Traditional Folk Mandana Workshop: Mandana is the oldest form of tribal folk art that has survived economically in India for ages. Practised in Rajasthan as well as Madhya Pradesh by one of the ancient tribal communities, the Meenas, it is an intricate form of art. Rooftop hosted a Diwali special workshop on Folk Mandana for its Members and invited Rakesh Vyas. Vyas has been working to preserve folk art since his college days. He always motivates others to pass the knowledge of folk art to younger generations. From time to time he visits the rural areas of Rajasthan to encourage the local community to practice their artwork.

The Traditional Folk Mandana Workshop Began

At the beginning of the workshop, Vyas explained the importance of Mandana in Indian culture to all 19 participants. “There are different Mandanas for different festivals”, said Vyas. On the auspicious occasion of Diwali, Rakesh taught how to make footprints of Goddess Lakshmi. This design consists of all triangle shapes put together marking the presence of Goddess Lakshmi in the house of devotees. This mandala design has been a part of Vyas’s family for four generations. His great grandmother used to draw on the floor with limestone powder. Now Rakesh uses the same technique to draw it on a terracotta plate. 

Towards The End Of The Workshop

All participants carefully observed the beauty of folk mandala and also listened to the folk art stories narrated by the artist. By the end of the workshop, Vyas converted a simple triangular design into an intricate Mandana.

Rooftop was successful in curating yet another art-filled experience to bring like-minded people together from different parts of a country on a virtual platform. 

On this note, here’s us signing off until next time!

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