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Chittara
Chittara is an indigenous folk art form, practiced by the women of various communities in Karnataka, India.
The drawings are intricate patterns that represent auspicious ceremonies and rituals of life, symbolized in geometric patterns. This requires a certain understanding of mathematics, ratios and proportions, which the women of the community have been using with great dexterity. The paintings are usually 2 – 3 feet in size, aesthetically refined, and made of symbols inspired by their physical environment.
For painting pigments, women artists use eco-friendly natural resources like ground rice paste for white, charred rice for black, powdered Gurige seeds for yellow, and soil/earth for red. The brushes are made up of a locally available grass, Pundi Naaru.
Hase gode Chittara mural done at Indira Gandhi National Center for Arts (IGNCA), Bangalore
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Deevaru
Nestled in the ranges of verdant western ghats of North Canara live the Deevaru people, a matriarchal-agrarian community of nature-worshippers, residing in and around Sagara, Karnataka.
The Chittara art form practised by them is engaged in primarily by the women folk of the community as a socio-cultural practice. This folk art has become an integral part of their daily routines. It was never a profession, but a practice that has artistic and socio-cultural value. For women of the Deevaru community Chittara paintings are a source of great joy, beauty and creativity. They are proud of their tradition, socially bonded and culturally integrated by unique customs and ritualistic practices.
