A two-day long programme dedicated to the creative initiative — Swachchh Bharat — of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going on at the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya.
On the second day of the programme, on Saturday, an exhibition of folk and tribal art ‘loklikhi’ was inaugurated by Pramod Jain, IAS (Joint Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India) at Veethi Sankul of the IGRMS.
The Joint Secretary dedicated the exhibition. Apukuttan KK (Director, MANIT), Arun Kumar Shrivastava (Director, IGRMS), BK Chatterjee (Administrative Officer, IGRMS) were present along with other senior officers and employees.
‘loklikhi’ is the cultural identity of various folk and tribal communities of India. In these communities, they have a tradition of decorating their homes, courtyard, porch and walls with painted pictures of animals, plants and shapes of gods and goddesses.
There is abundant material in these paintings for the study of the origins and developments of religion. Faith and human emotions immersed in these artistic activities go through gradual change through time according to the demands. It is also a beginning of a new chapter in which professionalism plays an important part.
The images drawn on the walls by Rathwas of Gujarat, Bhil of Madhya Pradesh, Aandhra Pradesh’s Saowra and Warli of Maharashtra and other tribal groups of Odisha, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Bengal, etc are of grandeur and artistic, which are an important part of religious rituals.