At ‘Aadi Mahotsav’, tribal artists try to regain livelihood lost during lockdown

NEW DELHI: The famous ‘Pattachitra’ paintings depicting mythological narratives and folklore on cloth scrolls and palm leaves made by artists hailing from Odisha’s heritage crafts village Raghurajpur have been on display and sale at Dilli Haat for a fortnight now. Two men, Prakash Mohapatra and Anil Swain, can be seen putting finishing touches to some art work even as they patiently respond to queries of eager customers.
Every sale matters and in those piles of art and craft rest aspirations of artists from their village whose livelihood was severely hit during the lockdown and they are still trying to recover. Sales have been brisk and have made these men hopeful that things may return to normal in the months ahead.
Over 10 months after the pandemic induced lockdown was enforced, such stories of survival dominate the spirit of those steering the colourful displays for the last 14 days at ‘Aadi Mahotsav’ in Dilli Haat where since February 1, 225 stalls have been showcasing tribal art, forest produce and cuisine rooted in nature. Data collected till Saturday shows that more and more people are stepping out. According to Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of the ministry of tribal affairs, over 3.5 lakh people have visited Aadi Mahotsav over the last fortnight and the stalls have logged sales of over Rs 3.5 crore.
With revival of tourism a work in progress, Odisha's Raghurajpur village with 120-odd homes is a classic example of artists who are still to return to their pre-pandemic state of livelihood. Mohapatra said that with very few buyers, he and others in his neighbourhood were forced to take up wage-based work like wall paintings at marriage functions or at temples to make a living. During a visit to Raghurajpur in January, the distress was evident as artists told TOI how their incomes diminished to less than half of what they were earning before the lockdown.
Mohapatra and Swain said they got hundreds of paintings and art work made by various artists to Aadi Mahotsav and they will be returning home with hope as they have managed to sell a large chunk of the stocks. Mohapatra, however, cautioned that hand-holding measures by the government would be necessary till normalcy returns and the big buyers and foreign tourists return to explore Indian heritage.
Far away from Odisha, in Jhabua, village women steering a self-help group, make “adivasi gudiyas” from scrap cloth. Currently displaying their toys at the tribal festival in Delhi, one of the members of the SHG from Dungra Dhanna village, Taru Parmar, said stocks of toys lay wasted during the lockdown. She sees the Aadi Mahotsav as an opportunity to gain lost ground.
Radha Dawar from MP’s Maheshwar said “when the lockdown happened, all work stopped and stock piled up”. Showing the vibrant Maheshwari sarees, Radha said the pandemic had taught her much. “I have lifted the veil from my face for the first time in my life and joined my husband at the tribal festival this time. It is a new experience for me to talk about our work,” she said.
On how some converted adversity into an opportunity, Reena Kujur from Khunti in Jharkhand said while her SHG worked on making lac products, during the lockdown when there was no demand for lac jewellery, they moved to value add to forest produce like “imli” and managed to find a market for it.