THE IDEA RESONATES WITHIN

It is primarily incumbent upon the institutions for example museums, whose objective is to connect itself with a large section of society (visitors), not to let the following questions go out of their sight:-

1. For whom this museum is? Meaning-as to who is its real audience?

2. What is the present mindset of its spectators? What are their concerns? What are their interests, aspirations or dreams etc.?

3. What is the main objective of museum inception, which differentiates it from other cultural institutions and what will be its meaningfulness and distinct features?

4. In what terms can it build a new bridge of meaningful dialogue between various communities?

Audience is a very large and complex unit encompassing children, youths, senior citizens, rural people and male-female of all sections of society. There are further sub-sections among these sections, for example, culture is prime passion for some while some others find no relevance of word 'culture' in present-day context. They want to take a look back at past and take the development anti-clockwise. The third and possibly the largest category is of those who are totally unconcerned to all the cultural questions, neither have they thought about it nor need to think about the same.

For a museum, all are possible audiences and equally important, as meaningfulness of museum depends on their joining in large numbers and maintaining dialogue. The path of a tribal museum is like a double-edged sword as on one hand its main aim is to understand and project all the aspects of tribal life and on the other hand present the same before a civil society, which has not only adopted an entirely different style of development and life, but also regards it as inevitable. This museum has found and prepared a platform where these diverse waves of society come face to face.

Broadly, we can construe that modern urban life is based on scientific views, and tribal life on mythical views. If any platform has served as a bridge of dialogue between these two streams of life (tribal & modern philosophy of life), that same has become visible in this museum's galleries and the modern philosophy of life. If we delve deep, we find that the basic question with which both the scientific thinking and mythical views relate is to how nature originated? And if we expand this all-encompassing 'How' then the questions arise as to how our environment or sky beyond it or zero came into being? And then these pose question as to who is “I”? And where? These are the four basic questions both myths and science have attempted to answer. It is very necessary to identify that both science and myths have originated from the same thought ground, and it is also very necessary to identify as to at what point they have parted their ways. By the 18th-19th century, science witnessed so much progress that the final shape of last question among the four questions entirely changed and axis of nature moved from its original place. Now, Man has himself become the centre of nature.

Who am I? and Where am I? These questions are posed only by human beings. What answers he gives to himself for these questions determine as to what will be their relations with nature, society and themselves. Every culture has its origin story around which its cultural view is woven with which it sees and identifies itself. Science has also presented a story of nature in which it keeps the option open for changes through experiments. Science is open to 'historic' future whereas mythical consciousness keeps looking for eternal element. Mythical chronology is that eternal incident with which we can connect in new shape with human destiny in every new age. Therefore, myths and Puranas are sources of energy since we can learn about our existence in totality through them. Change is definitely inevitable in time perception of myth, but value of change does not lie in 'race to move ahead' in fact, it is of no value. It is only a natural process – a cycle of death and reincarnation, unending process in which both past and future are woven in present. Take for example myths about origin of nature prevalent in Gond, Bhil or Baiga tribes. In all these myths there is no originating point where nothing existed. According to the myth, Badadev remembers that the land which is nowhere visible now, was once on the water. Before Badadev could create nature, water-borne creatures, snakes, crabs, invertebrates already existed and knew the whereabouts of the earth. According to Bhil myth, when entire world faced upheaval and was inundated, even then Pawagarh hill remained unaffected and saved the seed of life. Thus, there was neither total death nor total extinction and nor an originating point before which nothing existed. Even nothingness is not a mere zero. All the shapes are inherent in the shapeless. According to philosopher Levi Strauss, “pre-historic society tries to be indifferent and untouched by historic elements despite being surrounded by them whereas modern society assimilates history in itself and considers it (history) as sources of development.” In science's updated theory of nature, there is concept of originating point of nature. Besides, science also sets a limit for expansion beyond which there is nothing. Even sunrays return from there. Therefore, it is also untouched by time. Time and aesthetics will have not many objections to it, but there is great twist in it for science. Problem arises as to how historic, single-line and single-oriented age can come to an end. When science says that even space too returns back after a limit, then scientific views are confused about its exact meaning. Scientific and mythical stories are quite different to each other. But a scientist is astonished to know that the vocabulary he is using to define mutual connection between matter, energy, space and time are not quite different from the vocabulary of creators of myths. The question is not to stand in favour or against scientific or mythical views. The question is whether path of mythical contemplation is possibly another path of complete contemplation? Can analogical contemplation be parallel to and complementary to scientific (logical) contemplation?

There is another platform between scientific and mythical contemplation, which is linked with both, but has its own independent vision and world of its own & that is – aesthetics. Questions of aesthetics also join those four basic questions since all these are connected to contemplation of beauty as to what are the sky, vacuum and the space? What is space age? Where is space cycle? Where its axis is? What is the connection between the axis of the contemplation seeking knowledge about axis of nature? What are vertical and horizontal? What is light and darkness? Is sky both outwards and inwards? Why word 'above' is attached with light and 'beneath' with darkness?

Aesthetics treads a middle path–neither it evades scientific experimentations, nor eternal elements. Despite the urge of consciousness, art seeks its meaningfulness in roots of unconsciousness. It puts a question mark on all the “justifiable”, logic and intellectual superstitions, which are basis of the modern civilization. But it will be not be exaggeration to say that meaningful art plays more or less the same role which was played in ancient times by mythical consciousness as to fit human life's inconstant, chaotic and meaningless activities into frame of timelessness.

Myths were not created by man in the manner when he creates art. Myth is not a creation of man, but a part of his unknown, unnamed, collective consciousness. It can also be said that what is achieved in arts through conscious mind, already exists in its natural form in the environs of myths. In the words of writer/thinker Nirmal Verma, “In its most liberal moments of its creation, art dreams to be a myth, a dream in which difference of person and group vanishes.” There is double tragedy for modern day man since he got separated from nature first & then from the society. These separations created a horrible sense of loneliness in man's within. On the other hand, tribal communities' ties up with nature and environment has not completely snapped. Even this is imposed on them meaning that they have not accepted this snapping on their own will. Besides, tribal man is still connected to his clan due to which his individual experience is also part of collective consciousness. His experience is shared by others and others' experiences shared by him. Members of tribal communities were engaged in giving shape to galleries of Tribal Museum. Various new aspects of tribal philosophy of life and aesthetics are manifested in the art forms shaped by them, as there is no artificial distinction between consciousness, unconsciousness, man and nature, body and soul, as a result of it, these art forms have the glitter and energy of eternal incident on one hand and on the other hand warmth and assurance of community life.

But despite understanding challenges of maintaining meaningful dialogue between urban and tribal philosophies of life in terms of language, giving it physical shape presents entire new types of challenges afresh. Foremost among them, for example, is the fact that say physical approach is not in the centre stage of tribal life – therefore, their life maintains an arm's distance with physical things and this fact was poignantly felt during collection of artifacts from various tribal areas for the museum. And even if there are some physical things, they will seem to be of no use to urban consumerist society.

On the other hand, meanings of such 'simple, ordinary and somewhat unknown looking things are indeed very deep and wide for that particular community. The things that we construe as an ordinary, like a roadside stone might possess powers to deflect disasters and destroy their ill effects for that community. Physical and non-physical aspects are so much interwoven in this philosophy of life that even a 'soopa' (winnowing basket) which is a household thing for them, but it is also linked with rites, rituals and aesthetics also, Besides, it is also source of income for some particular tribal community. There are other folklores and mythical stories that are depicted in such a large scale in the gallery with high walls and modern architecture so that it leaves an impact with all its possibilities and expansion to the visitor. Like the story of Basin Kanya (bamboo) where the sister killed by her six brothers, draws strength from the sacrifice and affection of her seventh brother and is reborn as bamboo in dense forest and thus becomes inevitable for human race in all their rituals, right from birth to death. In these communities, when a child is born it is not laid in the lap of its mother first, but on a 'soopa' containing paddy husk.

Almost the same applies to their aesthetics and 'Spiritual World' also. It is a unique expression which hides more than it says. It is as if tribal aesthetics is tacitly contained in the art of invisibility. Tribal Museum attempts to comprehend and express inner consciousness of tribal life in its totality. There is no major difference between inert and animate elements in tribals or for that matter Indian folk life. All are possessed and animated by one Power and that is why hills and valleys, rivers and rivulets, trees and grass all are sacred. For creating above mentioned feelings on the alien and artificial space of gallery, somehow a climate and background was created which can give a compound feeling of sunlight coming down through thick foliage, ruggedness of jungle and its sounds. The attempt was to arrive at the abstract element of tribal mythical consciousness and aesthetics, so that these galleries were developed keeping these facts in view. Methods adopted in the galleries for capturing essence of tribal inner vision and aesthetics, may seem to be artificial due to their being innovative, but in fact they are born out of the anxiety of getting rid of artificiality.

The quest to capture tribal life in a modern building, in itself is paradoxical. If we really wish to know their lifestyle and thinking pattern, we will have to go amongst them and amidst their environment. But as what has been said earlier, museum's responsibility and objective is to lay a ground for mutual dialogue between both tribal and urban societies. Therefore, on one hand naturally occurring things like straw, leaves, stones, clay, bamboo, wood, iron, dry twigs of trees etc. are optimally used in these galleries and on the other hand, modern tools, techniques, audio-visual medium, lights etc. are also used. It is being contemplated to use lighting arrangements keeping in view various hours of the day. For example, the second gallery has lights that gives the impression of rising sun and morning light, which lightens up thatch of some shanty or its courtyard. Similarly, visitors sees Spiritual World gallery in the softening light of moonlit night. The objective behind such lighting arrangements is to create a live environment, a deep perception and make one have the intense feel of rough and smooth, perforated and solid, pointed bases and round shapes of the exhibits. In this jet age, it is not possible to draw visitors towards museum without making it multi-dimensional, interactive, enthralling and a storehouse of indigenous knowledge. Every tribal ritual is not infact emulation or imitation of ancient mythical happenings, but are, their re-casting. This incarnation-like renovation gives these rituals new meanings and forms, which accord status of creative expression. We link this trend with freedom and give it status of a value in favour of modern society but at the same time we shut doors of possibilities of the same creation on tribal and folk communities. While talking about freedom of expression in arts we tend to open border security posts when it comes to tribal aesthetics. However, these perversities have ended to a great extent now. As a result, presence of tribal and folk communities in arts and science spheres has increased manifold and its evaluation procedures are also being considered afresh. People belonging to Agariya, Panika and other tribal communities were invited to give insight on indigenous methods of knowledge and arts like melting of iron, dying and printing of cloth etc. Several tribal and folk artistes of Madhya Pradesh have earned global fame and redefined their community's existence afresh. This tribal museum has kept all the above-mentioned points in view, whose visual display you can see in the galleries and entire premises and the liveliness of this museum will be a continue process.