Mumbai has long been a premier centre for the creative arts. While the great collection of galleries and artist hubs are prime motivators and promoters of paintings, ranging from the different eras, what continues to be a fascinating aspect of this tradition is the folk and tribal art, which has created a very special niche for itself.
Unleashing the artist in youDiscovering a precious part of Mumbai’s painterly traditionsAn opportunity to meet the gifted artisans of this unique art form
This tour is unique in that one gets to explore Mumbai’s artistic traditions, by interacting directly with the artist and learning the secrets of his/her craft. It provides an excellent opportunity to try our hands at one of the most beautiful forms of painting that is indigenous to the Warlis (Varlis), a tribal community of the coastal belt and mountainous region of Maharashtra. It is the largest tribal community settled on the northern fringes of Mumbai, and its art form is best illustrated on the walls of the homes of the community by the womenfolk. The colour white holds predominance, broken occasionally, with dots in red and yellow.
Warli paintings have a magical touch and under the guidance of the artist, we will create our very own sample of Warli art. The wall paintings by the Warlis comprise a very basic graphic vocabulary: a circle, a triangle and a square. The circle and triangle come from their observation of nature –the circle representing the sun and the moon, the triangle derived from mountains and pointed trees. One of the most popular themes in Warli art is a spiral chain of humans around one central motif. This emanates from their belief that life is an eternal journey, and it has no beginning and end. Popular themes drawn from everyday life include activities such as hunting, dancing, sowing and harvesting. The most important aspect of the painting is that it does not depict mythological characters or images of deities, but community life.