The Jangarh Kalam: A Pioneer's story
Jangarh Singh Shyam belonged to tribal Gond community hailing from a small village of Patangarh in Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh. Born in 1962 Shyam did not receive much formal education and was a self taught artist.His paintings reflect a strong vision of tribal practices that have been passed on from generations. Heavily influenced by his surroundings, his works often depict natural elements like birds, trees, animals and local deities like Bagh Dev, Marahi Dev etc. Jangarh Singh Shyam in his studio.Courtesy: Wikipedia Creative Commons His early works involved decorating homes and ceremonial spaces with traditional murals, however his talent got recognized at an early age of 16 when renowned artist Jagdish Swaminathan, the then director of Bharat Bhavan in Bhopal visited Mandla with an intent of building a collection of tribal art in Bhopal. During his visit Swaminathan stumbled upon the beautifully decorated walls of houses and discovered his talent and brought him to ...