Art

Stitching Stories: The Art Of Embroidery in Gujarat

“Before I used to stitch just to make patterns. But now I think about what I want to say through my stitches,” says Raniben. Like her friend Meghiben and many others, she has moved beyond just beautiful needlework to narrative art, embroidering her own thoughts and stories. Stitching Stories is one such story – about how she and her family left their village in Pakistan, crossing the harsh desert to live in a refugee camp in Gujarat, how they rebuilt their lives, lost everything again in an earthquake, and began once more. The book is based on the award-winning animated documentary film Tanko Bole Chhe (The Stitches Speak), an exquisite visual narrative through applique and embroidery that looks at how an inherited craft has become personalised art.

“A book that is powerful and yet an effective story of women who have learnt to adapt to earth-shaking events in their lives – having been displaced, time and again, from their homes. A book that is about sharing, cooperation, and learning to live in harmony with each other. A book that is an engaging introduction to art and the artist through story, memoir and biography. A book that makes its statement clearly and simply, both in words and pictures, having text that is beautifully balanced in narrative style embroidery.” – Young India Books

My Gandhi Scrapbook

My Gandhi Scrapbook is just that – a scrapbook. It has pictures cut and pasted. comments thrown in, something copied from somewhere, random thoughts, quibbles and scribbles…Like a very visual, personal diary. Or a kaleidoscope, where bits and pieces come together to form patterns – especially fascinating when the subject is Gandhiji. The exciting format offers unusual perspectives on a most amazing man, while the headings tell their own zany story. Did you know that Gandhi loved comics? That he would make ‘pudding’ with powdered chapatis? Now these are some quirky bits that aren’t in the book. Add them in, or anything else you like – for in the spirit of scrapbooks, this too is incomplete, with empty pages and spaces waiting for you!

“An admirable compilation of currency, stamps, cartoons, magazine covers, hoardings, letters by Gandhi and interesting trivia are pasted in the scrapbook. There are pictures of streets named after and statues of Gandhi spread all over the world. Few empty pages attached to the book for children to add to the collection as well as an invitation to every reader from Sandhya Rao to share their discoveries on Gandhi with her.” – Young India Books

Barefoot Husain

In Barefoot Husain, the artist has lost his shoes. Jai offers to help him find them and the two take off on a crazy journey, zooming in and out of paintings, through milestones in M. F. Husain’s life. What happens when the always barefoot Husain finally finds and wears his pair of shoes? The fun story takes off from some of the painter’s famous works, including his distinctive horses, and ends with an interesting comment on his celebrated free spirit!

“Part of a Looking at Art series, this out of the ordinary book is an art lesson in itself and will be a valuable resource to both parents and teachers to to engage the child in the works and lives of India’s leading contemporary artists. The bibliography at the end of the book gives the reader a glimpse into the life and works of Maqbool Fida Husain. The story facilitates and enables children to learn about and appreciate – art in its essence. However, at times one wishes that the paintings printed in the book were somewhat larger in size. Fun to read, and informative, too. It is definitely a collector’s item!” – Young India Books

The Veena Player

A damaged painting is like a body without a soul, Aunty Prima tells Valsa, when they set about restoring an old painting by Ravi Varma. As they remove the layers of dust, Valsa hears a delicate cough. Does it come from the painting? The Veena Player is about a charming friendship between young Valsa and the veena player, which weaves in nuances of Ravi Varma’s art style, and pays tribute to his skill in painting lifelike portraits

A Trail Of Paint

In A Trail of Paint, Biswajit is dragged unwillingly on a culture trip, to an exhibition of Jamini Roy’s paintings. Once there, however, an encounter with an old man leads him to an intriguing discovery of fakes and forgers, down Kolkata’s bylanes, with more excitement than he could have hoped for! This story with art, adventure and a twist in the tail, looks at the evolution of Jamini Roy’s unique style and raises issues about integrity in art – the importance of creating, not copying.

“Children will thoroughly enjoy unravelling the mystery and will be thrilled as they grasp the many clues along the trail. This book is a visual delight and fun to read along with kids. A treat for lovers of contemporary Indian art. The bibliography at the end of the book gives a glimpse into the times and work of Jamini Roy and is sure to encourage the reader to want to learn more about this great artist. A must in the school library and for your personal collection too!” – Young India Books

My Name Is Amrita… Born To Be An Artist

My Name is Amrita… is the story of an intensely sensitive and talented girl who grows up to be one of India’s foremost painters. It reads like a diary, and in fact includes actual lines from Amrita Sher-Gil’s childhood diaries that are displayed here as if in a child’s handwriting. The seemingly random musings come together like deft strokes to sketch an intimate picture of her early years. Also featured are paintings she did when she was young and photographs taken by her father. Highlighting her fertile, intelligent mind and bold philosophical views, the book traces her life till she sets sail for France on the journey for which she was born… to be an artist.

“The diary entries and photographs lend that intimate touch to a narrative where memory and art cohabit and speak to the reader.” – The Book Review

Cave Art: The First Paintings

How did art begin? Where did colour come from, before paints in tubes and bottles? Taking a long step back in history, this book explores how the world’s first artists may have tried their hand on the very first canvases — the walls of rocks and caves. Arising more from artistic imagination than archaeology, this story of art unfolds with photographs of the ancient paintings at the Bhimbetka Caves in Madhya Pradesh alongside creative reproductions of rock art.

“Cave Art, the latest book in this series, does a fabulous job of not just sharing historical facts, but also touching upon several related topics such as the origins of art, sociology, communication, religion and belief and the ever amazing human imagination. The book follows an unusual story telling style that can be compared to the reader undertaking a journey of interesting discoveries, along with the author, artist and photographer, rolled into one. The best part is that the question and answer format has a very encouraging, collaborative tone throughout the book. Never does the author pretend to be an expert and that makes the script so much more credible. The coloured visuals, some effectively spanning two pages, beautifully complement the text – which is free of jargon and not burdened by information.” – Saffron Tree

The House That Sonabai Built

From oppressive loneliness, Sonabai Rajawar ‘makes’ her way into a world of beauty and joy! An introduction to the life and unique creative vision of a quietly strong, self-taught artist, through rich photos and a sensitive telling.

“This deeply moving book is about Sonabai’s life as much as it is about dreaming big. It invites urban Indian children to look at rural life with curiosity and to respect its depth. Read with attention to detail, it is about the magic latent in everyday life. It calls out equally to children who are hooked to screen devices as much as to those who are led to craft bazaars and art galleries. Its potential audience includes schoolchildren, parents, art teachers and librarians. Sonabai’s journey is evoked simply yet vividly by both Vishakha’s text and Huyler’s brilliant photographs. Huyler’s images are like rich, dazzling lodes of Indian folk life.” – Goodbooks.in

A for Ajrakh: The A to Z of Block Printing

What do ancient fragments of cloth found in Egypt have to do with modern-day Gujarat? The answer starts with A — and sets us off through the alphabet, building with blocks of a very different kind! A for Ajrakh, B for Bagh, C for Chhipa… Each letter sparks off an aspect of block printing on textile, so that by Z for Zafran what we get is a fascinating patchwork of the styles, the motifs, the blocks, the dyes, and the skilled people who sustain and invigorate a centuries-old intricate craft.

Blue And Other Stories

Suniti Namjoshi, internationally acclaimed fabulist and poet, brings both depth and lightness of touch to Blue and Other Stories. Playful and gentle, these timeless stories effortlessly traverse layers of myth to speak to readers of all ages. Nilima Sheikh’s paintings hang in galleries all over the world. Her art embraces myriad influences, from Indian visual traditions to written and oral texts. Here, the sensuous colours and delicate textures match and enhance Suniti’s nuanced writing. Blue and Other Stories is the coming together of two fine minds to create a contemporary classic.

Every story in this book is a benediction; there is a blessing planted deep within the words, and the tales evoke a precious kind of joy every time you read them… this book is a precious addition to a child’s imagination, or, more importantly, it examines the autonomous life of such an imagination. – GoodBooks