Durga Bai Vyam

Durga Bai Vyam (born in 1973 ) is an Indian artist. She lives in Bhopal and works in the Gond tradition of tribal art.

She has created paintings for several publications and exhibited her works widely. In 2022, she was awarded Padma Shri by the Government of India for her contributions in the field of arts.

Early life Durga Bai Vyam was born in Burbaspur, a village in Madhya Pradesh.

At the age of six, she learned the art of digna from her mother, a ritual of painting geometric patterns on the inner and outer walls and floors of the house during weddings and harvest festivals. Her early digna works were well appreciated by people in the community.

Career

Listening to stories with her grandmother and mentoring under her mother contributed significantly to Durga Bai's art in the initial years. At the age of 15, Durga Bai married Subhash Vyam, a clay and wood sculptor.

Impressed by Durga Bai's skills, Jangarh Singh Shyam, encouraged and advised her not to repeat what they had done for years but use their skills to show new things. Her subjects are rooted in tribal folklore and mythology and are drawn mainly from the pantheon of the Gond Pradhan community and popular folklore. She also painted several goddesses: Ratmaimurkhuri, the guardian of the night; Maharalin Mata, who warded off ghouls from entering villages; Khero Mata, protector against evil people; Budi Mai, patroness of the harvest; and Kulsahinmata, a goddess invoked when crop was sown. Durga also painted the males gods, Bada Dev, the supreme god, and Chula Dev, who ensured that the household chulha (hearth) always burns.

In 1996, Anand Singh Shyam, a fellow Gond artist, invited her to exhibit her works at Bharat Bhavan in Madhya Pradesh. Since then, Durga Bai has notably had exhibitions in and around India and also abroad. Each of her paintings is inspired by archetypal scenes of Gond Mythology, creating the unbridled lyricism and audacious imagination of her signature style.

Awards and recognition

2004 - Handicraft Development Council 2006-2007 - Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts Scholarship 2009 - Rani Durgawati award for excellence in traditional painting Katha Chitrakala Runner's up Award, for her children's book, "Mai and her Friends" 2022 - Padma Shri