Exhibition to revive perishing Saura art

Kolkata, May 16 (UNI) Sauras, an ancient tribe of Orissa, might have lost its entity with time but their culture still lives on through their paintings.

To revive the art and culture of this tribe, which is on the verge of extinction, a Bhubaneswar-based interior designer Padmalaya Kar conducted a painting exhibition, the first of its kind, here yesterday.

The exhibition-cum-sale of Saura paintings and textiles would continue till May 18.

''These are not just paintings. Each painting tells you a different story of the lifestyle of these tribals,'' Ms Kar said.

Ms Kar had been working on the revival of this tribal culture since 2002 and her efforts could be very well defined from the paintings on the walls of Samokhal Art Gallery, the place where the exhibition is being organised.

According to mythology, Sauras were the descendants of the sons of sage Vishwamitra, who were cursed by their father to be impure.

The tribe also finds mention in Valmiki's Ramayana as the most powerful tribe in Southern India.

The tribal, now live a life of anonymity, despite its rich culture and lineage.

''These tribals are very introvert and don't want to mingle with other people but abject poverty have forced them to take up christianity as a result of which their paintings are dying a slow death,'' added Ms Kar, whose husband has made a documentaion of the mural paintings of Sauras.

The people normaly 'painted' the mud walls of their thatched houses with a solution of rice paste and water. These paintings known as 'Idital' were made on themes like birth, cremation, gods and godesses, warding off evil spirits, animal sacrifices, pictures of lizards and monkeys and many more.

The tribe, mostly concentrated in the districts of Koraput, Rayagada, Malkangiri and Bolangir, is losing interest in their own culture.

Their paintings find a similarity with those of the Egytpians.

''I tried to convince them to take up painting and have conducted workshops to teach them how to draw on paper,'' Ms Kar said.

Each of the paintings displayed, cost something around Rs 10,000 to Rs 30,000.

UNI