Urban NGOs are committed to preserving Chitara folk art in the Devaru community in Marnard

The traditional Hase Chittara by Deevara artist Sruthi on display at IIWC, depicting a wedding ceremony featuring musicians, sun and moon patterns, and birds in either corner | Image source: Special arrangement

Chittara (Hase Chitra) is an endangered folk art form in the Marnard region settled by members of the Diwara community, especially Shimoga, Sagara and Uttara Kannada regions in Karnataka.

Giving extreme attention to details, colour, and symmetry, the art is a taxi to the Earth and its elements, while also being a testament to the deeply respectful and sustainable lifestyle of the community, according to Geetha Bhat, Founder, The Centre for Revival of Indigenous Art (CFRIA), a NGO which has been actively working to revive, restore and preserve Chittara and assisting thousands of artisans involved in this folk art form.

Bhat tells BHAT, BHAT tells Hindu.

This folk art involves complex geometric patterns drawn on walls, trays, bamboo or fiber baskets and is deeply rooted. According to her, the art form mainly portrays unification and celebrations such as festivals and weddings.

CFRIA organized a four-day exhibition which ended on May 13 (May 13) at the Basavanagudi Indian World Culture Institute (IIWC), showing nuggets, glimpses, impressions and knowledge, NGOs gathered through interactive members of the Deevara community in the Marnard region.

She added: “In the exhibition, we have a real reflection of the life, culture and career of the Deevara community through its racial folk art form Chittara. This is the result of 21 and 3 years of research and documentation that interacted with the community.”

Regarding the relevance of Deevara Chittara to urban audiences, Namrate Cavale, space curator of the exhibition, said: “It helps to view the traditional knowledge systems around us as it enables us to question our behavior, its purpose, to appreciate and restore these art forms while also traceing back to our rich roots.

Interestingly, despite the fact that Chittara folk art works are so vibrant and colorful, the artist uses only four colors, which are natural and used for painting. These are: red (red soil or gravel), black (wood carved rice or seeds of a specific tree), white (rice flour), and yellow (gurige seed).

Cavale further said that planning allows the space to reflect on the material that creates art, its significance in culture, the pigments used and their origins, the traditional activities of the community and their representation in art, and the importance of women in the rituals of Deevara.

The exhibition also saw a coffee table book: Deevara Chittara-The Artform, the people, their culture, by the renowned folklorist, poet and Padma Bhushan winner Chandrashekhara Kambara.

“It’s not just a coffee table book. We want the design schools, universities and researchers to interact with the Deevara community and Chittara. So there’s some motivation for the community and Chittara,” concluded Geetha.