Back to the Roots

The group first pitched tent in Santiniketan in Bengal in February. “The project was about understanding the evolution of art by going back to the roots and interacting with the people,” said Salim. The Karavan travelled through Kolkata,Ranchi,Patna,Lucknow,Dehradun,Shimla and Srinagar and culminated in Delhi from April 11 to 18. Some of the artwork were on display at the MF Husain gallery in Jamia Millia Islamia University. On Saturday,Salim made a presentation about the travels at Jawaharlal Nehru University’s School of Arts and Aesthetics.

In Santiniketan,Kumar lit up a large tree which had branches like long arms,with diyas while Belgian artist Beatrice Didier’s performance piece Into Your Arms told the story about a woman,who,in order to recover from an “impossible love affair”,walked through a city,asking bikers,passers-by and tourists to hug her. Meanwhile,Hummel took to the streets,“yarnbombing” people,among them a rickshaw puller in a village near Santiniketan,and tying threads on their wrists as a symbol of “spreading love”.

Not all art installations and performance pieces were outdoor— One Night Stands unfolded in the artists’ hotel rooms in Shimla and threw up interesting images,parodying the notion of love that is sold through cards and flowers. In places like Ranchi and Lucknow,the Karavan collaborated with local artistes. Thakur created a scarecrow covered with newspapers to draw attention to the dwindling number of crows in Ranchi. At Sahara Mall in Lucknow,three artists,covered in tar from head to toe,crept up behind visitors to create a Mr Beans-style shock effect.