Tarpa Dance -Warli Fabric Paint on a Tunic

I graduated to painting as a Hobby gradually. It did not come to my notice that I could paint until I attended a workshop and my instructor pointed out the intricacies of my pencil sketch(more on that later).

With little time on my hand holding a full time job, it seemed like a millennium since I held a brush. Lately, however, I have realized that I have a liking for brush and canvas and myriad of colours.

Here I paint a Tunic with Warli Tarpa Dance.

Warli is an art form which is practiced by the Warli Tribe living in the coastal areas of Maharashtra and Gujarat in India. Warli Tribe uses intricate art form to decorate the walls of their mud houses and the colours used are obtained from flowers mixed with rice powder.

Tarpa is a wind instrument played by the village head who stand in the middle while the rest of the group goes around him in circles. This instrument is made from pumpkins and a bamboo stick. It is considered as a gift from God Narandeva and is considered sacred.

Men and Women participate equally in the Tarpa Dance and the lead dancers hold a stick with bells that is hit on the ground to direct the group and add to the music.

As a child, I traveled to my Grandmother's house located in the picturesque Konkan area. My summer vacations were spent listening to stories narrated by my grandmother. Each night when we retired to bed besides her, me and my cousins insisted that she told us a new tale and she obliged. Her narrative took us into a fairy tale world. I was intrigued by her knowledge and often asked her 'Nanu(as I lovingly called her), where do you get all your stories from?' . She smiled and said ' I have a big bag where I store them.

Her soft voice and gentle humming put us to sleep.

As time passed, old age hit Nanu and she was bed ridden. One such day, Nanu called me by her bed side and asked me if I wanted to see her bag of stories. As a child, I was excited and replied in affirmation. She held my hand and put it on my heart and said 'This is where it all comes from'. Those where her last words to me. Nanu passed away an hour later.

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