Page 5 - Jul-Sep 2014

VOL. 11 No. 3

WORLD OF WARLI

The Warlis are one of the major tribes of Western Maharashtra. Warli art does not depict mythological
themes unlike other art forms. They depict the cycle of everyday life in simple yet interesting patterns.
Traditionally they were made only for ritual ceremonies but Warli art is so popular now that it is produced
on a commercial scale as well.

Where: Maharashtra. Warli is
done by: ritual warli paintings are traditionally done by married women. fun !
Paintings for commercial purposes are made by both men and women.
Style: Central motif is square and is known as chaukor chaukat. The chauk is of two
types- Dev chauk and Lagna chauk.
Medium: Traditionally done on mud walls. Nowadays it is also made on paper, cloth,
canvas etc.
Colours used: white colour obtained by grinding rice (rice paste).
Motifs used: Marriage ceremonies, rituals of birth, human and animal patterns,
depiction of social life in a rhythmic pattern, Tarpa dance, agricultural activities, hunting
scenes, among others.

Jivya Soma Mashe is a warli artist of
Maharashtra who has played a major role rajesh Mor is a popular warli artist. he is
in popularising warli tribal art form. he was known for his meticulous painting style
awarded the National award and Padma shri and is well-versed in making warli on
for his contribution to warli art. canvas as well as on paper. he is truly a
national treasure.
Nikita Verma, VII C, Suditi Global Academy, Etawah
Lisha Singh, VII B, Motilal Nehru Public School,
Jamshedpur

warli paintings are extremely
rudimentary wall paintings with basic
graphic vocabulary. a circle, triangle and The central motif in Warli paintings
square are the most important motifs used is surrounded by scenes portraying
in warli. These paintings are monosyllabic. hunting, fishing and farming festivals
and dances, trees and animals. The
Ojaswi Kedia, X D, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's Public
School, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad wall paintings are done only for special
occasions such as weddings or harvests.
Warli art is similar to pre-historic Divyanka Satam, VI B, Pragnya Bodhini High
paintings. human and animal figures School, Mumbai
are the most important motifs used in
warli. it is traditionally painted on mud
base using only white.
Illustration by: Ojaswi Kedia, X D,
Tejas G. Kulkarni, X G, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's Public School,
Public School, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad Muthi painting
Warli women perform the ritual
of making Muthi paintings when
warlis, the indigenous adivasi new rice is brought home from the
tribe of Maharashtra, are known for fields. They imprint their fists on
producing exquisite pieces of art using the walls of the house, both inner
simple motifs. Warli paintings also and outer, and even in the granary,
featured in a 2010 Coca Cola diwali ad and kitchen.
Campaign. This was a fitting tribute to the
distinct lifestyle of the warlis.
Illustration by: Sumedha, X B, V.V.D.A.V. Public Parul, IX A, Pine Hall School, Dehradun Illustration by: Adityaa Kapur, X H, Hans Raj Model School, New Delhi
School, New Delhi

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