Simple Warli Art

I had alw ays been fascinated by one painting w hich I had on my bedspread. It depicted the daily life of the
rural people, almost similar to the Forest life. It looks somew hat similar to the cave paintings of early man
w hich I had seen in certain text books. But this piece of art w as very common in india on bed cover,
cushion covers and even many book covers, many had this as it w as simple and fascinating one.

Then I found out, such paintings w ere called W arli paintings w hich basically used rice flour as a medium to
make simple lines and geometric figures w hich looked amazing but still had simplicity in it. The myth that if
w e use complex colors and shape then only a piece of w ork w ould look great is proved w rong by these
simple but beautiful paintings, w hich reflects the daily life and still look alive w ith all the forest activities. It
is done through simple folk symbols draw n w ith bold, easy strokes w ith most minimal colors basically w hite
since none is needed to draw attention to their message. A single painting may depict many different
stories all happeningsimultaneously. If w e look carefully w e can see their huts, hunting, harvesting, palms,
shrubs, birds, bullocks, tiger and people in group dancing
or celebrating, some alone going tow ork, some in pairs,
such are the scenes in the painting, forming sometimes a
story.

W arli Art w as first discovered in the early seventies.The

origin of W arli painting is Maharashatra, an Indian state.
W arli is the name of the largest tribe found on the
northern outskirts of Mumbai, inW estern India. Despite
being in such close proximity of the largest metropolis like
Mumbai in India, W arli tribesmen shun all influences of
modern urbanization. The W arlis live in hamlets of thatched mud-huts w hich are constructed around a
central cell. Research states that the W arlis are the propagators of a tradition w hich originated some time
in theNeolithic period betw een 2,500 BC and 3,000 BC. The w arlis w ere originally hunters but today they
are farmers and w ork according to the monsoon. Thus their paintings are also influenced by the seasonal
cycle as their life around them is directly reflected in the paintings.At harvest time and at w eddings and
births, their homes are decorated w ith a vocabulary of patterns. This is the tradition w hich gave birth to
W arli paintings. A W arli painting contains all the events of the past, the stillness of the present and the
possibilities of the future w ithin it.

These tribal paintings ofMaharashtra are traditionally done in the homes of the
W arlis mainly by the w omen folks in their homes. These paintings do not depict
any mythological characters or images of deities, but depict social life of the tribe
basically. Many of the W arli paintings that represent the marriage god, often
include a horse used by the bride and groom. The painting is sacred and w ithout
it, the marriage cannot take place.Earlier times, there w ould seldom be a
straight line in the W arli paintings, but these days w e see straight lines in most
of the paintings and the W arli men have also taken to painting and they have
incorporated some modern day to day elements in the paintings.

Today such paintings are mostly done on papers, cloths but they still look best
on the w alls.A huge murals of W arli painting
surely w ould look amazing. The W arli huts are
first smeared w ith a paste of cow dung. After
drying a coating of red mud is applied to give
body and texture to the background. Pounded
rice mixed w ith milk and w ater and red sindur
are applied w ith a brush made from the tw igs
of trees. W hite is the colour in w hich the image of the goddess is created
since this colour is held to be sacred and pious.Rest of the figures are
draw n in red and yellow . The w arlis have adapted to the new challenges
in the market, but still they basically maintain their traditionality. The real
beauty of the W arli paintings are its simplicity w ith very few colors.All I
can say about them is that they are simply fantastic.
Simplicity is beautiful