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| Susheela Rajendran’s daring Saura Dreamscapes | |
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In fact, this exhibition was a dream come true for her. In her quest for the discovery of tribal Orissa, the Sauras were perhaps the closest to the spirit of beauty and nature. Their paintings always had a strong spiritual element and stressed the Saura belief of the close relationship between the good spirits of the forest and the spirits of the ancestors who always looked after the well being of their descendents. Prominent among the spirits of the forest, for example, was the peacock, the watchman of mankind. The peacock was a benign spirit that kept a watch on evil spirits to warn human beings against them. The spirits had a special kinship with humans. They could even fall in love with humans and marry them, coming with a wedding party or baraat of spirits to celebrate the love-knot. Sauras are among the major tribes of the State inhabiting the Ganjam, Gajpati, Koraput and Rayagada districts and among the world’s oldest primitive artists. Their art has distinction of having a strong spiritual content and close links with nature. The art for them is part of religious ritual and spiritual practice. None can learn and practise it without the permission of the priests, who are also the main art teachers of the tribe. Their art material is also drawn from nature and the colours they use are red earth, white rice powder and gray-black ash. The traditional colours of their painting are red, white and black. Sushheela, a well known social activist from Timil Nadu, moved into the Bhubaneshwar Raj Bhavan, when her husband, an IAS officer, M.M. Rajendran, was appointed Governor of Orissa. But as an activist she could not confine her energies and social instincts to mere formal functions and celebrity parties. She, as usual, decided to discover the life and style of the lowest rungs of the Orissa population and discovered the tribal. Not a professional painter, she was fascinated by the Saura tribals and their painting. But being the Lady Governor, a woman and a non-tribal, there was serious impediment to her going to a Saura temple and learning the mysteries of Saura art from the priest. With the help of Dinanath Pathi, Director, Alice Boner Institute of Art, Varanasi, she approached D.N.Rao, principal of Government College of Art and Crafts, Khallikote, Orissa, an artist of great eminence, to teach her Saura tribal painting at home in Raj Bhavan. And that turned her into a powerful non-Saura practitioner of Saura tribal art. She also dared improvise and stylise on colours and themes. That has made her art unique and daring. |
WHEN
Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Jagmohan inaugurated an
exhibition of Saura paintings by a daring non-Saura
artist who is also the wife of the Governor of Orissa, he stressed
the need for preserving the heritage of tribal India. He also
promised all help needed from his ministry for the dynamic drive of
the "Lady Governor" of Orissa in bringing the very special Saura
art to the eyes of the world. She had called the exhibition of her
paintings in traditional Saura tribal style - Dreamscapes.| Flash News |
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