It is the product of passion of Kartik and Swati Gaggar, founders of Rooftop, a company that deals with traditional art in as many ways as they can. They conduct art workshops and courses, use art as therapy, they deal in paintings, and they publish Artventures — books that teach varied traditional forms Indian art via books. The idea is to connect art community in every which way.
Artventures comes in three book set — Elementary, Essentials and Expert. The Elementary book, as expected, introduces the reader to the form of art. What’s interesting is the way they do it. The reader is introduced the art by a family that has been practising the art since long. For example, the art form we will be looking at is Cheriyal. The books are Immerse yourself in the artventures of Cheriyal. The Dhanalkota family introduces it to us.
The intricacies of the art form, including the initiation, is done via a story. Meenu, a school girl, comes home with an assignment of writing about her family. Her grandmother tells her to do it with a difference by including their art adventures in the assignment. This is how Meenu gets to know about her family’s involvement in Cheriyal Art. Amma, the grandmother, goes on to explain the art form to Meenu.
As the story unfolds, we get to know why cheriyal is also called Nakashi and how the Nizams of yester years patronised the art in Telangana. We also get to know that most often the art depicted stories form mythology like most old Indian art forms. And… there are squares and borders, designs and patterns that the reader can practice while he learns about them. Each page has space for the reader to practice what s/he learns.
The Essentials begins with the family tree of Dhanalkota family and letter from them where they urge the reader to understand ‘the underlying philosophy of the art, rather than simply reproducing it.’ (sic) This book also begins a section with a quote from the famous painter from the Progressive Group — K.H. Ara — and one with Rabindranath Tagore. The patterns and designs get more complicated in this book. You are introduced to figures — animal and human. And asked to recreate them in the space provided. Colours are introduced too. Images and scenes are waiting for you to explore and explode with your creativity. Amma coaxes Meenu to try her hand
The Expert book asks you to delve into the depth of the art. It explains the religious significance of the art, of the colours used and the practices. It tells you how the art goes beyond just scrolls and paintings. It explains the use in performances and creation of masks. It also goes on to show the vision that the contemporary artists have brought to the traditional art form.
The Expert has more detailed work for the reader to do with intricate patterns and figures and scenes that one can replicate. End of the book are puzzles based on what you have learnt through the three books — word puzzles, crosswords, word search and pages to take notes.
The concept of Artventures is very interesting. If the Cheriyal book is to be used as a trailer, then I am sure the rest of the art forms are also explained as implicitly and fascinatingly. The way they unfold the details and involve the reader is attractive and intriguing. All three books keep the reader engaged with activity and information.
Artventures is available for Bhil, Phad, Warli, Mata Ni Pachadi and more art forms. Families who have been practicing the art forms for generations tell you about it and that makes it more captivating.
Book: Artventures of Cheriyal (Elementary, Essentials and Expert)
Author: Rooftop App
Publisher: Slo Mo Experiences Private Limited
Pages: 102
Price: `999 onwards