Madhya Pradesh’s artform of Gond Painting has been given the Geographical Indication (GI) tag by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry. A GI tag is essentially a name or sign given to products that are attached to a specific geographical location, which may include a region, town or country. GI tags ensure that only the registered or authorised user uses the name of the concerned product.
Gond painting is a form of folk art by the Gond tribal community, which mostly inhabit parts of central India. Traditionally, Gond paintings were done on walls and floors of houses, and featured images of animals and plants as well as traditional geometric patterns. Gond paintings usually feature bright colours derived from natural resources. Bhajju Shyam, a Gond artist and Padma Shri awardee, said in a statement, “They tell us about nature, trees, plants, animals, moon, sun, river, drains, God and Goddesses. What foods are fed, how plough is made, how the king used to fight, how the powers of tantra mantra (black magic) worked -- all this is explained through the painting." He added that it was a matter of pride that Gond painting received a GI tag and that it would directly benefit the tribal and Gond-dominant communities.
The Patangarh village in the Dindori district of Madhya Pradesh is famous for Gond paintings and houses many Gond artists. Dindori’s collector, Vikas Mishra, told Asian News International, “The main source of Gond paintings has been Dindori, and it has been expanded from place to place in Dindori. Obtaining the GI tag indicates that the authority has agreed that the original source is the Dindori district.”
“Some other people used to get them (Gond artists) work and pay them as labour in the area, and now our authority would be developed in that. We have now decided, in collaboration with NRLM (National Rural Livelihood Mission) and NULM (National Urban Livelihood Mission), to bring the paintings in a low-cost model from which we can make greeting cards, mobile covers and bag covers, because not every man can afford a large painting," he added.
Image Source: Thehindu.com