Jul 25, 2025
Sudharak Olwe is an acclaimed photographer and Padmashri awardee, whose work has been featured in national publications and exhibited in Mumbai, Delhi, Malmo, Lisbon, Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Washington and Dhaka.
Source: Google Images
The term Gavri stands for the monsoonal votive performance ritual of the Bhils of Mewar. Gavri stands for the goddess Gorkhiya, and other variations of the name for Parvati.
Source: Sudharak Olwe
Known as the sawa mahina ka khel (play of a month and a quarter), Gavri is danced by Bhil males of Mewar, who dance from village to village for 40 days, at places where the girls of their village have been married.
Source: Sudharak Olwe
The plays come from specific oral texts, called the jhamtas, which are the versified poems of the Gavri.
Source: Google Images
Gavri ceremonies involve the disciplining of both body and mind through certain rites of ritual purification, internal cleanliness through the staging and presentation of more than 40 khels, which explore the Bhil cosmological universe.
Source: Sudharak Olwe
This exhibition is the first exposure of wider audiences to the rich world of Bhil ritual and oral literature, through the lenses of Sudharak Olwaye.
Source: Sudharak Olwe
The outcome of a longitudinal perspective of over three decades, this living art form is an example of our vibrant living culture and the intangible cultural artefacts which comprise the tapestry of our heritage.
Source: Sudharak Olwe
The exhibition was inaugurated on 18 July in the presence of photographer Raghu Rai. The exhibition will go on till 1st August at IIC (India International Centre).
Source: Sudharak Olwe
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