Tribal art, craftwork find a colourful showcase at Bhopal’s Mahua Festival

Bhopal: A festival named after a flavour intrinsic to the indigenous communities of Madhya Pradesh got off to a lively start in Bhopal, drawing tribal artisans and their exquisite handicrafts from four states, including MP.

The five-day Mahua Festival, which opened on Friday at the Madhya Pradesh Tribal Museum, witnessed a convergence of tribal artisans from Odisha, Gujarat, Manipur, and the host state, who set up stalls showcasing their local handiworks, cuisine and cultures.

Entry to the festival, which ends on June 10, has been made free for visitors. The festival opened to a robust response, as visitors were seen pouring in from the morning hours.

The centres of attraction on the festival’s opening day were the many colourful stalls put up on the premises of the tribal museum. A tribal artisan from Harpalpur in MP’s Chhatarpur district stood out with his

Simple, yet charming, display of handwoven bedsheets, towels, shawls and aasans (prayer/meditation mats), all woven by skillful hands on looms.

Each piece and its intricate threadwork communicated the story of a craft kept alive through generations of hard work and patience.

Nearby, a tribal family from Tigariya village in Betul district laid out a collection of brass idols of gods and goddesses that were crafted using traditional methods passed down through generations. The stall drew a steady stream of curious visitors, many of whom were seen picking up the idols and poring over them with admiring eyes, asking the makers what went into making them.

However, that stall that arguably hogged the lion’s share of attention and visitors belonged to a woman from Dindori village in Maharashtra’s Nashik. She laid out a spectacular display of handmade Mandala paintings on canvas, each embellished with fine detailing. Her most prized piece was priced at Rs 50,000, the most expensive at the festival, which she said took her three months to finish. Every line and every dot had been stroked with precision and care, she said. The piece stood out not just as a work of art but also a statement that craftwork from the Indian hinterlands continues to hold a timeless global appeal.