Diction of life in 8x12

( "I'm nobody who are you? Are you Nobody? Then there's a pair of us-don't tell!", Acrylic on Canvas 

Priyanka Aelay)

I have come into this world to live on my own

And you on your own

 If we meet its well and good

If not, it’s also fine

Zen philosophy depiction of journey, akin with Priyanka Aelay’s words “I’m nobody, who are you? Are you no body, too? Then there’s a pair of us-don’t tell!” The exhibition of nouveau 8x12 of paintings, sculptures and new media by coal group of 13 artists held in Telangana state gallery, Hyderabad from 11^th to 21^st November is a voyage for me through the perceptions of Animalism to post animalism. Most of the exhibits drew a picturesque probe of self existence through animate and inanimate objects. Animalism concerns about our basic metaphysical nature: whether we are material or immaterial; simple or composite; substance, property, process, or event; organic or inorganic; etc. In a contextual frame as animalist asserts.  As Priyanka Alley states that “you have to start with a line or a dot to bring forth a complete imaginary world” thus this exhibition flows from a dot and traverse in a cyclic order rather than linear. Though each exhibit explicates individual image but they have continuous flow like energy cycle stating they are Ind “vi” dual. 

 (Euclaimonia, Acrylic on Canvas, Anand Gadapa)

Priyanka’s and Anand Gadapa’s paintings depict a biosphere perception of the universe. With persistence of imagination and evolution of images and imagery correlated with the tendency of more energy absorbing and dissipating in the niche.

( Crowded Isolation, Acrylic on canvas, Bharath Sayam)

As Bharath Sayam cites “Drawing for me is like giving a form to an idea and then the idea itself becomes the form” through ‘Crowded isolation’ painting. Evolution is existence of millions of years surrounded by millions of objects than live. It creates a natural tendency of mentally limiting for particular limit at any time a ‘body” and attribute it perseverance properties. Thus isolation becomes a movement within crowdedness. This is aptly captured through the physical movements in the painting, rather than portraying in non corporeal postures. 

( Mystical Strength, Acrylic and charcoal on canvas, Nagesh Goud Bolgum)

The transition process is managing to store more and more beyond one’s own body and transmitting it to further generations. Basically that form of energy is physically abundant in animals that’s the “Mystical Strength” depicted by Nagesh Goud Bolgum. The source for strength relies on the source of energy, which can neither be created nor destroyed; it’s a bull’s eye. The black and vivid colors in the images transform from translucent to transparent through the eyes of the viewer with a motif of harappan bull. 

(  Revisiting- Churning of the Cosmic Ocean, Acrylic and charcoal on Canvas, 

Kumaraswamy Bhaktala)

 (One -self in all forms, Acrylic on Canvas, Jayaprakash Doma)

( Nymphs of Lotus pond, Acrylic on Canvas, Priti Samyukta)

The further transition from animalism is a journey of higher learning and the key feature of this is organization of matter would be the need for reflexivity and inventory. The alleyway of this auxiliaries through a mythological metaphors world in the paintings of ‘Revisiting’-churning of cosmic ocean by Kumaraswamy Bhaktala, Nymphs in the lotus pond by Priti Samyukta and ‘one self in all forms’ by Jayaprakash Doma, invariably form as continuity path from biosphere perception to animalistic perception of depiction of dramatic celestial images evolved in tidal wave through the churning of the ocean and yet with an instinct of desire of the ‘life’ in mono appearance. The image of tiger depicted in one-self in various form shows the summit of the life pyramid well composed in a much near to spherical mold. In ‘revisiting’ painting the images of Sura and asuras (mostly male) are altered with the presence of women in an advanced stage of attire, which might throw light on different way of perceiving the event, metaphor and the memory. The ‘Nymphs  in the lotus pond’ portrays various images including different species and inanimate ones in a way conversing with each other inhabited at different locations engulfing  the nature spirits. These paintings invariably make us to re look the river Eco system  as a living source for not only for  life but for a lively imagination process which is ignored and even the judiciary systems pose the question of defining them whether they are animate or inanimate.

( Royal Gaze , Acrylic on Canvas, Ravikanth Masuram) 

The voyage of nouveau takes a different course from this point through the paintings of ‘Royal Gaze’ by Ravikanth Masuram. ‘Royal Gaze’ is a process of back to the roots illustrated in sepia tones and blues of a precedent era. This is the stage of advancement of technology which transformed the land use pattern and driving towards man influenced niche, the post war analytical philosophy has totally erased the image of animal and the interest of nature of us was an interest in analysis of what is to be person. The industrialization and urban revolutions evolved as hand in glove. Two major landscapes occurred in this process, embarking land for industrialization and vast areas for creating resources through the new empires called estates. These steps are major tools for colonizing the space and moving beyond the natural imagination.

( Mapping My City Acrylic on Canvas, Nirmala Biluka)

‘Mapping My city’ by Nirmala Biluka explicitly narrates the zonalization in the urbanscapes. Throughout the world the depiction of cities are nomenclatured as old city and new city distinctly bifurcated by river. Yellow ochre with brown tint in the painting creates the mood of that nostalgia and a zeal for identifying the areas where we grew and played, and looking at new city and modern Nymphs with goggles of old city. 

( Luv  Hyderabad, Acrylic on Canvas, Shankar Pamarthy)

Shankar’s painting of ‘Luv Hyderabad’ reflects the strokes of Mario Miranda’s Nimbhu pani; each city has its own course and culture. Hyderabad known for chit chat over ‘ek chai and ek empty’ (one cup of tea and one empty cup), ‘Luv Hyderabad’ has vital and lucid strokes of movements of time and space as natural flow because of genre of the artist’s profession. The only thing I missed in this painting was His master’s voice (HMV) device. Which   was part and parcel of Irani hotels in those times, HMV symbol depict a German Sheppard sitting in front of the gram phone illustrates the transition from Animalism to Post Animalism. Those Irani hotels were not only abodes of chit chat but locations for identifying the people and mapping their mundane life. At that time the present colonies were villages in transition and gram phone record was a key instrument in concurrent changes.  

( Concurrent Trends in My Village, Acrylic on Canvas, Narsimlu Kandi)

‘Concurrent Trends –In My Village’ by Narsimlu Kandi is delineation of this. The figures in ‘Concurrent Trends - in My Village’ are all in standing posture envisaging the momentous change in alter attires. History is assumed in terms of time and space. But History is just an half an hour or hour journey from the location we reside. It’s neither so far nor a tedious journey, its accumulation of memories in a rapid change and we have lost the capacity to store those memories in a rapid change taking place in few seconds and the age of nostalgia is shrinking day by day. 

( Tale , Teller and Told, Acrylic on Canvas, Laxman Aelay)

We share those nostalgia through different discourse and one such is ‘Tale, Teller and Told’ by Laxman Aelay an indication of post animalism discourse. The local narrators or tellers recreated that era through their memories passed to them form generations and furthered by adding the current events with their local knowledge not only to entertain the audience but it pass on the information about change. As stated by Laxman Aelay ‘one day the narrative in the background itself will come into the lore and present itself-life like canvas move or become a movement itself’ The life size image of teller and told has distinct 3D effect and similes of transition which recite, though the performers might become extinct but the narration will continue, it goes into hibernation but seldom ceases, because it’s the stage for it to transform as mineral resource for narrative capital.

(  Re-finding Form, Steel and scarp material, Shivaramachary Yerraginnela)

‘Re-finding form’ sculpture by Shivaramachary Yerraginnela lucidly expresses that images which are much pedestrian and derivative than what they seemed back then. Because time on little snippets is a function of space both cease at same instant. While viewing at the sculpture my memory is driven by an image of wind flowing through a cloth placed by drying, the flow of the wind on the cloth creates an air tide on the cloth making it like a river. And it just withers away in a second, transforming the event into a metaphor and memory, so making the flight its self a means,applause to Manvinder Dawer, curator of nouveau 8x12 for this flight of clock wise and counter clock wise.

Green Musings

http://www.downtoearth.org.in/reviews/green-musings-58807

 Review of my Book Mattigudu- A view on Environmental poetry

Forests melancholy

Never ending legend.

            Long time back a conversation with my tribal friend Vasanth about forest land made me perplexed. The question was that “we measure our land that is cultivated in terms of its yield and the Forest department allocates the land in terms of cents, acres etc. which we do not understand and measure the forest in that way, so can the issue be resolved?” the remedy for the historical mistake is finding its way in Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA). But the varied perceptions of the administration are making the situation more and more complex and further alienating the tribals. Basically the Forest conservation Act premise is that 33% of land area should be under forest cover (Indian Forest Policy, 1952) which will be under threat due to this Act and for this reason the delay took place in implementation. Revenue Department, Forest Department in the country hold maximum land and the tussle between these departments is existing from their inception stage and which will not be resolved. And in between them comes Tribal welfare Department in the implementation of the Act.

 Convergence rarely found in enacting the law is leading to a state of confusion and ambiguity. Surveys and resurveys have become a perennial task because of the perceptional differences. The Act states rights for the people in three different modes, individual pattas on land which is cultivated by individual families. Community pattas, on land which is commonly used by the entire community and for other forest dependents like grazers, non timber forest produce collectors etc. in reality  ACT never entails rights to the communities these are only privileges and concessions. And all the rights reside with forest department strengthening the erstwhile Acts.

When we look into the times of yore reasons for creation of laws reveals the accession of rights from the tribals. The 1855 , first forest policy monopolized the timber species as state property which was furthered by the 1865 Forest Act in controlling the forests, In 1866 forest department was formed. In1876 traditional rights of tribals were taken over by the state. 1894 Act strengthened the claws of the colonials and in the name of public purpose tribals where thrown out to the fringes and became aliens within their domains. In Post independence era they were portrayed as encroachers. The 1952 national forest policy in the post independence followed the footsteps of erstwhile. Voluntary settlement and reclamation of podu lands is beneath this policy.1980 forest conversation Act stated non conversion of forest lands to any other purpose.1972 wildlife conversation Act promulgated ban on hunting and squashing the spirit of tribal culture who are surviving on hunting and food gathering. Carrying of implements like bow and arrow are projected as offence. 1988 national forest policy came with a motive of communities’ participation in forest management. Respective states have drawn some provisions and concessions for the tribals over timber and Non Timber Forest Produce (NTFP), which seldom saw the light even after two decades.

 Indigenous management

 Shifting or Podu cultivation is watershed in human civilization by domesticating land for food production and a shift from previous mode of living which still exists in many parts of the world. The shifting cultivation or podu was done in two ways, on the hill top and plains which is termed as konda (hill) podu and Chelaka (plain) podu. The culture of the tribals revolve around the hill cultivation .Both the forms of cultivation involve community participation. Presently the practice of shifting has declined due to various factors and these forms of cultivation have become almost permanent forms but the culture and traditions woven around them still prevail. In hill cultivation organic methods are adopted. Forests were never considered as an individual property by the Tribals’ and utilization of forests was ecologically complimentary and symbiotic.  The management practice created space for individuals, groups who are dependent on fuel, fodder, NTFP etc and community utilization. Which was an integral part of the management, the dissection started with sectoral departmental management and created conflicts among the communities which still prevail in different forms for accession over the domains. The dissection continues in the FRA which dismantled the existing social fabric.  

The cliché of development

The conflicts between different stake holders (user groups) of the forest emerge due to rights, accession over the resources.  These are historically evident and surfaced during Joint forest and community forest management period due to categorizing and specifying the rights to specific villagers and denying the accession to other dependents. The accession, rights on forest resources were created based on economic and social strata of the community, strengthening the social stratification. And even to this date breaking this discrimination is a major tussle. Rather solving the course FRA furthering it in terms of bifurcating through the stratification of users. The decision of identification of these users was laid in the hands of gram sabha but the Forest Department has formed the Forest committees at Panchayat level in Andhra Pradesh (A.P). The Panchayat Raj extended to Schedule areas (PESA) were not found in spirit and action at the ground level. Hence the power of identification still relies in the hands of the department and it successfully identified the people and even issued the entitlements. Which were not to the expectations of the community. Large chunk of villagers haven’t got the benefits. Muvalla Muttaiah from kodu tribe of Bondaanguda of Padmapuram Panchayat, Araku mandal of Vishakhapatnam dist says that “we are aware of the Act and aspiring to get the rights for peaceful living and awaiting for it”. Ministry of Tribal Affairs, GOI. (31-10-2010), reports that Andhra Pradesh state that total claims received were 3, 29,858. 3, 22,955 Individual and 6,903 community claims. Total area -14, 44,049(acres) and distributed 1, 67,582 including 1, 65,482-Individual and community-2,100. Majority of entitlements were given to women and many villagers are waiting for the entitlements.  But to dismay in the areas of wild life protected areas, potential mining zones, construction of dams’ areas the entitlements are denied. And without the implementation of FRA the projects are cleared.

A.P. Tribal welfare dept. report states that except in Vishakhapatnam the distribution is accomplished, analysis of villages of Marripalem, Maddulabandi, Iridapalli, Karakaput and D.Gonduru of Paderu mandal of Vishakhapatnam dist state that 107 claims are disbursed and 106 are women. The worst victims of resource degradation are women and they are first ones in forest conservation igniting from mundane activities from household chore to the global strata. And after years of struggle the forest lands are in the hands of women but development is curtailed due to lack of spirit. Sanamma of Kothragondi of Araku area of Vishakhapatnam states that “women are more capable than men and manage household responsibility and the resource” and hopes to get the entitlement and wishes development of the land The future course of this act has dyadic dimension, individual land and  community forest development inclusive of taking in consideration of other forest dwellers interests.

The melancholy of forests comes to an end only with a perceptional change in the management systems, which requires an amalgamation of traditional and modern systems of management and niches landmark in forest conservation with women’s headship. This sews a sea change in socio, economic and political fabric of society.

(3-7-2012)