Maoist hub in Jharkhand transforms into eco-tourism spot reviving lost arts, Amadubi, Eco-tourism, tribal, dance, tribal food, art, paitkar paintings, paytkar, dokra craft, 30 stades
Hutments thatched with grass or country tile (khapra) and mud-plastered walls dot the
tiny village of Amadubi in Jharkhand. Cattle,
plants and trees can be seen around most of the houses. But it is the bright
colours on walls adorned with motifs of leaves, flowers and animals that
distinguish the Santhal dominated tribal village, which has become an
eco-tourism destination despite being situated in the Maoist rebel hub of
Dhalbhumgarh block in East Singbhum.
The peace and
prosperity in the village after it turned into a rural tourism destination in
2013 is in sharp contrast to the abject poverty its residents were subjected to
earlier.
For several years, Droupadi Gope remembers hitting the bed with an empty stomach in Amadubi. Her husband worked as a daily wage earner in a stone quarry with a meagre salary, inadequate to feed the family of five. The quarry would frequently shut down due to Maoist threat.
Dhalbhumgarh witnessed the kidnapping of the block development officer by Maoists in 2010 (he was released after negotiation with the government) and has seen several landmine blasts. “We often slept without dinner after giving food to our children. But all that has changed after the Amadubi-Panijiya village tourism project was launched in 2013,” recalls 36-year-old Gope.
The Amadubi-Panijiya
(both adjacent villages in the same block) started by the Jharkhand tourism
department and implemented by Jamshedpur-based NGO Kalamandir in 2013 has not only
increased the livelihood of villagers like Droupadi but also led to the revival
of dying art form of Paitkar painting.
A Paitkar working on his painting at Amadubi tourism centre, Dhalbhumgarh, Jharkhand. Pic Shawn Eli
“Over 40
families of Paitkar painters were virtually on the brink of starvation when we
conceptualised the project in 2005-06. The project received the much-needed
support from the tourism department and one can see the transformation in the
lives of the artists and their families,” says Amitava Ghosh, a retired banker
and founder secretary of Kalamandir.
Paitkar is derived from ‘pait’, an aberration of pata, which means scroll, and chitrakar which means painter. It is a traditional art form practiced by the Paitkar community in Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha. They have been placed under the economically weaker section as per the Government of India socio-economy survey 2011.
Traditionally, Paitkar would earn a living as storytellers making use of patachitra -- paintings done on scroll of leaf or clothes using natural dyes made from fruits, barks, flowers, soil, stones and leaves.
The
art project
Ghosh was a member of the arts and culture committee of Jharkhand in 2005 when the then Culture and Tourism Minister Sudesh Mahato sought a proposal to develop the dying tribal arts. When research was undertaken about Paitkar paintings, no artists were found in Jharkhand except in Amadubi.
Cottages at the Amadubi rural tourism site at Dhalbhumgarh, Jharkhand. Pic: Shawn Eli
After a series of
visits to the village, Ghosh submitted a proposal to the government and also
made efforts through Kalamandir to help the artists. The project was finally
launched in 2013, to provide sustainable livelihood and preservation of local
art forms through rural tourism.
A two-acre ground was chosen for the project. Two Santhal cottages (thatched structures) with a double bed room adorned with Paitkar motifs and cane furniture and two Swiss tents are now part of the tourist centre.
“There are two open dining spaces, a kitchen serving local cuisine, a museum replete with clay utensils, tribal musical instruments, handloom items and chhau masks. We also have a facility for dokra crafts and an amphitheater for cultural shows on request,” says Kamal Kant Gope, in-charge of the tourism center.
Now nearly 70 families are benefitting from the project directly or indirectly. Gope’s family is one of them.
“I got a cleaner’s job in the project and our family income has increased to nearly Rs 60,000 annually. We also get tips from tourists,” Gope says.
“Not only Paitkar painters but tribal artisans as a whole are reaping the benefits of the village tourism centre,” adds Ghosh.
Kalamandir is helping tribal artisans in the nearby districts of Seraikela and Ghatshila by helping them sell their traditional dokra craft, kurtas and kurtis, cushion covers, tussar silk scarves and shawls.
Tribal art museum at Amadubi. Pic: Jharkhand Tourism
"The village tourism project has not only brought tourists from other states but also from overseas which has revived our dying arts. Even my granddaughter has started practicing the art form,” says Anil Chitrakar (67), one of the senior Paitkar painters at Amadubi.
“We earn anywhere between Rs 50,000 and Rs 2 lakh annually now. There was a time when we would not get even Rs 500 in a month," he adds.
The state tourism department is bullish at the prospects of the village tourism centre. “It is the most favourite village tourism centre in Jharkhand as a tourist can discover the real tribal lifestyle, folk dances and ethnic local cuisines in the backdrop of village ambience here. We have plans to host a regular tourism fair here to attract visitors,” says senior Jharkhand Tourism Development Corporation (JTDC) official Alok Prasad.
Visitors can enjoy traditional tribal dances like firkal (a martial dance art form) and dasai (performed by males) accompanied by tribal musical instruments besides local cuisines like peethas (rice cakes) -- Santhali, mushroom peetha, chicken peetha and letho (chicken biryani cooked in tribal style).
A Paitkar gurukul for visitors helps them to learn painting folklore on scrolls. “Last year we had witnessed nearly 1,000 tourists. The peak season is between September and February and we hope that COVID-19 restrictions will be eased before the arrival of the peak season,” adds Gope.
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