The first meeting

I was still in my course work when my guide, Prof. Nina Sabnani, introduced me to Sher Singh Bhabor and Subash Amaliyar, the artists from the Bhil community in M.P. They were visiting my college, IIT Bombay as part of a film making process funded by the Tata Trust. The idea was a collaborative animation film, where the stories, characters and animation would be done involving the artists in every stage. Now as an animation film maker myself, that is something that really interests me and with all my past work with BOL, I was keen to meet them. It was really kind of Nina to let me be a part of the process. But, eventually I figured out, that the meeting was more to involve me with the community and the art than me, contributing as a film maker.

The first thing that I noticed about their art was that, it was made up with hundreds and thousands of equal dots, of different colors that gave a beautiful texture to their paintings. Another interesting thing, was almost all their paintings had narratives. The stories spoke about their weather, livelihood, lifestyle, rituals and festivals.

I took an initial, informal interview with the artists getting to know more about their village, family members and their art.

Preface

IF YOU WALK AND KEEP WALKING in the country side of British Isles you will soon encounter piles of stones on the way, beautifully arranged, one on top of the other.

It is a tradition dating back to centuries, called Cairns.

Cairns are magnificent man-made structures, some small piles to artificial hills, some loosely tied together to some achieving a fine balance between engineering and delicate art.

They are found all over the planet Earth. From Europe, North and northeast Africa, America, the Asia and the Pacific.

Cairns can be interpreted as travel markers for whatever reasons, practical or philosophical. For travelers, they’re invaluable as landmarks. In South Korea, cairns are quite prevalent, often found along roadsides and trails, up on mountain peaks, and adjacent to Buddhist temples. Hikers frequently add stones to existing cairns trying to get just one more on top of the pile, to bring good luck. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairn)

In many ways, this Research-Travelogue serves the same purpose. 

It can inspire and enlighten, confuse you at times, help point out hazards or meaningful history, build arguments, break them and again gear you up to take on the journey. Depending on what you’re looking for, they can keep you on your path or suggest a new one. 

These are landmarks for paths of thought. Like a cairn, it invites travelers on the path, to add a stone on the mounts.

I start my journey today, as a researcher at IIT Bombay (17.7.2014). Treading on the paths of Art, Artist Communities, Pedagogy and the natural learning methods of a child. Yes, they are research topics by itself. But, atleast i have been able to put down my areas of interest and through these 4 years I aim to reach my destination. But, honestly, as a true traveler by heart, I intend to enjoy and learn from the journey more than the destination. Hence, this blog to capture the pages from my dairy - A Research Travelogue.

"Travel is a fine balance between the 

practicality of the destination and the aesthetics of lostness" 

- Debjani Mukherjee