HEERAMAN URVETI-GOND ART-Madhya Pradesh-India-TREE OF LIFE-MUSIC-HUNTING-BANA-BADADEO (HU 24)

Heeraman Urveti is a talented Gond artist who has managed to successfully make his mark in the realm of Gond art. His works often depict familiar motifs from Gond culture and the world that the community inhabits. This work has the bana as the central image. It is a traditional string instrument played by the tribe during rituals and special occasions. The bana is also played to invoke the god Bada Deo, one of the primary deities in the naturalistic religion of the Gonds. Bada Deo is, in fact, depicted as the bana itself in many Gond artworks. This painting captures the Gonds on a hunting expedition. The young hunter is taking the prey. The scene startling the other elements in the painting into a kind of saddness.