Meraki Triangle – the art house in Himalayas – held up its first artists’ meet up at Sankri village in Uttarakhand. A unique hospitable project which includes homestays, camps and café, Meraki Triangle is also a place where creativity meets passion. Sankri itself is a hushed hamlet perched at a height of 1,920 meters amidst the lofty hills in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. In our first artists’ meet-up, we had an awesome team of Bhuli Art and renowned photographer Chandrashekhar Chauhan (Dharohar Films) accompany team eUttaranchal at their Meraki Triangle homestay in Sankri.
We also had the adorable and playful Pahadi girl Nanda at Meraki Triangle who was the centre of attention. Blame her red chubby cheeks! Everyone loved her presence. She even helped us in our artwork!
The breathtaking natural beauty draped in calm and salubrious environment at Sankri worked as a catalyst for creative juices to flow as the artists picked up brushes and paint for some mural art at Meraki Triangle. The artist duo of Tanya Kotnala and Tanya Singh of Bhuli Art came up with two interesting artworks for two different sections of the area. It was a learning experience for other artists working with them during their amazing mural work.
The vibrant artwork that adorned the wall resembled a kaleidoscope with various shapes, patterns and symbols along with Uttarakhand’s iconic state symbols drawn in trademark Bhuli style. The stairs to the homestay were decorated in distinctive Aipan artwork which is prevalent in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand.
Another wall mural by Bhuli duo portrayed the traditional folk dance popular in the region which included women and men in their local attire dancing in unison. The idea of the color palette for the artwork was inspired by the few old photographs we managed to find at an abandoned house which is no longer in use. The camera lens of Chandrashekhar followed our artistic journey from start to finish and captured breathtaking photographs as well as beautiful candid moments which would have otherwise been lost.
When the sun sets for the day, the warmth from a bonfire is a respite. The Milky Way along with gazillion stars in the sky slowly reveals themselves as the night grows dark. Amidst all the art, the friendly banter that continued throughout the art event made the stay all the more rewarding. On the last day of our 4-day stay, we did a village walk to Sankri village which was a memorable experience. The locals didn’t only invite us to their home but also prepared delicious traditional breakfast for us. To the delight of the artist who adores documenting local handlooms and attire, the women of the household were kind enough to change into their traditional attire for a quick photo session.
As the Meraki Triangle’s 4-day artists’ meet-up came to an end, we had beautiful murals adorning the walls of the homestay and amazing photographs, courtesy team Bhuli and Chandrashekhar Chauhan. We really hope we’ll be joined by more artists, photographers, muralists and filmmakers in the near future. Stay tuned for more exciting artist meet-ups!
Image Courtesy: Chandrashekhar Chauhan
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