India is home to over 2500 tribes and ethnic groups that define the diversity in the art and culture of the country. Since the focus today is more on finished products, there are very few organisations that help sustain these tribal art forms. Tribe Chhatari is one such organisation in the city. Launched on July 27 by tribal students and artists, it brings different kinds of artisans under one roof for artwork enthusiasts. Poorva Paranjpe, who owns Tribe Chhatari along with her husband Shrikrishna, says, “Tribe Chhatari is a platform for the original tribal artists from all over the country who are seeking a way to reach out to people. My husband has done a lot of photo-documentation of tribal artwork. He noticed that these artists had good artworks but didn’t have a market to sell them. In order to help them, our trust Balmudra Development and Research Centre, would put up photography exhibitions, live demonstrations of artworks by artists to create awareness on tribal lifestyle, and provide collected data to those who could give funds for their welfare.”
The couple has worked with Tribes India for 12 years and are also associated with United Nations Development Programme.
Tribe Chhatari is a franchisee of Tribes India which is an initiative under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs for the welfare of 700 Indian tribes. “In this venture, we included products from Tribes India as well as artworks from our personal contacts with the artisans. Through this, people will get to know about the different art forms from across the country. We have more than 50 artworks including paintings, pottery, metal work, bamboo, cane work and so on.
Artists under one roof
Getting tribal artists under one roof can sometimes be a task. But stating otherwise she says, “We used to take photography orders by tribal departments of different states that helped us to build contacts with the tribal artists. And that has helped us to get them under this venture. We have covered artworks from most parts of India.”
Talking about how they convinced the artists, she recalls, “We had to convince them a lot to take their photographs because they would think that we were from the Forest Department and we would restrict them from their activities. We had to explain to them that we were there to document their lives which would spread awareness about their art through the media. They would believe us once we showed them previous documented works.”
The couple would personally meet these artists during tribal festivals to show them their work and tell them about the franchisee under Central government, to earn their trust. “That is how we got two artists who did Warli paintings at the entrance of the store. These artists come and stay with us. Once they start to feel homely, the ice is broken,” says she. Tribe Chhatari has paintings like Gond, Saora, Sohrai, Oraon, as also Dhokra art, wrought iron art, stone pottery and jewellery including stone necklace, metal necklace and bamboo jewellery.
Market and much more
The artworks by tribal artisans do not find many takers. Hence finding a market for handicrafts can be a challenge. Talking about this, Paranjpe says, “India is known for handmade products and variety of artisans who are not much valued in our own country. But abroad, their works are valued and find a good market too. To tackle this, we have planned to put up a screen where we show the process of making these artworks. The reason is that people should know the amount of effort and time that goes into making these products, only then will they get to know its value.”
She points out that it is important to build the presence of such products. “We had a fair idea of what kind of people would be interested, so we started using social media platforms. We went live on the day of launch so that people get to see what we have in store. Apart from that, we will introduce handicraft workshops and tribal food fests during festivals so that people can be aware of the tribal art and culture,” says she, adding that the store is slowly stocking up and has been receiving a good response from customers.
