As I remember, it all started almost three-
four decades back. It is one man’s vision which has been materialized and
zoomed to its zenith. No one ever thought the artist, the man behind the
project, had nourished such a beautiful dream in the depth of his mind and a strong
desire for it in the secret corner of his heart, all these years. To speak
about the project, it is almost similar to the Rock Garden Chandigrah by Nekchand ,
in vision, but the concept and outcome are totally
different. It took years to realize his dream, a splendid dream in fact. The
man behind this project is artist Sri T.B.Solbakkanavar. Before taking up this
project, he was teaching in an art college, in Davangere, Karnataka. He took
voluntary retirement to pursue his dream, which indeed was a very daring step
in those days. His faith, commitment and perseverance finally have crowned him
with fulfillment and success. His relatives too have supported for this project.
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| Artist Sri T.B.Solabakkanavar in the centre |
The tentacles of globalization have touched
the remote corners of the globe, bringing lot of cultural changes in villages
too. A close survey discloses that the
people in the villages have to switched to modern ways and have got accustomed
to new technology and trendy gadgets, discarding their age old methods and
objects. With the advent of new technology and villagers’ openness in embracing
modernity, life has become easier and comfortable now, even in villages. As a
result, the gap between the city and village culture is collapsing very fast
these days. Folk Art, Folk Literature, Folk Music and Dance are all the outcome
of folk life lived and experienced richly in villages are slowly fading. To
preserve our traditional forms, be it literature, dance, music or art, for the
posterity, one has to make herculean efforts to revive these forms through
contemporizing and making it suitable for the usage of present generation.
It is very difficult to document folk
literature and music especially, as these have been handed over from generation
to generation, through oral tradition, whereas the folk art forms have
continued as rituals in daily life even today.
The artist wanted to
recreate the fading faces of village life and culture through his undying
enthusiasm, for the posterity. The project materialized after many years’ efforts and hard work. In this
site, he has tried to recreate the routine activities of village life which
ceased to exist almost decades’ back. A vast land, acres of land, has been used
for this dream project, and artists working day and night here, this space has become one of the best
locations for the nearby high school
students to visit for an educational trip. Situated near a town called Shiggaon
and the place is known as the Ustav-Rock-Garden Nearly, thirty thousand people visit this site every
day and during the holidays it exceeds more than fifty thousand.
Village atmosphere has been
recreated here by building houses, shops, cattle sheds, huts and so on. Life
size sculptures made in cement and plaster of paris inhibit the houses and
shops with rich colorful folk costumes and ornaments. The vessels and other
objects of significance relevant to different situations and rituals have been collected and installed here to
represent the rich heritage of village life. The cattle shed is a master piece
– life size buffalos, bulloxes, cows stand majestically in this space - the
mirror images of these robust engaged in different actions, doubles the visual
appeal to the viewers. Life sized folk women sculptures, dressed up in saris
and blouses with typical folk design and colors,
immersed in diverse activities like cradling, grinding, cleaning, harvesting
make the folk literature and songs come alive once again. The village life
scenes with all the details presented here show how life has evolved gradually.
Along with this, the important historical personalities of this region also
have been covered with suitable background. These visuals enlighten the
students who visit this place. The artists engaged here keep on experimenting
with new materials and methods and come up with creative outcomes. The diverse
subjects handled sensitively make this site interesting and informative.
By Gayatri Desai
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