Folk arts and their states

In 'Kalakritiyon ka Bharat' in your book, Poorvi (Unit 5, pages 134 and 135), children from four states appear on a big screen. Each one tells about an art or craft from their state. Here is what each of them says.

Aakansha is from Uttarakhand (your book also spells her name Akanksha). She tells about Aipan, a folk art her family draws for family functions and festivals. Aipan is made with a white paste of rice flour on brick-red walls that are coloured with geru, a red clay. It is drawn on the floors and walls of puja rooms and outside the main door, by the women of the family. The designs come from their cultural traditions and from nature.

Priyaranjan is from Odisha. His tribe practises Dhokra, a metal craft that your book says is 4000 years old. Dhokra needs clay, wax, brass scrap and fire. Chitra is from Kerala. She tells about coconut shell craft: the shells are cleaned, made smooth, shaped, given a base so they stand steady, and polished. Bowls and even jewellery are made this way, and the craft is biodegradable — it does not harm the environment.

Balamurali is from Andhra Pradesh. In his village, Kondapalli, people have made toys for 400 years. The toys are carved from soft wood from the nearby hills, and the parts are joined with makku, a paste of tamarind-seed powder and sawdust. Then the toys are painted. They show folk stories, animals, birds, bullock carts and village life.

On page 139 your book adds one more: Madhubani painting, a traditional art from Bihar. Madhubani artists use natural colours — yellow from haldi, green from leaves, red from red flowers, geru or sindoor, orange from flowers, and blue from neel (indigo).