Gond

Gond art is a celebrated, intricate, and vibrant art form that originated in the Gond community, particularly in Madhya Pradesh. It represents the quintessential tribal and folk art forms of the country. Gond art has a deep connection with Nature and its elements. The art's soul lies in its technique. Different colours and detailed patterns of lines and dots are used to create vibrant visual narratives and depict events related to daily life, myths, folk deities, fish, birds and animals. Every image is a fragment of memory, myth and ecology stitched together in pattern.

The Gond tribe, one of India's oldest indigenous communities, lives across Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and parts of Maharashtra. Rooted in the Dravidian term Kond, meaning "green mountain", the word "Gond" is a fitting name for people whose culture, beliefs and daily life have been inspired by the forests and hill terrain for centuries.  

It was Jangarh Singh Shyam who pulled this tradition off village walls and onto canvas in the 1980s, a shift so significant it earned its own name, Jangarh Kalam. Bhajju Shyam and Durga Bai carried forward, taking Gond art into galleries and children's books worldwide.