Caste in GOND
Vandana Kalra Posted online: Sat Jan 22 2011, 16:46 hrs
New Delhi : Gond artists Durgabai Vyam and Subhash Vyam take the
graphic narrative out of the box in Bhimayana, a book on BR Ambedkar.
When navayana Publishing's S Anand arrived at their Bhopal studio with
works of the world's most accomplished graphic artists — Joe Sacco,
Osamu Tezuka and Marjane Satrapi — artist couple Durgabai and Subhash
Vyam were appalled. How could they do the artwork for a graphic
narrative? "There were so many boxes, we did not know how to work in
that pattern," says Durgabai.
How, indeed, could there be a graphic book without panels? In
Bhimayana, an account of the life and experiences of Dr Bhimrao Ramji
Ambedkar, the Vyams have ended up achieving the impossible. The
rectangular, boxy panels have gone. Instead, traditional digna
patterns of
Gond art breathe freely on the open spaces of the pages.
"I knew that they looked at things in a different manner," says Anand.
Three years ago, he had approached the Vyams to design the book on
Ambedkar and his fight against the caste system. Durgabai has known
Anand since the time they worked together for a children's book,
Turning the Pot, Tilling the Land: Dignity of Labour in Our Times
(2007). She suggested that Subhash be roped in to illustrate the
Ambedkar book.
Bhimayana recounts different episodes from Columbia University
graduate Ambedkar's life. He is shown as a young student who is forced
to go thirsty because of segregation in school; he is a traveller who
is denied a bullock-cart ride in a strange city; and he is a student
who is denied shelter because he is "untouchable". Contemporary
incidents of discrimination have been woven into this historic
biography. "The issue is still relevant," says Anand, who has
co-written the text with Canada-based Srividya Natarajan (author of No
Onions Nor Garlic).
The real heroes of this publication are the Vyams, whose illustrations
comment and don't merely describe. Ambedkar gets a pointillist
makeover in a Gond setting. When thirsty, he is depicted as a fish
without water. Ambedkar's loneliness in Baroda is compared to an ox in
an oil-press, walking in circles. In the illustration of his famous
Mahad speech, when Ambedkar led Dalits to draw water from a public
lake in 1927, the microphones become sprinklers — quenching the thirst
of thousands.
This is an animistic world where dancing peacocks represent joy, and
trains run on coiled snails. Speech bubbles are shaped like sparrows
when the words are
spoken by 'good' people, and are scorpion-like when the speakers spew
bitterness. "These are natural associations. Man and animals share
similar traits," says 41-year-old Subhash.
In an earlier painting they had done depicting the 9/11 attack, they
drew mud huts and birds instead of skyscrapers and an aeroplane. "We
heard about the incident on the radio," says Durgabai.
Legendary Pardhan-Gond artist Jangarh Singh Shyam mentored Subhash and
Durgabai, 37, when they shifted to Bhopal more than a decade ago.
Subhash, a native of Sanpuri village, once used to work with clay and
design sculptures in wood. As a six-year-old, Durgabai learned digna
from her grandmother. Years later, Shyam encouraged her to pick up the
brush and paint. "I used to draw gods and goddesses," says Durgabai,
of her formative years of painting.
Gradually, under Shyam's guidance, she started to paint more intricate
patterns. Durgabai is today a familiar name in the publishing
industry, with international exhibitions to her credit, and has been
illustrating books for almost 10 years. In 2006-07, she was awarded
the IGNCA scholarship, and in 2008, she and two other Gond artists Ram
Singh Urveti and Bhajju Shyam were presented the Bologna Ragazzi Award
in Italy for their illustrations for The Night Life of Trees.
Remarkably, this mother of three is illiterate — Subhash can read only
partially. Family members read out the storyline to her when she
works. "It's all because of the support of my family,"
she says.
The couple live in Bhopal's Kotra Sultanabad, in a two-storey,
six-bedroom home which stands on a 450 square feet plot bought under a
government scheme for low-income groups. "We always have a full
house," says Subhash, adding, "At any time, there are more than 10
guests at home."
While the couple were vaguely familiar with Ambedkar before working on
the publication, the assignment added to their knowledge. The Vyams
started taking note of similar incidents in the news and also drew
from their own recollections. "People used to discriminate against
others in our village too," says Subhash, who was once barred from
entering Anand's office. "The landlady did not approve of how we
looked," says Durgabai.
The couple also ran into trouble during the making of the book. They
struggled initially with the unconventional panels, and then Subhash
fell sick with dengue. But today, with the book on the shelves, the
duo is proud. "It has a moral stand. Even today people are suffering
because of the age-old discriminatory system," says Durgabai. The two
are now working on another book, for Jackfruit Research and Design,
"It is about marriages in villages," says Durgabai, who is now famous
in her own neighbourhood.
Back in his office in Delhi, Anand is midway through his next project.
The protagonist of his next book is Mahatma
Jyotirao Phule.
(With inputs from Milind Ghatwa)
------------------------------------
----
INFORMATION OVERLOAD?
Get all ZESTCaste mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to ZESTMedia-digest@yahoogroups.com, OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/
PARTICIPATE:-
On this list you can share caste news, discuss caste issues and network with like-minded anti-caste people from across India and the world. Just write to zestcaste@yahoogroups.com
TELL FRIENDS TO SIGN UP:-
If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a blank mail to ZESTCaste-subscribe@yahoogroups.com OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join/
Also have a look at our sister list, ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
ZESTCaste-digest@yahoogroups.com
ZESTCaste-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
ZESTCaste-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
No comments:
Post a Comment