Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Folk art has become an intrinsic part of Indian culture. The rural folk paintings of
India bear distinctive colorful designs, which are treated with religious and mystical
motifs. The subject of Indian folk paintings is as diverse as the Indian cultural milieu itself.
The earliest known art form in India is tribal art. It goes way beyond time yet even today
invigorates with its youthful energy and freshness. Tribal art, also termed ethnographic art
or primitive art, is the art of small scale non literate societies (Dutton, 1995).
Tribal landscape of India is vivid with a large number of tribes living in remote
recesses of the country. Almost 10% of Indias population belongs to the tribal groups
(Anonymous1, 2013). Originally, tribes were a society of people bound by blood ties,
family relations, and common language. Tribal art is the visual arts and material culture
of indigenous or native people. It is the pure and authentic form of art work that has its
own themes, colors, designs and style. The main theme of tribal paintings in India is our
life cycles of birth, death, marriage, farming, celebration, harvest and five basic elements
of Mother Earth.
Tribal art generally reflects the creative energy found in rural areas that acts as an
undercurrent to the craftsmanship of the tribal people. This art ranges through a wide range
of art forms, such as wall paintings, tribal dances, music and so on. Their artistic
manifestations are rich in contents, forms and symbols. In their natural amalgam of simple
and playful motifs, these forms and symbols create a powerful visual impact.
Tribal paintings are several types and every painting represents a separate tribe
culture and customs like Thanka, Gond paintings, Pithora paintings, Patta Chitra,
miniatures, Warli paintings, Pichhvai painting, Khovar paintings Kurumba paintings,
Saura paintings, Bondi paintings and several other (Viswanathan, 2010).
Maharashtra is famous for its rich and profound art treasures. It is a large state and
as its geography is different, the art and craft traditions also vary. Maharashtra is the proud
home to various different artistic techniques, which have flourished under many rulers
including the Marathas, the Mughals and the British. Maharashtra's ties with the arts have

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always remained strong and nurturing since the ancient times, from the ages old Ajanta to
todays Warli paintings.
In the state of Maharashtra alone there are different communities belonging to 47
different tribes living along the western coast of India. This accounts for 9% of the total
population in the country. One of the communities living here are the Warlis. In recent
years their decorative art has gained wide acceptance (Anonymous, 2008).
Warli painting is a gift from the small scheduled tribe living in the state and is one
of the most intriguing forms of Indian folk paintings. These simple rural folk live in the
talukas or districts of Thane, Nasik and Dhule in the state of Maharashtra. This is the
largest tribe found on the northern outskirts of Mumbai. The word Warli is derived from
warla, meaning piece of land or field. They are known as an Adivasi community,
which means first people. They speak their own, unwritten language (although many of
them speak and read other Indian languages as well). They are economically and socially
backward. They are marginal farmers who depend on rain-fed agriculture.
While there are no records of the exact origins of this art, its roots may be traced to as
early as the 10th century A.D. There are some records of the Warli painting tradition dating
right back to 2500 or 3000 BC, when paintings were done on cave walls. It is also assumed to
be the period when the early humans discovered agriculture and natures seemingly unlimited
output. In fact, their mural paintings are similar to those done in the rock shelters of
Bhimbetka, Madhya Pradesh, between 500 and 10,000 BC (Anonymous, 2010).
Despite being in such close proximity of the largest metropolis in India, Warli
tribesmen shun all influences of modern urbanization. Warli art was first discovered by the
modern world in the 70s and was accepted and appreciated widely among people. The
style of Warli art is reflective of the tribes abundant reverence for nature and their simple
lifestyle. Art does not need to be complex to be appreciated, it needs to reflect life.
A distinctive feature of Warli art is that it is desolate. With austere brown mud
backgrounds and drawings in white, the paintings bring an element of freshness to the dayto-day events they symbolize. Compared to other traditions that use vibrant colors, Warli
paintings appear simple with the judicious use of the color white obtained from ground rice
flour. These paintings are done inside huts usually by women (it is only of late that the men
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have also started painting). The walls are made of a mixture of branches, earth and cow
dung, which creates a natural red-ochre background for the wall paintings. A touch of haldi
and kumkum is also added to the paintings. On a plain brown background, the paintings
look almost three dimensional, making them come alive.
Warli art is extremely spare and rudimentary, using limited vocabulary- a circle, a
triangle and a square. The circle, to the Warlis, represents the sun and the moon and the
triangle is derived from mountains and pointed trees. Only the square seems to be a human
invention, possibly indicating a sacred enclosure or a piece of land. So the central motif in
each ritual painting is the square, the chauk or chaukat. Geometrical design is many a time
the basis of these paintings. It is rare to see a straight line. A series of dots and dashes make
one line. The artists have recently started to draw straight lines in their paintings.
The Warlis perception about life being a recurring cycle is best represented in their
paintings with circular patterns that seem to have no beginning or end. Also, death for the
tribe marks the beginning of a new journey and not an end. This approach to their paintings
lends a sense of objectivity that is essential as it gives a keen observer an abstract
panoramic view of life.
These paintings are simple line drawings, mere outlines with little or no detailing.
Human figures in the paintings are simple and small, yet stylish and represented with
utmost clarity. Human and animal bodies are represented in the form of stick figures by
way of two triangles joined at the tip; the upper triangle depicting the trunk and the lower
triangle, the pelvis. Their limbs are symbolized by thin line drawings. A head, arms and
legs are added to both the forms and the women are differentiated by a bouffant (bun) of
hair at the back of their heads. This kind of approach, surprisingly depicting equilibrium,
symbolizes the balance of the universe. Besides all this it also creates a certain effect of
animating the bodies.
The themes of this art are often repetitive and symbolic in nature. The most popular
theme of this ritual painting revolves around hunting, fishing and farming, festivals and
social functions, types of dances, trees and animals. The Tree of Life and the Tarpa
dance are significant images often seen in Warli art. The Tarpa is a trumpet like instrument
and many Warli paintings will have a tarpa player surrounded by drummers with dancing
men and women. Fauna and flora are also presented in these paintings. In recent times,
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these paintings also include a few modern elements like bicycles or transistors tucked in
corners of the paintings.
A prominent feature of Warli art is the painting of wedding rituals, known as
laganache chitra. These paintings are indispensable and sacred. Weddings can never
take place without them. The paintings usually comprise trees, birds, animals and
humans. These marriage themes mainly depict the marriage god, Palghat, his horse and
the bride and groom.
Warli art has gradually diversified into different backgrounds with modern
mediums to preserve the paintings. From walls and floor, the Adivasi has graduated to
paper and canvas to cater to the market for decorative art, which is highly commercialized.
The opening up of the Warlis world has brought them in contact with contemporary urban
life, influencing their life and art. They have also occasionally created black and dark blue
backgrounds for these Warli paintings.
Some Warli artists have translated their work commercially onto paper and fabric,
usually using the traditional reddish-brown background. The artists use white poster paint
to do their work. While traditionally the paintings were exclusively farm scenes with huts,
off-late modern elements have started creeping in, such as the bicycle, car, building,
computer, space craft, train etc apart from traditional motifs. Cityscapes with its vehicles,
schools and other contemporary themes are making way to keep pace with the world
outside their community. It is not unusual for modern Warli art to include elements of
modern life since the Warli people embrace these elements as part of their present life. One
may therefore see a serene harvest scene with an airplane flying overhead.
Warli paintings have a contemporary touch today and have been given a new
dimension by the new practitioners. In their more modern interpretations, they adorn a
range of products such as garments, home linen, cutlery, and in a classic example of
tradition-meeting-modernity, even cell phone covers. Despite the challenges of maintaining
traditions in our transient and fast-paced world, the Warli paintings are a reminder of the
rich tribal culture that continues to thrive in our country.
Among ancient motifs, a strong tribal influence is evident. Today, designers and
artists pick up motifs from traditional designs and incorporate them in their weaves and
color ways based on market demand. However, there is no doubt that stylized versions of
ancient designs are enjoying a new impetus. New designs and patterns are developed based
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on consumer preferences. With the creative mind, the possibilities from traditional textiles
are endless. Motifs and patterns can inspire countless adaptations.
The development of textile designs has witnessed an enormous growth rate from
periods when designs were solely made with hand drawing tools to the present day where
computer-aided design software programmes have simplified and improved the processes.
As the proverb says Creativity is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent
perspiration but computers have confirmed it wrong. They have made textile designing
simpler, faster, more precise and enjoyable. Computer Aided Designing (CAD) is the use
of computer systems to assist in the creation, modification, analysis or optimization of
a design. Designing and editing on computer stimulates work efficiency, enables variations
and improves intricacy in pattern. The designing software CorelDRAW X3 has been used
in the present study.
Development in any field is essential and continuing process so is the field of
traditional textiles. Due to flourishing demand our commercial market has also started
utilizing traditional design pattern and special techniques used in making of textile prints in
desired form after necessary manipulation.
Different methods can be adopted for application of Warli motifs or designs on
different bases. One such area can be textile designing wherein the adapted designs can be
used through knitting, weaving, embroidery, dyeing and printing techniques for product
diversification and value addition. This will not only help in the revival of Warli art but
will also broaden the design base for textile products.
Textiles are usually colored to make them attractive for aesthetic appeal or for
functional reasons. There are two ways of adding color to textile substrate- printing and
dyeing. Printing adds color to the surface in discrete places, whereas dyeing completely
covers the substrate with color. In textile, while the fabric provides the body, dyeing
provides the soul and printing provides the life. Dyeing and printing methods of coloring
fabric can be done in either direct or discharge or resist styles to produce varied and
distinct effects with similar color.
In resist printing, a substance coats the fabric in pre-selected areas, thus preventing
the fabric from absorbing dye in the areas. Resist materials have included starch, clay and
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wax. Although the pattern of the resist material can be said to be printed onto the fabric,
the application of color takes place by dyeing. Batik and tie and dye are two types of resist
printing techniques. Screen printing is the most versatile of all the printing processes. One
of the most outstanding features of screen printing is the possibility of exact reproduction
of designs which is the key requirement of present global market. Block printing appears to
be the most ancient of all the techniques. Color is applied to the surface of the block, and
the block is pressed onto the cloth.
Textiles are decorated by various techniques like embroidering, brocading, printing,
painting and dyeing, but among all of these techniques, embroidery is the protagonist.
Embroidery is a beautiful handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with thread
work, which makes the fabric more attractive. An interesting characteristic of embroidery
is that the basic techniques or stitches of the earliest embroidery- chain stitch, buttonhole
or blanket stitch, running stitch, satin stitch, cross stitch- remain the fundamental
techniques of hand embroidery today. The use of mirrors, beads, precious pearls and
stones, golden and silver threads on delicate designs add to the luxury of the garment.
Modern Indian painting is a reflection of the intermingling of a rich traditional
inheritance with modern trends and ideas. Under the influence of globalization, the
diversified heterogeneous tribal/folk culture of our country is suffering from attrition and
erosion. Recently due to commercialization of Warli art there has been a dangerous shift
from the traditional motifs and themes which tend to erode its pristine qualities and values.
It is therefore, necessary to maintain the centuries old dignity and glory of this art. But
while preserving and safeguarding the great traditions of these painting, attempts maybe
made to diversify the uses to which they could be put and tap its potentialities further.
Today with renewed values, the consumers are showing inclination towards handcrafted items. This has led to virtual revival in the area of surface design. Warli motifs today
are used on different decorative items, household arts as well as apparel items. The purpose of
the study is diversification of the Warli art by adapting the traditional motifs into contemporary
forms for application in textile products through diverse application techniques.
Adaptation means developing new patterns from the old designs without changing
their basic form. The designs can be used with slight modification in their shape, style and
color combinations.

It is a creative approach towards textile designing. It is also a

convenient way of using this art in a versatile way for product diversification and value
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addition. Therefore, in the present study an effort has been made to add some other
dimension in the application of Warli designs in textile.
Objectives of the study
The objectives of the proposed research work are as follows:
1. To adapt and modify traditional Warli motifs for application in textile.
2. To prepare various design arrangements for different household and apparel articles
using selected motifs with the help of CorelDRAW.
3. To prepare various articles using selected arrangements and application techniques,
viz., embroidery, dyeing and printing.
4. To assess consumer acceptability of the prepared articles.
Limitations of the study
The proposed study was limited to:
1. Use of embroidery, dyeing and printing techniques of textile designing.
2. Preparation of household and apparel articles only viz. a set of bed sheet with
cushion and bolster covers and suit, respectively.

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