Traditional Hasse Chittar by Deevary Sruthi, exhibited in IIWC, depicts a wedding ceremony, employs the motifs of musicians, sun and moon and birds in both corners | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Chittara (Hase Chitra) is an endangered form of folk art practiced by members of the Deevara community, which has settled in the Mallnad districts, especially the districts of Shimoga, Sagara and Uttar Kannada of Karnataka.
The art that pays extreme attention to details, color and symmetry is a tribute to the country and its elements, and at the same time is proof of a deeply respectful and sustainable lifestyle of the community, according to Geeth Bhat, founder, CFRIA Center (CFRIA), which actively works to revive, renew and preserve Chittar and assistance artistic form involved in this thousand artistic artistic form Forms that are involved in this thousand art form.
“Every aspect of the community – whether in the way they use natural resources, their rituals or their art – is relevant to the current context in terms of sustainability, environmental friendship and cooperation with the environment,” Bhat Hindu said.
This folk art includes complex geometric patterns painted on walls, storage, bamboo or fiber baskets and is deeply rooted in the culture and traditions of the deevar community. According to her, the art form usually depicts unity and celebration, such as festivals and weddings.
CFria organized a four -day exhibition that closed on Tuesday (May 13) at the Indian Institute of World Culture (IIWC) in Basavanagudi to show nuggets, flashes, impressions and knowledge that the non -governmental organization gathered through interaction of Deevar Community of Malnad.
“At the exhibition, we offered a real reflection of the life, culture and occupation of the Deevary community through their ethnic form of folk art, Chittar. It was the result of interactions with the community for 21 years and about three years of research and documentation,” she added.
The relevance of the Deevary Chittary for the urban audience, Namrate Cavale, the curator of the exhibition said: “It helps to look at traditional knowledge systems around us because it allows us to question our actions, its purpose, appreciate and revive these artistic forms, while returning to our rich roots.”
Interestingly, although the folk works of Chittara are so alive and colorful, artists use only four colors for drawings, all natural. These are: red (red soil or crushed red stones), black (coal rice or seed of a particular tree), white (rice flour) and yellow (gurige seed).
Cavale also said that the curation allowed the space to think about the materials used in the creation of art, its importance within the culture, pigments used and its origin, the traditional activities of the community and its representation in art and the importance of women in the deevary rituals.
The exhibition also recorded the launch of the book of the coffee table: Deevara Chittara-Artform, The People, their culture, renowned folklorist, poet and Padma Bhushan, Chandrashekhar Kambar.
“It is not just a coffee maker’s book
Published – May 14, 2025 21:54
