“You Don’t Need a Big Place to do Big Things”
It was six in the morning and we were a group of ten architecture students, with a vague idea about Sanskriti Kendra,on our way to Hazaribagh. After a two hour long journey where we encountered the recent havoc caused by underground fires in coal reserves, we finally reached our destination. The metalled road gradually gave way to a winding unpaved path disappearing in a groove of trees. The Sumo was now trepid in its movement and we were wondering what awaited us. Sanskriti Kendra is has been nurtured on a 4 acre lush green site in the middle of Hazaribagh. It is run by Mr. Bulu Imam and his family. We had heard much about him but nothing could have prepared us for the pleasant surprise that lay ahead. He was all dressed up and ready for us. After a brief round of instructions he started talking about his recent work in the field of global warming. A look must have crossed our faces and he read it and said promptly, “You don’t need a big place to do big things. Look what Gandhi achieved operating from Sabarmati.”
As the day progressed we felt our knowledge increase exponentially on global warming, coal mining, tribal art and pre-historic rock art. It is amazing how he linked all of thee for us. But first let’s look around Sanskriti Kendra, shall we?
The main house is occupied by Bulu Imam and has his impressive study. There are a great number of books, research works and phds written right form this center. A number of Khowar and Sorahi paintings adorn the room. Also worth noticing was the female dog and her young pups peeping from the fireplace. Next is a small earth house made by his son. The texture of mud, the play of light and the art on the wall floored us completely. Sustainability could not be defined better. Of special interest to our group was the carom board groove and a rather large collection of beer bottles.
We followed Bulu Imam on a walk down his forest-garden and reached Putli Ganju’s house. She is one of the women artists who live in the campus. Her house again had an array of paintings. Bulu ji explained many things to us here. He said people often wonder how these villagers make such beautiful paintings seasonally and then clear them to make fresh ones every year. Here lies the great philosophy of village life-one that teaches the futility of attachment and the acceptance of change. They treat art as a living phenomenon, an expression of their daily lives. Each year the house is revamped during Diwali and becomes as beautifual as a ‘nayee naweli dulhan”.
A walk further down the groove led us to the old pukka house that belonged to the family and had now been converted into a museum. It housed some of the tribal paintings, metal works, quilts and an audio-visual show. This belongs to the Tribal Women Artists Cooperative a self supporting organization. Each painting sold pays the artist as well as helps in running this organization.
We walked further up and the circuit led us again to the aangan where we had begun our journey. Cool sharbat was waiting for us as we went through the various lists of publications and research works done by the Kendra. When we left the Kendra Bulu ji has given us ample to think about. How do you link tribal art, women, Mahatma Gandhi, coal mining and global warming?
Bulu ji had given us enough web references and cds to research and find out for ourselves. Two days have passed since then and here is my inference- One of the major factors of global warming is burning of coal for producing energy. This coal comes from coal mines. Jharkhand is ridiculously rich in this mineral and has hence been under attack form various mining firms. When open field mining begins hundreds of villages and thousands of indigenous people get displaced and loose their land, homes, forests, rivers and traditions. There are also numerous ancient pre historic caves in this region which are getting lost forever. So what does this single man do to fight national and international mining firms? He takes artwork from the walls of this village, a tradition that has passed down numerous generations, and places it museums across the world. He shows how this unfortunate string of events can lead to the destruction of this art form and its makers forever. The sale of these paintings not only helps womenfolk who have seen this tribe disappear forever but also becomes the ultimate non-violent weapon against the injustice being wrecked upon them. Today, after more than 20 years of fighting this battle, Khowar and Sorhai paintings hang in art galleries in Venice, Australia and USA. Many mining projects have been brought to a halt. One man’s fight to save the flowers along the Damodar has borne its fruits.
For further reading-
Paintings on mud wall
