Warli art - You will never guess where I found it

A triangle, a circle, a square and some lines.  The tribal women of Maharashtra used just these figures to create a traditional folk art popularly known as Warli.

These paintings depict the social life of these tribes and are predominantly painted in white on mud walls. As is evident from many Warli paintings you may come across, they portray human figures that are dancing, farming, hunting or indulging in other such regular activities.

Now, why am I talking about Warli all of a sudden ? I recently noticed Warli art in the walls of my favorite restaurants in Chennai, and I was mighty impressed at where and how they had used it. Considering I found it in a space where I least expected to see an ancient art, I wanted to share it here. Even from the central figure in the art below, I can bet my bottom dollar that you cannot guess where the below picture was taken.

Warli art on the wall

Would it surprise you if I said I clicked this in the men's room ? I don’t know if it is any desecration of an age old art, but I sure know someone really put his / her creative mind into good use here. Seeing this, I could not stifle my chuckle, and in all the urgency I had, I managed to stop and click this picture J

Indian Warli on a European closet

Talking about Warli and creativity, I am reminded of Aparna of Warli-Soul and so wanted to dedicate this space to  mention her work. They say Warli does not depict mythological characters or images of deities, but here is someone who stretches her imagination to create beautiful art out of the same Triangles, Circles and squares.

Radha and Krishna on Warli - By Aparna

I so love niche blogs and I believed Warli as a niche had very limited scope for variety. I have time and again been proven otherwise by her work. She is a trained Warli artist who portrays these stick figures in newer, modern backdrops. Patricia of Colours Dekor also carried a feature of this lovely blog under the blog finds category. I strongly recommend that you check her blog Warli-soul to know what I am talking about. 

Warli Painting - by Aparna

Meanwhile, I am going to have Preethi do a Warli on one of the walls at home. Help me convince her :)

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You may also be interested in

• Preethi's warli art on a pot
• Have you seen this handmade bamboo room divider ?
• An old kurta and how we recycled it

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Linking in : Colours Dekor
- Somu