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Taran and his family explore the richness of Warli art in Jawhar.

“I am so excited!” said Taran, as he clambered into the back of the car.

“Me too! Waterfalls and Warli art! Should be a great weekend,” Amma beamed. “Well worth waking up at 5.00 a.m.”

“Yup! I’m wearing my Warli art t-shirt for the occasion!” Appa smiled, as he set the Google Maps to Jawhar. Their destination was the place from where the Adivasi art form — Warli — originated. “Only three hours from Mumbai.”

When they reached, Taran and his parents explored the Dabhosa waterfall. It involved hobbling over jagged steps to reach the bottom of the waterfall. It was worth it. During lunch Taran chattered, “Nature is so beautiful.”

“Well, that is how Mother Nature is. There is beauty, symmetry, uniqueness and so much more; hard to capture it in words or even in photographs sometimes,” said Amma.

“But do you know who does a pretty good job of celebrating Nature? The Warli Adivasis with their unique art form,” said Appa, pointing to his t-shirt.

After lunch, they headed to the village of Jawhar. Some houses had been painted in the Warli style wall to wall, as a tourist attraction. A guide explained, “Warli art depicts the connection between Nature, people and cycle of life. Traditionally the paintings are done to celebrate a good harvest or a wedding and pay homage to our Gods.”

Taran peered at the triangle-shaped humans and animals in concentric circles. It was mesmerising. “The walls are first plastered with red brick paste, which serves as the background. Then a mixture of rice flour, water and a binding gum is used to paint. We chew a bamboo end to turn it into a paintbrush.”

Appa interjected, “I have always loved Warli art. Look at my Warli art t-shirt.”

The guide’s smile dropped for a second. “Sir, that is very nice. But, perhaps, you should check if the t-shirt sales benefit the Warli Adivasis. There is everything from lampshades, notebook covers, and coffee mugs with Warli art these days. But usually, they are cheap imitations and none of them acknowledge the art form or the traditional knowledge.”

Appa agreed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think of that.”

The guide led them to a section where local artists were painting small frames. There was even a section for t-shirts.

“Wait a minute,” said Appa. He suddenly disappeared and reappeared with a new Warli art t-shirt. “Ta-da” he said, posing like fashion model. “The proceeds of this sale go to the Warli community.”

The guide smiled. “Thank you so much. Warli art now has a GI (Geographical Indication) tag. We are making a lot of efforts so that people can understand our art.”

Taran waved goodbye, but was pensive in the car, “How do we educate people to buy authentic artwork so that artists have a livelihood?”

“Well, it is a big challenge. One small way to start is, every time you buy something from another culture, ask yourself why you are doing it. Who benefits from it? Are you appreciating or making fun of someone? Or just want to look fashionable?” explained Amma while driving.

Taran nodded and held on to his small painting and watched the sun go down.