Our rich tradition and culture are deeply interwoven in our trades and folklore. The topics, forms, and styles of Indian folk and craft are diverse and multifaceted. Folk forms have substantially influenced the development of the country’s classical forms. To encourage the youth, Bougainvillea Art Foundation (BAF) offers numerous folk workshops throughout the year, such as Madhubani and traditional Indian folk paper toys. Various craftspeople continue to influence our legacy through puppetry, painting, carving, fabric coloring, and so on.
BAF is committed to maintaining Indian tradition, and Guru Shishya Parampara is part of that. By arranging such workshops, the BAF not only preserves culture and passes it on to the next generation, but it also recognizes artisans and craftsmen who are working to maintain the art form.
So far, it has been effective in maintaining and promoting the rich folk and craft traditions. Participating in a workshop motivates and enhances the learning relationship between a guru and a student. Over time, one develops a desire to study more. This spirit of inquiry boosts one’s ability to receive long and arduous training, requiring greater effort to achieve excellence.
In continuation of this, BAF organized a traditional folk paper toy workshop by an artist from Rajasthan at Uma Public School. Manish Kumar is a traditional folk paper toy artist from Rajasthan with two decades of experience. This art form has been passed down through generations in his family, and Manish has dedicated himself to sharing it with others.
He has conducted over 1,000 workshops for students and teachers, reaching government schools, Anganwadi workers, and other stakeholders who work closely with children. Manish’s workshops foster creativity and a sense of pride among students through engaging DIY projects.
The students found the workshop interesting, and they created paper toys by themselves. They found it unique, as they were not aware of the indigenous papercraft art form yet. They were well aware of origami but not Indian papercraft.
