A collaborative venture between Indira Gandhi Rastriya Manav Sangrahalaya, Lalit Kala Akademi (New Delhi) and Bharat Bhavan (Bhopal), running from 25 March to 5 April 2015, for 74 participants from across India and from various artistic disciplines. A group of local Pardhan Gond artists from Madhya Pradesh are collaborating with a team of young animators to develop and produce a short animated film that represents one of their favorite folktales.  The film, expected to be 5-6 minutes in duration narrates the story of how the peacock was created by the great god Baradev, who collected the best ingredients to make his most accomplished creation.  However, there is also a villain in the tale – the Tithi Bird (lapwing) steals the peacock’s legs for herself.   The three artists, Rajendra, Dileep and Vijay Shyam, originally from Patangarh in Dindori District, Madhya Pradesh are residents of Bhopal, where they support themselves through sales of their paintings.  On this occasion, they have taken the opportunity to participate in a workshop that is currently running at the Indira Gandhi Rastriya Manav Sangrahalaya, (at Avritti Bhawan premises) to work with the three young animators, Rabindra Bhagat, Wangdan Wangpan and Kirat Brahma, who have recently graduated from the National Institute of Design in Ahmadabad.
Tara Douglas, the Secretary of the Adivasi Arts Trust is coordinating the animation workshop. She pointed out that this short film is one of a collection of five, the other four being from the North East states of Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Manipur.  The entire programme of the five short films is entitled Tales of the Tribes; it is expected to be about half an hour in duration, and it is the first animation series to be produced in India by animators in collaboration with local artists.  The production is also part of a specific research project supported by Bournemouth University, to study how best to adapt local storytelling for the popular entertainment medium of animation.  This process entails condensing the story to fit the short film format, and experimentation with local art forms to find styles that are suitable to represent the cultures in the films.  This is where Rajendra, Dileep and Vijay have an important role:  the beautiful, intricate style of Pardhan Gond art that has emerged from their community is gaining visibility nationally and internationally, and it will give a distinct identity to the film, in contrast to the popular cartoon styles that are dominant in the commercial industry.   
Although the team plans to have all the artwork done during the workshop, the production of the short film will carry on for considerably longer.  The artwork will be digitally scanned and manipulated using animation software, and as 24 separate images are needed to give the illusion of smooth movement in play back, that implies that between 8-9 thousand images will need to be created for the short film.   The animators are intending to complete the animation production back in Ahmadabad and it is likely to take several months. They are looking forward to returning to Bhopal for the premiere screening of the film later in the year.

Date: April 8, 2015