GI tag to Gond painting

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In news– Gond painting of Madhya Pradesh has received the prestigious Geographical Indication (GI) tag recently.

What is Gond painting?

The word ‘Gond’ comes from the Dravidian expression ‘Kond’ which means ‘green mountain’.
Gond painting is a famous folk art of the Gond tribal community of central India.
It is a form of painting from folk and tribal art that is practiced by one of the largest tribes in India – the Gond, who are predominantly from Madhya Pradesh, but can also be found in pockets of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha.
The history of the Gond people dates nearly 1400 years. Blended with mystery, pattern, blend of colours and humour, these art pieces depict a modern psyche.
The paintings use vibrant colors like orange, yellow, blue and red, and are created with articulately drawn lines and dots as the method to bring it to life.
Natural colors obtained from various sources like flowers, stones, etc. are used for the creation of these beautiful paintings.
Over the years, the Gond artists have developed their own devices to work with various contemporary mediums and materials.
They would first make dots and calculate the volume of the images. These dots would be connected to bring about an outer shape, which would then be filled with colours.
As they respond to the immediate social situation and environment, each object they come across in life is aesthetically transformed.
The images are tattoos or minimalist human and animal forms that include, chameleons, butterflies, elephants, cows, lions, fish, peacocks and other birds.
Although Gond paintings have been centuries-old, with the passage of time, this art form has gradually shifted from the mud walls of the houses to canvas and papers.
Apart from deriving inspirations from legends and myths, these paintings majorly feature nature as their main subject.
However, there are other well-depicted themes in this painting style as well, including Hindu Gods and Goddesses (especially Ganesha), tree of life, and jungle scenes.