A connoisseur who understands and values arts or a passerby who ambles inside a gallery just to take a cursory look at the exhibits, which one of the two, is you?

 Whatever your pick, if you choose to take a break, sit down and watch the video screening that accompanies the art exhibition at Lalit Kala Akademi, it could turn into your own little exercise at learning the rich traditions of Indian art. As a culmination of the National Tribal Art Conclave in April this year where artists from all over India came down, the exhibition ‘Narratavising Local Landscapes’ showcases a whole range of tribal art from every nook and cranny of India in this ongoing tribal art exhibition in the Capital. 

“Skillfully using chimta (tongs), chheni (chisel) and hathoda (hammer), the Loh Shilp artists create the marvels, be it every day utensils or the articles used in modern day decor. They use minimum possible instruments to give shape to their ideas,” explained the video as an iron smith Hira Lal Baghel worked on Madiya Khamba (pillar), a decorative side stand with tiny birds all over it. This was a celebration of the Loh Shilp art from Chhattisgarh. The video comprised many such stories detailing the origin of crafts, and their modern day existence, as the artists worked, engrossed in creating their art pieces. 

It was fascinating to watch Dhokra craftsmen as they created brass figurines using elements like terracotta and the lost-wax technique. The finely detailed shimmering figurines of tribal men, and cows amongst others, in a way, do not show the struggle or the elaborate process that goes into the art of Dhokra.

Interestingly, Kuldeep Mondal, a contemporary artist from Kolkata elaborates his wooden sculpture in the video, saying, “My wooden sculpture portrays two different heads lying upon each other. The head on top experiences a beautiful dream and the one below has a nightmare. In a way the two leave a three-dimensional effect as they amalgamate a traditional craft with contemporary vision.” 

Apart from these, what caught the eye was the Bhitti Chitra by Rajuwar community, and the colourful Pithora paintings. A string of motifs ran through all these pieces of art as artists emphasised upon local culture and the sign­ificance of nature in their work. 

The exhibition will go on till May 22 at Lalit Kala Akademi.