Each piece in the collection focuses on a particular element of nature. The dots and dashes, traditional to Gond art, are used to create an illusion of continuous movement or timelessness while forming patterns that represent the seed, the tree and the flower, symbolic of the past, present and future.
The organic-shaped, hand-crafted dinner plates, focus on the Mahua tree or the ‘tree of life’ which in Gondi culture is celebrated as one of the most sacred trees, passed down from generation to generation.
The greenish-white flower of the tree has multiple culinary and medicinal uses. While the day celebrates its practical use, the night connects the Mahua tree as an observer of life spiritually. Symbolic of its immortality, the rare flower, even if it is dried, comes back to life, once immersed in water. Different parts of the tree are also used in ceremonies to spiritually connect with the Gondi people in birth, marriage and death.
The two plates illustrate the moral tale of the tribal deity Pashupati turning into a parrot, tiger and boar under the influence of the mahua drink, known as an organic alcoholic beverage in the Gondi culture. The legend goes, that the deity after drinking mahua first starts babbling like a parrot, then roars like a tiger and eventually, unable to stand on his feet, he starts rolling on the ground like a boar. Propounding responsible drinking, it teaches, that ‘iruk’ or the mahua flower brings people together when consumed socially in celebration but should not be taken in secrecy.
