Mask to show, not to hide

A few years ago, when Mumbai-based homemaker Sreevalli K S was asked by her neighbour to bring back a mask from Kenya by a friend's friend, she did so, rather mechanically. As the wife of a globetrotting professional and one who often travelled with him, she was used to requests for souvenirs/trinkets from people around.

“However, it was only when I dropped into her house to deliver it, did I realise why she wanted it. I saw an entire wall in her large living room aesthetically decorated with masks from around the world. A few were also placed on the wall alongside the staircase leading to the upper floor. They looked so stunning. And so different from the usual wall-decor I had seen so far,” says Sreevalli.

Now, Sreevalli has also begun bringing backmasks from different countries for her own home and they also figure in her gift ideas for relatives.Masks are beautiful objects. They symbolise mystery, subterfuge, role play, intrigue and illusion. Around the world they are made for different reasons.

Masquerade balls, carnivals or special parties, ritual dances, processions, religious ceremonies, decor of deities – many occasions call for masks. They can be traced back to prehistoric times. Records have been found in rock paintings in different parts of the world. Masks are depicted on the rocks and caves of ancient times in several continents.

In India, one finds evidence of them even in Bhimbetka’s rock art. There are many museums in the world dedicated to masks or with sections for such collections. Worldwide, traditional mask-makers now recognise that masks are used not only for rituals and special occasions but also for home decor.

Aesthetically displayed, an artistic mask can enhance a wall and the entire room too. They can be hung on the wall, showcased in glass frames or mounted on stands, allowing you to place them on side tables or in wall niches.

Pick and choose
Masks come in various materials with wood being popular. Ceramic, metals like copper, wool, plaster of paris, coconut fibre, sawdust etc. are other choices for mask material. You will find unicolour ones in grey or brown while many, especially the ones from South East Asia sport multiple and vibrant colours. Masks can also be embellished with beads, feathers, hair, strands of cloth or threads and embroidery (the needle-felt ones, for example).

Delhi-based Bhupesh Ramakanth, a businessman whose job entails regular travel to Asia and UK has several masks adorning the walls of his drawing room. “I love the art-deco style masks one gets in London. The masks from south East Asia are very colourful. I especially love the long-nosed Tengu bird-man mask which I got from Japan and the two I got from Beijing where characters from the opera are shown in masks. Another favourite is the beautiful and gentle face of a female dancer from Bali in Indonesia,” he says. Bengaluru-based travel-industry professional Radhika Shastry has several of them adorning the wall of her drawing room. They were brought back from her travels around the world including Africa and Europe.

African tribal masks are a hot buy for tourists travelling to this continent. These beautifully handcrafted, hand-painted masks, mostly in wood, are becoming popular even in India. A fitness consultant and travel freak, Pune-based Ramya G says she has over 20 masks around her duplex flat. “I have only African masks as I think they are the most exotic looking. They have been purchased in  Tanzania, Kenya, Zimbabwe and South Africa. I have attempted a thematic look. So, I have placed wooden zebras and giraffes bought in the same countries in room corners and I have two rugs - one with leopard prints and the other with zebra prints from a Delhi store - on the floors."

Among other popular wall-art ideas are Venetian masks. These were traditionally made for a masquerade ball or carnival parties and are now widely sold as artefacts for interiors. Even in Austria, Italy and France, for example, you will find colourful masks for sale at souvenir shops and craft stores, as also rich displays in their museums which have inspired many modern mask-retailers.

Made in India
The masks from our own country are equally beautiful. In Sikkim and Manipur for example, you will find superb masks made from wood like cane, bamboo and papier-mâché. In south India, the Cheriyal masks made in the eponymous village near Warangal in Telangana which use wood or papier-mâché, tamarind-seed powder, etc, are part of a beautiful but slowly disappearing tradition.

Depicting gods or rural folk, and painted in bright hues (red and green are favourites), Cheriyal masks are eyecatchers. They are however, sedate and small compared to say the Theyyam masks. The enormous Bhoota masks of Tulu Nadu area in Karnataka are an intrinsic part of the local religion and culture. The richly coloured Theyyam masks of Kerala and Yakshagana masks of Karnataka are more elaborate and relatively large in size. The painted face of a Kathakali artiste and the benign face of Goddess Durga are popular mask items widely sold in India and found in homes, both simple and posh.

In many cultures masks are hung at the entrance to drive away evil spirits. In Sri Lanka, where you find many handicraft centres and entire showrooms filled with masks, you will also find elaborate masks for keeping away negative supernatural forces. Indians of course are aware of this tradition. Drishti bommais or drishti bommalu as they are called in South India, are widely used across our country too. Made like the appearance of a monster’s face typically with a fierce expression and often a tongue sticking out too, these masks are believed to ward off the evil eye when hung over the entrance of a home or even office building especially when it is newly built.

However, some traditional masks have a strictly sacred function and therefore are to be purchased and displayed with care. Also, some traditional masks which look fierce or sombre are not suitable for children’s rooms given the effect they may have on tender minds.

Psychiatrist D V Rajashekhar says he would not recommend masks for decor in children’s rooms “unless they are of comic characters loved by the kid”. He recalls counselling a child who was prone to disturbed sleep and persistent nightmares. “We found many causes, they were remedied and the child was cured. One of my suggestions was to remove the two large and ferocious-looking masks that were placed in a corner of the child’s room.

It may sound surprising but the child’s parents were well-educated, both management professionals. They had placed these items rather unthinkingly.”