May 2019 – My Grandma's Legacy

Being the mother of a teenager is fun and challenging. You finally sigh with a relief that your kid is now no more a baby, and has started developing into a soon-to-be adult with her or his distinctive personality. As the mother of a teenager, you also secretly hope that your child will grow up to be your friend in a few years. These days, a simple smiley or thumbs up is not good enough to be a “cool mom”. In the attempt to be that friend, I sincerely made an effort to understand all currently popular emoji and learned which emoji to use while communicating to my children in our electronic messages.

The word emoji comes from Japanese e (絵, “picture”) + moji (文字, “character”); the resemblance to the English words emotion and emoticon are purely coincidental. Emoji exist in various genres, including facial expressions, common objects, places and types of weather, and animals. They are much like emoticons, but emoji are actual pictures instead of typographic. Originating on Japanese mobile phones in 1997, emoji became increasingly popular worldwide in the 2010s after being added to several mobile operating systems. In 1999, Shigetaka Kurita created the first widely-used set of emoji. Kurita created the first 180 emoji based on the expressions that he observed people making and other things in the city.

As of July 2017, there were 2,666 emoji on the official Unicode Standard list.
No wonder along with Wikipedia there is now also an Emojipedia.
In February 2016, a group of Japanese artists adopted the Ganjad village in Palghar district in an effort to keep the Warli art form alive. Who knows, soon these stick figure ancient emoji art will also enter the digital communication world of emoji. Invented way before the age of cell phones, smileys, and emoticons, Warli paintings don’t just mesmerize us with their rustic charm, they also tell a vivid story.

Warli Traditional Motif in White Commonly seen as the stick-figure art form of the Warlis usually, Warli paintings will not have any straight-line drawings. Its greatest attraction is that it is done through simple folk symbols drawn with bold, simple strokes and uncluttered with none but the least amount of colors. There is something about these paintings that take us back to the time, setting and sentiment behind the art — be it a dance scene or an everyday act. Unassuming Warli figures painted in white on red ochre walls might not seem like much to the untrained eye. But a closer look will tell you that there’s more to Warli than what meets the eye. It is not just an art form, but a way of life for the Warli (Varli or also locally referred to as Adivasi) tribes.

Origin/History: Warli is one of the oldest forms of Indian folk art and has its origins in the Warli region of Maharashtra, traditionally created by the tribal women. Tribal people who live in the hilly and seaside regions of the southwestern part of India, in the areas around Gujarat-Maharashtra border are the originators of this special variety of art. They create wonderfully designed wall paintings, by making use of simple geometric shapes such as square, circle, and triangle. These tribes expressed themselves in vivid styles through paintings which they painted on the walls of their house. It is traced back to 10th century A.D. But it was first discovered only in the early seventies & from then it was named as “Warli art”, named after one of the prominent tribes in the region. Now in minority, Warli and Malkhar Koli tribes are among the communities in this area with a nomadic lifestyle.
The customary paintings were usually done inside the huts. The paintings were done on walls made of a mix of earth, cow dung, and branches which give these walls a red/ochre color. The white pigment used to draw shapes and figures would be a blend of rice paste and water with gum as a binding agent. A bamboo stick chewed up at the end is used as a paintbrush. It was in the 1970s that the art form began to be transferred to fabric and paper, letting the art form to reach a much wider audience.

The Warli culture is centered around the concept of Mother Nature and elements of nature are often focal points depicted in Warli painting. Farming is their main way of life and a large source of food for the tribe. They greatly respect nature and wildlife for the resources that they provide for life. The Warli people believe in harmony between nature and man, and these beliefs are often reflected in their paintings. These paintings do not portray mythological characters or images of deities. They focus on everyday social life. These tribal paintings of Maharashtra, done in the homes of the Warlis are pretty close to pre-historic cave paintings.

Region: Warli painting is a style of tribal art mostly created by the tribal people from the North Sahyadri Range in India. This range encompasses cities such as Dahanu, Talasari, Jawhar, Palghar, Mokhada, and Vikramgadh of Palghar district. This tribal art was originated in Maharashtra, where it is still practiced today.
The tribal people are forest-dwellers but have made a gradual transition towards being a pastoral community. A large concentration is found in Palghar district, in the north of Mumbai metropolitan area & some also in Thane district. Dahanu, a peaceful seaside town with a sprawling, uncluttered beach is situated north of Mumbai. The Dahanu- Bordi stretch is 17 km. Irani settlers were first to cultivate chickoo in Dahanu. Dahanu is lined with fruit orchards and is favored for its chickoo fruit. Dahanu village has managed to also keep Warli art alive.
Warli Saree In the 1970s, this ritual art took a radical turn when Jivya Soma Mashe started to paint. He painted not for ritual purposes, but because of their artistic pursuits. Jivya is known as the modern father of Warli painting. Since the 1970s, Warli painting has moved onto paper and canvas. The growing popularity and commercialization of the Warli painting have seen the uplift of many tribal people and they are increasingly becoming integrated with the mainstream.
It is this simple charm that has attracted designers like Anita Dongre and James Ferreira to use the paintings in their collections. Giving an art-cultural twist, along with Warli printed decorative wall painting, now we can see a variety of products showcasing Warli art such as kurtis, palazzos, stoles, dupattas, etc.
These days Warli print sarees are as popular as the paintings. These tribal art startle visually without the prop of color and with a remarkable detail in the form of huge murals that mesmerizes the observers with the magic of the Warlis.

Material and Variations: In general, the traditional color used for the Warli art is white. They create this specific shade by mixing cooked rice, gum, and water appropriately. The color paste gets a firm blend because of the usage of quality gum. They used a rudimentary form of brush for painting, created by crushing one end of a small bamboo stick to make it pliable.
It is easy to recognize this art form as it will have certain fundamental graphical designs such as triangles, circles, squares, etc. It must be specially noted that these symbols were hauled out from the natural world; the circle got originated from the sun and moon. Similarly, it was from the triangle shaped treetops and mountains, the invention of triangles took place. In each traditional painting, there is the square, known as the chauk or chaukat.
These days the paintings are often done on paper, including traditional adorning Warli motifs with some modern elements. Typically, this art form restricts itself to two colors. This classic simplicity is what makes this art form stand out from the clutter.

Common designs: Each sign in Warli art has definite significance and sense. In this painting style, the human life circle is characterized by drawing males and females in coiled or concentric designs. The depiction of humans and animals are done by drawing two inverse triangles joined at their tips: the upper triangle depicts the torso and the lower triangle the pelvis. Their precarious equilibrium symbolizes the balance of the universe. The representation also has the practical and amusing advantage of animating the bodies.
Generally, the main designs will be having fishing, hunting, festivals, sowing, farming, dancing scenes, etc. Designs of animals and trees are also seen. Another main theme of Warli art is the denotation of a triangle that is larger at the top, representing a man; and a triangle which is wider at the bottom, representing a woman. One of the central aspects depicted in many Warli paintings is the Tarpa dance. Tarpa (a trumpet-like instrument) dance and Dhol Dance are some of the vibrant dance forms that flaunt their Adivasi tradition.
One of the most popular themes in Warli art is a spiral chain of humans around one central motif. This in accordance with their belief that life is an eternal journey, and it has no beginning and end.

Where to buy from: Warli paintings on paper have become sought after and are now being sold all across the country. The increasing demand for Warli paintings in urban centers has led to the art form evolving newer, more diverse styles and varieties. This is especially true when it comes to clothes and fashion, where the classic white on red design is not the only option available. Bright colors like neon pink, green and red as well as muted shades of purple, beige, green and yellow are increasingly being used in Warli prints. Warli paintings succeed in adding elegance to a rural hut or a five-star hotel lobby or on printed on silk saree with the same charm. These days hand block printed Warli motif Tussar silk, cotton, and linen sarees are available in online stores and in handful stores in metro cities too.

To me, Warli printed saree is a “Simplicity in Style” saree.
Recently the Sari emoji got approved and so are the Temple and Diya emoji.
So, next time I can use one of these emoji. Cool!