Life imitates art far more than art imitates life, remembered as Oscar Wilde’s famous words tells us a lot about how art resides in every inch of life. This philosophical ideology resonates across the Singinawa Jungle Lodge where time, nature and the human evolution coherently weaves a drapery of bewitchment at the Museum of Life & Art. Co existing within the estate, the 1,000 square foot museum sings an epic of the native Gond and Baiga artisans and their labors of love. Reflecting the undulating curves of the forest, the museum is designed to exhibit a dynamic placement of the artifacts that lets its viewer to undergo a visual escapade from the realms of soporific and predictable patterns. It is indeed a figurative allegiance to the free spirit of nature; the museum will also host art installations in the open with a focus on the ethos of Kanha. While paying homage to the art might be food for the soul, one can always feel the need to have refreshment that you can easily find at the café situated in vicinity of the museum. Sounds like a plan, isn’t it?
A visual landscape of life
Manoj Godpal belongs to the Mahar Community of Madhya Pradesh and is a practicing Buddhist. Completely self-taught, Manoj is an artist who creates magic with relief work. From stone, to wood, to metal, he can create the most magical of patterns. In this particular panel, this son of the soil has re-imagined the world he grew up in. The ‘buffer’ area or the in-between space between the jungle and the village where humans and animals co-exist, sometimes peacefully, sometimes in conflict, where the law of the jungle prevails and often it is a question of might is right.The wall is virtually a diptych, where one-half is the animal world, where the deer frolic, where the birds chirp, the northern plains langur sits on a branch and the king of the jungle, the tiger, reigns. At the centre is the famed mahua tree of the region.
The mahua tree is literally a life source, from food to medicine, from decorative to alcohol; all are part of the mahua tree. On the other side of the mahua tree is a depiction of village life. Women go around in their everyday chores, young children are seen frolicking in the wide open spaces and the van devi or the peepal tree shares space with the bamboo tree on either side of the mahua tree. Cattle swim in the pond and the ergonomic dwellings look out into the fields being ploughed by the men.
Pithora welcoming the visitors at the museum
Pithora paintings are more of a ritual than an art form. These rituals are performed either to thank God or for a wish or a boon to be granted. The Badwa or the head priest of the tribe is summoned and the problems are narrated. These problems can vary from dying cattle, to unwell children in the family. The concerned person is given a solution and is asked by the Badwa to perform the ritual and the painting. The presence of Pithora Baba is considered as a solution to all the problems. A Pithora is always located at the threshold, or the Osari, outside the first front wall or inside on the walls of the first room as one enters a house. The painting usually floods the entire wall with figures. Three walls are prepared for the painting, the front wall and the two on either side of it. The front or central wall is very large, twice the size of each of the sidewalls. These walls are treated with two layers of cow dung paste and one layer of white chalk powder. Unmarried girls bring in these materials. This procedure is called Lipna. The main wall of the verandah that divides it from the kitchen is considered sacred to the Pithora. The wall paintings related to the legends of creation and Pithora, are done on this wall. The two sidewalls of the veranda are also painted with figures of minor deities, ghosts and ancestors.
Mother Nature by Shambhu Dayal Shyam
ARTIST NAME: SHAMBHU DAYAL SHYAM
Medium: Acrylic and Automotive Paint on Fiber Glass
The artist has depicted the woman’s head as being Mother Nature. She sustains all kind of life, be it trees or birds or animals. The elephants, deer and birds have been intricately woven into a jungle scene. The brown area painted on the front part of the face represents a granary where the Gonds store their grain thus signifying plenty.
Sushil Sakhuja ‘We float our boat’ Dhokra Brass 43 Inches Long
Dhokra art is one of the particular style perfected to a sophisticated level by the Bastar artists of the region known as Chhattisgarh. A non-ferrous technique of metal casting. Dhokra art also follows the ancient technique of the cire perdue or the lost wax technique. The Bastar artist Sushil Sakuja in his evocatively titled sculpture deals with the complementality of the man – woman relationship. en in the most choppy waters. ‘We Float Our Boat’ becomes a metaphor for the harmony, balance and interdependency on each other i.e. man and woman. As long as both men and women respect each other the boat will always remain afloat even in the most choppy waters.
We float our boat’ by Sushil Sakhuja
Sushil Sakhuja ‘We float our boat’ Dhokra Brass 43 Inches Long
Dhokra art is one of the particular style perfected to a sophisticated level by the Bastar artists of the region known as Chhattisgarh. A non-ferrous technique of metal casting. Dhokra art also follows the ancient technique of the cire perdue or the lost wax technique. The Bastar artist Sushil Sakuja in his evocatively titled sculpture deals with the complementality of the man – woman relationship. en in the most choppy waters. ‘We Float Our Boat’ becomes a metaphor for the harmony, balance and interdependency on each other i.e. man and woman. As long as both men and women respect each other the boat will always remain afloat even in the most choppy waters.
Utensil & items used by the indigenous people
These are utensil items used in kitchen, and the brown colour vessel is coming piggy bank.
Visitors can learn much about the local customs, art, and lifestyles of these tribes in their vibrant traditions that have been passed down through generations. Through interactive experiences, visitors can learn about their fascinating customs, folklore, and traditional practices that reflect a harmonious coexistence with nature.
ARTIST NAME: Manoj Dwivedi
Bhangi Lal Hardaha
Ram Kumar Nanda
Bhopendra Yadav
Mahipal Singh Yadav
Mandla Teak
Height 16 Feet 4 Inches Width 11 Inches
This totem pole specially created for the museum by Manoj and Ashish, is a contemporary interpretation of the life and times of the Baiga Community.
Guardian Totem Pole of The Kanha Museum of Life and Art
The Baiga community creates art works which are for their personal spaces. As Godna on their bodies are forms of personal markers or painted internal spaces, this totem pole is an expression of the two artists who have lived and worked with the Baiga Community. A narrative pole which gives a visual description of the cultural ethos of the Baigas. The bottom of the pole begins with the origins of the community shows a baiga couple sitting under the ‘Mahua’ tree which is symbolic of the Tree of Life, since the Mahua tree gives the community everything from food to shelter. The next register of the panel shows the animal and plant life of the region with the tiger in the centre. The tiger is the keystone of the area, for if the tiger is healthy and happy it marks the balance and harmony of the region. As the panel reaches right to the top where the ‘badadeo’ or the manifestation of the primordial God is stationed who looks down benignly protecting the entire community as etched out by the two artists.