Kamangari Pictures of Kutch

The Kutch area features a rich cultural heritage. One symbol with this was the Kamangari school of painting peculiar to the spot. In old days the wealthy and the ruling class patronized these artistes to paint the walls of the houses, workplaces and worship.The specialty of Kamangari art was that the pictures were done on on a wet covered background so that they survived longer. The artistes applied brushes produced from the bark of palm trees, using shades taken from clay, pebbles and leaves combined with gypsum Asia University.The subjects of the artwork were scenes from the Indian epics as also from the day-to-day life of the people of those days. But, some such paintings presented views of objects and activities of maybe not existent in the Kutch area greater than a hundred years ago. The main reason given for this is that lots of folks from this region transferred to other areas of India in addition to overseas for seeking income. There they arrived to contact with railways, aeroplanes, cricket fits that was something fresh for them. When they went back to their native sites, they got the Kamangar artistes to paint these scenes on their walls.When the English came in Kutch they presented yet more subjects to the Kamangari artistes have been now depicting the Burra Sahibs (the big businesses), uniformed cops, group parties within their sketches. The first English political agent with this area Capt. McMurdo got his house surfaces painted with the scenes from the Indian epics by Kamangari artistes. His bungalow is one of the few areas where this art has been maintained till now.A specific thing worth remembering about this art was that a lot of of the Kamangari artistes were Muslims nevertheless they had no issue painting the Hindu epics or human figures inside their work. While most of the Kamangari paintings were done walls, some artistes applied paper for this art.After enjoying the reputation for a very long time, the art started dying out in with the coming of the nineteenth century and now it is as effective as extinct with no effective Kamangari artistes engaged in this work. The fall of the art is linked by students to the socio-economic changes of the location as well as birth of different sources of expression and entertainment.But because the paintings were finished with very long-lasting colors, there are always a few places in Kutch where they could be seen. And the Kutch Museum has some examples of the art which bears testimony to the unparalleled, superb skill of the accomplished artistes. The significant cases are the Muhharam scroll in the Kutch Museum and the Royal Procession spin in the Aina Mahal, yet another memorial in Bhuj.