-SHIVANSH KHURANA

Warli art is a beautiful folk art of Maharashtra, traditionally created by the tribal

womens. Tribals are the Warli, Malkhar koli, Kathodi, Kokana, Dhodi tribes found on

the northern outskirts of Mumbai, in Western India. This art was first explored in the

early seventies & from then it was named as “Warli art”. Tribal people express

themselves in vivid styles through paintings which they execute on the walls of their

house. This was the only means of transmitting folklore to a populace not acquainted

with the written word. Warli paintings were mainly done by the women folk. The most

important aspect of the painting is that it does not depicts mythological characters or

images of deities, but depict social life. Pictures of human beings and animals, along

with scenes from daily life are created in a loose rhythmic pattern. Warli paintings are

painted white on mud walls. The paintings are beautifully executed and resembles pre-

historic cave paintings in execution and usually depict scenes of human figures engaged

in activities like hunting, dancing, sowing and harvesting.

The tribals are forest-dwellers but have made a gradual transition towards being a pastoral community. They reside in the West coast of Northern Maharastra. A large concentration is found in the Thane district, off Mumbai. A little backward economically, they still maintain their indigenous customs and traditions. The growing popularity and commercialisation of the Warli painting has seen the uplift of many tribals and they are increasingly becoming integrated with the mainstream. Their marriage traditions are unique to their culture.

Materials needed:

Handmade coloured paper. For more authenticity, use red paper because Warli tribes plaster their homes with red soil in preparation for these paintings

White paint – acrylic for paper and fabric for cloth paintings

Tracing sheet and Carbon paper

Method

Create your design on a sheet and trace it carefully on a tracing sheet. Using carbon paper, draw the picture on paper or cloth on which you wish to paint. Once the design is on paper, use white paint to fill in the figures. For more detailing, you can give a thin black outline for figures.

If done on cloth, iron the fabric from the reverse side after the paint is set.

Because of the simplicity of Warli paintings, you can paint these figures on pots, vases, t-shirts, plates and almost any other object. An easy way is to make stencils and use them for painting.