BHAJJU SHYAM
GOND ARTIST of MADHYA PRADESH
Origin Myth | London Jungle Book | Night Life of Trees (video clip)
Bhajju Shyam’s London Jungle Book, published by Tara Publishing has made him a household name in many countries. His book reflects his reactions responses to the cultural experience of London, which he interprets in the Gondi style. Bhajju Shyam collaborated with Durga Bai and Ram Singh Urveti on Tara Publishing’s The Night Life of Trees which won the Bolognaragazzi Award.
Bhajju Shyam’s motifs are drawn from nature, from the Gond pantheon, folk tales, and the community’s origin myths. He has used Krishna-Radha motif, showing cows drawn to the sound of the god’s flute. Bhajju Shyam remembers that his mentor, Jangarh Singh Shyam, was also a flute player. Bhajju Shyam’s wife Deepa Shyam has also started painting recently. Her main motif is the crow, who in the Gondi creation myth was sent by Badadev to fetch the clay with which he shaped the earth.
