A fledgling effort to get rural art its due space in urban intellectual imagination

A 10-day exhibition of select paintings by village artists of Madhubani concluded recently in New Delhi. The unexpected showcasing of grassroots art of artistes residing in India’s rural interiors of Bihar in the Capital was intriguing. But it was all for a purpose. Gauri Varma, Founder, Lokatma, and the brains behind the exhibition says, “One of the reasons for doing our first exhibition of village-based artists in a five-star hotel where, typically, avantgarde artists hold solo shows, or event management companies organise exhibitions for Indian and international labels is to emphasise the point that urban art-lovers can afford to pay a good price for worthy collectible rural art.” This would still be “a fraction of what they may spend on other forms of entertainment and consumption,” she adds emphatically. Varma has a point and a clear agenda—to promote rural art and artisans. She conceived Lokatma on the spur of the moment one day when she came across a Maithil (Madhubani) painting of north Bihar that drew her attention in a local crafts bazaar in February this year. “It showed two elephants (a male and a female) with a single head. The female elephant was carrying a baby.” There was something about the painting that brought out the loving expression of the elephants poignantly and “mesmerised” Varma. “I began talking to the sellers and over the next few weeks, researched the art form and contacted more than 30 village artists living in various rural settlements in Madhubani district,” Varma says talking about her initiation into the Maithil art form. “They told me that if I wanted to understand their art, I must visit their villages.” Varma, a Delhi denizen, had never visited a village in her life. The thought of visiting one and that too in a remote corner of Bihar had never crossed her mind, but something compelled her to pick up the gauntlet. “In April 2013, I spent six days visiting, interviewing and filming artists and craftspeople in Madhubani district and in Patna.”

In May Varma went on another round of visits, this time to Gaya district in south Bihar where village communities are engaged in stone-craft. She also visited the weaver community in Nalanda district. Madhubani paintings on canvas and fabrics like the sari and the stole have done their bit to popularise this art form. Varma found a stark difference in the Gaya artisans and their Madhubani counterparts. “Whereas, the artists of Madhubani are relatively commercialised, the weavers and stone/wood workers of Nalanda and Gaya are in dire straits, with limited access to good markets. These crafts and their practitioners are struggling to survive,” she revealed. Her visits only served to firm up her resolution to work for these impoverished artists and get them due recognition and commercial support. Thus, the fledging outfit Lokatma, which was born in March 2013 with a staff of two besides the founder, had a huge mandate. But Varma is practical and knows that the task she has undertaken entails hard work. “I decided that since we were a tiny initiative, initially we would focus on five ancient art and craft forms of Bihar in the next few years,” says Varma and adds with a smile, “If we survive.” Maithil paintings, custom designed hand-painted Maithil clothing items, handmade papier-mâché folk sculptures, handwoven Siki grass home decor and tableware items, stone sculptures from Gaya villages, and hand-woven linen sarees from Nalanda weaver cooperatives are the items that Lokatma will be propagating in the initial phase of its journey. She further expands on Mithilanchal paintings which is the traditional name of a distinct geographic-cultural area covering parts of north Bihar and the Nepalese Terai. “And, ultimately, all this depends on marketing the items made successfully by these artists,” she says. The reason for her floating Lokatma. Lokatma has much to be proud of. In its first marketing attempt, the 10-day exhibition-cumsale at The Taj, with limited publicity, sold more than 70 big and small paintings. But for the founder, “What was most rewarding was the feedback we got from visitors who appreciated the diversity of the art forms, and the reasonable pricing.” Enthused by the response, Lokatma is now planning to hold another exhibition of crafts as well as paintings in October-November, 2013. The next step for the resolute art aficionado is opening a website over the next year or two.