On a day when nature showed its destructive face with heavy rains, thunder and lightening in the twin cities a few days ago, Gond artist Sambhav Singh Shyam brought colourful images of nature and wild to the fore with his vibrant traditional art. He is in city for a workshop organised by Studio Amoli in collaboration with Daira Centre for Culture and Arts (that was on May 19) and at Phoenix Arena on May 26.
How it started
Sambhav’s grandfather Jangarh Singh Shyam was a celebrated Gond artist. It was J Swaminathan, then director of Bharat Bhavan who was mesmerised with the artwork done on the walls and kothi (kitchen storehouse) of their house. “He waited till evening to meet the artists — my mother and grandfather — and persuaded them to come to Bhopal,” he recalls, adding that 19 villagers took the bus journey that day. “As the bus progressed from Amarkantak, the villagers assumed they will be thrown from the mountain and ran for their life; except my grandfather and mother,” he smiles adding the artists didn’t know how to hold a brush as they used fingers and twigs to fill in the design.
- Studio Amoli’s Gond workshop by Sambhav Kumar will be held at Phoenix Arena on May 26; 10am to 1 pm; fee ₹ 1000
Sambhav was 12 when he began as an assistant to his mother, who works in Jaya Jaitly’s Dastkar Haat Samiti. His father’s big canvases were filled with images of python and lizards. “My mother’s works included trees and birds but my father drew themes which he felt would sell. He said foreigners loved to hunt and kept these works in their bungalows. I too followed him and created works of a crocodile eating a monkey and a bird getting killed!”
In his childhood, he would walk three kilometres to bathe in Narmada river and halt to sit under the shade of a big tree. When he went back a few years ago, that tree was cut and a nest was lying at a distance. “It was heartbreaking to see the tree gone and the remains of an egg scattered nearby. Human beings have a shelter but the trees are at our mercy.” The anguish inspired him to create a work of a forest surrounded by trees; it also shows a tree cut from its roots and an egg falling from the nest. Although the work was selected by the National Geographic Channel, he was not happy with it. “I felt bad for creating a painting which emanates sadness. Animals should look happy and I decided to create happy art.”
His own style
Sambhav’s own style has evolved from inputs taken from his parents. The motif ‘r’ resembling a flying bird is a common motif in his work. “It is also a metaphor to keep the spirit flying, without feeling low at failures,” he explains. Of late, new themes, like an aeroplane have forayed into his art. “We show how greenery is important, be it in an urban or rural area. We try to create a world where trees, animal and birds live in harmony.”
He is elated that Bhajju Shyam has received the Padma Shri for Gond art. “It is a big boost to art but the market trends have had a negative effect. Amateurs creating cheap works dilute the industry. We have to preserve our originality and identity.”
