangarh Singh Shyam was leading a contended, happy life in his village Patangarh, pursuing his creative interests. He used to paint the walls of houses in his village, the practice very common in the region. The pictures of animals, birds and trees were inspired by the folk takes popular in Gond tradition.
Artist J Swaminathan once arrived in Patangarh with the intent to build a collection of tribal art in Bhopal. Swaminathan began a study tour in the 80s. During his visit in the Mandla district, the painted walls of a house held his attention. He saw one of the paintings by Jangarh and was impressed. He sought permission from Jangarh’s parents to take him to Bhopal and that was the beginning of his illustrious career as an artist.
Jangarh emerged as one of the most celebrated folk artists of our country. He showed his works at the prestigious Magicians of the Earth exhibition at Pompidou Centre in Paris alongside leading Western artists such as Francesco Clemente. He painted the interiors of the Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha and the dome at Bhopal’s Bharat Bhavan, a museum of tribal and contemporary Indian art. Even after his tragic death in Tokyo at the age of 39, the young artist went on to leave a permanent impression in the minds of the discerning art audience. No wonder then, the Sotheby’s auction of South Asian Art in New York in 2010 featured a canvas by him, first for any folk artist from India. In Saffronart’s auction of folk and tribal art in 2012, his work was the most expensive priced at Rs9 lakh.
As an honour to Jangarh, Gallerie Ganesha is hosting an exhibition of his works. The exhibition also displays some works by the artist’s daughter, Japani Shyam, who is taking forward her father’s legacy and their folk tradition. She tells us that she was named Japani as she was born when her father shifted to Tokyo. While growing up with her father she learnt the techniques of painting.
“This art is our heritage. It describes episodes from our day-to-day life and is a pictorial narration of our folk tales,” explains Japani. In the earlier days, walls were painted with natural mud of different colours collected from the neighbourhood. “Red, yellow, brown and other colours mud were easily available in our village and its neighbouring forests earlier. But now it is difficult to get that, so even we are using acrylic paints,” says Japani.
Animals and trees are an important part of Gond tribe’s folk tales and thus are relevant motifs in the paintings. One thing interesting about Japani and her father’s work is that one can see layers in the paintings. Though the intention of these paintings was not to share a message initially, now if one looks at these artworks, they seem to be conveying a lot about wildlife.
“The main motif in our works is the world of animals and birds, their struggle for food, their sense of camaraderien and their different mood. Another motif
is the world of rituals and beliefs among the Gonds which I was exposed to when I went to the villages of Pantangarh and Sonpur, where my parents Jangarh Singh Shyam and Nankusia Shyam came from. As I have been in Bhopal, I try to give these motifs a contemporary look,” shares Japani, who is also teaching this art to some artists.
“I have been painting since my childhood and to keep the tradition alive I also teach those who come to me. Painting is not an elaborate process, one needs to understand the traditions, beliefs and practice of this art,” says Japani.
The exhibition continues till January 20.