Solo Tiger by Jangarh Singh Shyam

The Gond community is regarded as one of the oldest and largest surviving adivasi communities of India. The term Gond is derived from the word ‘Kond’ meaning ‘green mountains’; a majority of the people live in the lush forested regions of Madhya Pradesh, but there are also some Gonds to be found in pockets of Orissa, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. Originally, their art took the form of simple narratives painted on the mud walls of houses to celebrate rituals or festivals. In the 1980s, when the renowned artist J Swaminathan went looking for rural art in the interiors of the country, he stumbled upon the work of Jangarh Singh Shyam.