Priyanshi Pareek reports on the Ooty and its unique artefacts..
The ‘Queen of Hill Stations’ ‘Ooty’ is a lovable tourist spot, known for its scenic beauty, tea plantations, botanical gardens, and historic landmarks.
Despite its unique culture and heritage, the rich history of the Nilgiri Hills Ooty has a great name in Art and Craft.
Arts and crafts are an ancestry of the tribes inhabitant here.
Toda, the tribe have developed a red and black coloured embroidery called ‘Pungur’. it is a very distinctive form of embroidery, literally translating to flower, in which geometrical
patterns are stitched on long shawls called poothkuli. The designs are mostly symbolic, ranging from floral motifs to animal and human figurines. Pungur work is done on shawls, mats, bags, etc. Members of the tribe adorn themselves in shawls and cloaks done in pungur embroidery.
Similarly, the unglazed Kota Pottery done on terracotta is a very common tribal artefact easily found in these regions. Kota pottery uses black stone, unlike most other arts that use clay. The products have fine, intricate carvings that will be a beautiful addition to your home. From the extradition of the material to the moulding, shaping and firing, everything is done by women of the tribe.
Stone pottery products within the tribe are used not only for religious purposes but also as daily life objects for cooking, cleaning, water storage, as utensils, etc. The women even
barter within the community with pottery being given in exchange for grains. The tribal artefact is sold commonly in all the markets in Ootacamund.
Kurumba Painting is also one of the famous art forms in Ooty, this art form was practiced by the Kurumba Tribe.
The socio-religious fabric is expressed through the Kurumba art.
The male priests or caretakers of the temple used to practice this art form in the villages and the women of the family used to decorate the doors and windows with beautiful borders and
Kolams on the floor. The outer walls of the doors and windows of the temples and houses were used as canvases for drawing.
The figure motives painted represented the Gods of the Kurumba tribe.
These unique artefacts have a good scope amongst the tourists visiting Ooty and keep the Indian tradition alive.