Art in India

Art work is everywhere you look in India. This is not hyperbole. It is literally all around you. Even the simplest sari that the woman picking wheat on the fields is wearing - it is colorful with prints and a border, and is likely handmade. The big semi-trucks carrying everything from fruits and vegetables to concrete and bricks are hand-painted in all sorts of colors with designs of flowers or different Hindu gods. Same goes for the pick-up trucks and rickshaws. Store fronts are also painted in bright colors with creative fonts, and animated advertising.

Some of it looks totally ridiculous or gaudy to the Western eye, which tends to favor simplicity over intricacy. But when you look at it all closely, you recognize the amount of detail involved and steady hand required, and realize that it's made with true creativity and artistic skill.

Traveling India you also see amazing sights like the Taj Mahal, where thousands of pieces of marble have been intricately carved into floral designs and Arabic text with hundreds of thousands of pieces of colorful gems inlaid. Or you see a temple with carvings of Buddha the size of a Dollar coin, and carved archways that not only perfectly frame the monument inside, but have such detail that it leaves your jaw hanging - wondering how many hours of skill it would take.

Then of course, no matter where you are in India, you hear music in the air. At temples you will hear religious hymns from worshippers accompanied by soft drums. In the market you will hear loud, thumping Bollywood songs coming from store stereos. Sometimes car horns and back-up warning sounds are even programmed to play these upbeat tunes. India also has cinema (Bollywood itself, of course!), all types of dance, classical music, instruments like the sitar and tabla, photography, paintings, bronze sculptures, and stone and wood carvings - all of which have such a rich history here. 

Still, what I think amazes me most about it all is not necessarily the art itself, but the people behind the art and around the art. India embraces art like nowhere else I've seen.   

Nilit and I went to visit a gallery in Jaipur, where we were able to watch demonstrations of artists commissioned there by the Indian government to showcase their trade. We met a man there who worked on inlaid wood. He demonstrated how he carved an intricate design in a piece of wood using a chisel and hammer. The design was sweeping, and he hammered and turned his instruments with ease. The depth of the cut in the wood was only a few millimeters. He then took a sheet of copper and cut a thin strip from it - he cut it fast, and straight as an arrow. He laid the wire over the matching carved area of the wood, and hammered it in. Just a few seconds later, the copper strip was inlaid and flush with the wood. No adhesive. In order to make dots, he cuts a small piece from a thin wire, thereby making a tiny cylinder. He uses his knife to make a tiny hole in the wood where the design goes, and hammers in the cylinder. The designs were incredibly articulate, and his hands moved amazingly swiftly. I wish I had pictures to share, but photography wasn't allowed.

He spoke to us about how inlaid wood work was his family trade; secrets passed on through generations. His father, grandfather, great grandfather all did the same work. He showed us a wooden box that his father had made for the government as a gift from India to British royalty, adorned with the Prince of Wales feathers. The feathers were detailed and precise. He also showed us a big vase attached to a small stool, both filled with small designs of flowers, leaves, and other sweeping intricate designs. He showed it to us and told us that his father had made it years ago. 

"It is a masterpiece," he said. "It took him more than 5 months of work." He looked at it as astonishingly as we did, and handled it delicately. We told him it was amazing. He was smiling softly and beaming with pride. "My father made it," he said again. "Masterpiece."

We bought this little box from him. Though meager, we're hoping it at least in some way helps his family continue this beautiful trade.

We also had the pleasure of visiting the countryside in Srirangapatnam, a small island town near Mysore in the state of Karnataka. We visited farmers and craftsmen. A man who is a first-generation copper carver; men who build and paint (surprisingly ornate) bullock carts; and a new type of inlaid-wood carver.

This sweet man (first-generation copper carver) works out of his house.

A man carving for a bullock cart - You can see one painted behind him.

Inlaid wood work

A different type of "inlaid" wood work - None of this is painted. All shades are different types of wood, cut into tiny shapes and then glued together like a big, amazingly detailed puzzle.

The pictures behind this man (the father who owns the business) are all of the puzzle-type inlaid wood work.

What strikes me most is the Indian passion for all of these beautiful things. Indian people love intricate designed clothes - whether it's small tie dye patterns, stamp prints or embroidery. As long as you can afford it, you purchase the most elaborate design possible whether it's clothes, or decor for your house or your rickshaw. And even the smallest towns are adorned with bright colorful temples and sculptures and carvings of various Gods. And Indians without their Bollywood movies, dance moves, and songs would just be fish without water.

In what is always regarded as a "developing" or third-world country, you might not expect art to be all around you at all times, and see that so many resources are allocated toward aesthetic beauty and artful entertainment. Frugality would dictate that you do what is necessary, and nothing more. But the truly amazing thing about India is that all this art is part of the country's inherent culture. There's no "art scene" - it's just there, all around you. Nobody would do without it. There is no question about its necessity, because without India's art there is no religion, entertainment, clothing, or decor. Without its art, there really is no India.

What's even better is that we learned that the Indian government recognizes this as India's true specialty, and supports exporting of art and handiwork. When we visited a government-supported marble carver in Jaipur and a carpet-maker in Amritsar, they told us we could purchase anything and have it shipped back home for free - subsidized by India. We can't afford anything big enough to ship right now - but we were really happy to learn that these skilled people of India, who work so hard, were getting true support from the government.

I'll just leave you here with some more pictures, because my words utterly fail in comparison. I recommend clicking on one and seeing the rest as a slideshow for bigger images. Enjoy!

Touch up paint. Humayun's Tomb, Delhi

Fabric block-printing in Jaipur. The stamps are hand-carved and then pressed into the cloth with colored ink for designs.

Bodhgaya, Bihar. The place where Buddha is said to have reached enlightenment thousands of years ago.

Small Hindu dieties in the operating room at the Patna hospital

 

Around Qutub Minar, Delhi

Saris laying out to dry near the holy Kaveri River

The Golden Temple - Amrtisar, Punjab

A woman dancing in Rajasthan

Sheesh Mahal, Amber Fort, Jaipur

You've seen pictures, you've heard it's a world wonder - but if you haven't seen it in person, you just haven't seen it. Truly breath-taking.

A man carving marble - The top is temporarily stained with henna so the carved part is easier to see. Real Indian marble is non-pourous, so the henna washes right off. It is then inlaid with stones.

A beautiful marble table with inlaid stones.

Agra Fort, Agra, Uttar Pradesh