Leaf Music - The Toto Tribe

The Totos - A tribe which is supposed to be smallest in number are also one of the primitive tribal group , going through the transitional phase of modernity into their life and culture . Their number is said to be not more than 1500 or so and are still rooted in Totopara , a small village close to Madarihat, at the edge of rivulet Huari along the Titi Forest in West Bengal. The heavy rains in Bhutan swells the river during the monsoon season , when Totopara gets disconnected from the world. The promised bridge to Jaigaon is still a dream though the govt has given them the facilities like a school, a primary health centre , a hospital and a bank. According to Anthropologists Toto culture and language is unique to the tribe. Medical research has also proved that Totos have a high carrier rate of Thalassemia due to community’s age-old tradition of endogamy because Totos are very conservative and marry within the tribe to preserve their ethnicity. This means marriages take place between cousins too. 

During my visit I was lucky to be part of a marriage reception and was introduced to this musician from the tribe. A native skill slowly disappearing as the younger lot trying to bridge the gap between the tradition they grew up with and modernity that is being exposed to them through the mobile handsets and dish antennas that one sees everywhere in Totopara.

And here is the aspiration of the Third graduate from the village which reflects the transition the tribe is going through.

http://www.countercurrents.org/chanda190915.htm

Lacquerware of Kutch

During our recent Kutch tour,the guests were exposed to the beautiful art of making designs using the Lac, a highly specialized art practiced by the Vadha Community of the Nirona region.

Articles like rolling pins, legs for beds, chairs and tables are made from Lac, a material taken from insect resin.Lac is applied to wood by heat through turning with a hand lathe. In the process, the artisan maneuvers the lacquered colors to create patterns by hand in geometrical designs, an art form that is found only in this region of Gujarat.

 

Most of the process of making lacquer-ware is done on a manual lathe.Babool wood, which is found locally, is mostly used for the products. Once the wood is cut into basic forms, each piece is individually put on the lathe and smoothed using wooden tools.Here is a short video clip I shot during our visit.

It was amazing to see the patterns emerge in a ziffy !

The vibrant colors that are mixed with the lac are from the natural ingredients from the surroundings like turmeric, indigo, charcoal and stones etc.

It was nice to see the entire village is contributing to preserve this art form. Some of the NGO's too are actively involved in marketing their products to the outside world.

It was a memorable moment to pose with Bachai Bhai ,the oldest and much respected artist from the village.

The world should be grateful to this village for keeping alive a cultural tradition with such determination and a smile on their face