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Journalism of Courage
Its an art form that traces its origin to mythology in the tale of Shrinathji or Krishna as a seven-year-old who lifted the Govardhan mountain to protect the people of Vrindavan from torrential rains. The bejewelled god,with one hand resting on his waist and the other raised above to hold the mountain,has not only been worshipped since ages but has also been depicted with a fine brush on large pieces of cloth or pichhwai. Nathdwara and Udaipur have become home for artists painting scenes from Krishnas life,embellished with jewels.
Patronage might be dwindling for the traditional art form,but it still retains its admirers. Among them are Delhi-based duo Kamayani Jalan and Saloni Gandhi. Collecting pichhwai for over a decade,the two have now organised an exhibition comprising over 40 pichhwai paintings. Titled Godhuli: An Exhibition of Exquisite Living Traditions of The Art of Pichhwai it includes works commissioned by the duo in the last four-five years. Usually people search for old pichhwai,but we realised that there is so much good work happening now. Each work has a story,theme and colour according to the season,and we wanted to share that, says Gandhi.
Traditional in essence,the works have Shrinathji as the central figure,dressed for different occasions. In finery,if he stands against a yellow backdrop in Basant Shringar,in Shringar for Janmasthami he is decked in jewels against a grey-blue sky,representing the season of the festival,which comes during monsoon. Shringar of Phool Mandal has Krishna in an attire printed with lotus motifs and Shringar after Grahan has devotees preparing to dress him and clean his surroundings after an eclipse,which is considered inauspicious. Pushtimarg,followers of Shrinathji,treat him as human. So there is no temple,Shrinathji lives in a haveli, says Gandhi. Through the exhibition they hope to popularise the art and introduce pichhwai to people who do not know about it.
The exhibition is on at 1AQ,Qutab Minar Main Roundabout,till August 24.
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