ABOUT THE BOOK

Human has been striving to make his surrounding pleasing to his senses since the earliest time. Although, his sense perception in that age had not been as discerning as of the modern person, yet the innate sense of beauty was natural to him. That is why we feel an invisible umbilical link between the primitive and the modern creative process. In the present study, that invisible link has been explored: the unlettered and unnoticed country folks have been the humble and unassuming couriers of that process from the primitive age to our times. This phenomenon has been universally similar. In most of the developed and developing countries, either that intermediate link has been swept away by the winds of changes or that is verging on extinction.

However, in India that link is still vibrant in its nostalgic charm and pristine purity in the folk paintings of the indigenous communities and rural folks. In the present study, THE COLOURS OF EARTH, an attempt has been made to discover, collate and study in depth every aspect of that folk creative process to establish its importance, relevance and dignity in the modern scenario lest that should  also be swept away by the winds of market culture.

Spread in eight chapters and written in a very lucid diction, this book presents a comprehensive study of the Indian folk painting. The book is illustrated with 82 line drawings and 78 colour plates. Besides, two very important appendices, one on the Art of Tattooing and the other on the Cow dung and its Significance, further add to its importance. 

ABOUT Author

Dr. O. C. Handa (born 2nd Oct. 1936) is a well-known connoisseur of art and culture. Having been in the field now for half a century, he is an outstanding scholar of history and archaeology of the Himalayan region. 

He has been travelling extensively in all parts of India, from the trans-Himalayan interiors to the coastal areas to have firsthand knowledge of the people and the different aspects of their culture and creativity. That underscores his zeal to explore the extant evidences of history, art and culture of the common people.  That quality is vividly reflected in his writings.

He is a post-graduate in History from Mysore University, Ph. D. from Meerut University and D. Lit. form Agra University. Having come from the civil engineering background, he is a trained archaeologist. He remained in-charge of Museum & Archaeology in Himachal Pradesh for several years.

Dr. Handa has authored thirty-one books on art, history, archaeology and culture of the Himalayan region and edited several books. Besides, he has written many research papers for various national and international journals, and contributed to the Encyclopaedia of Hinduism. Thus, he has more than five hundred papers to his credit. He has been participating in the international, national and regional seminars and lecturing at various forums in India and abroad.  He also performed for radio and TV.

Dr. Handa remained member of different expert committees of the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi and the Ministry of Tourism & Culture, Govt. of India. He remained a fellow of the Himachal Academy of Art, Language and Culture; Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) and the Indian Institute of Advanced Study at different periods. He also remained Senior Fellow of the ICHR and fellow of US-based Infinity Foundation. Presently, he is the Director, Indus-Infinity Foundation & Senior Editor, History of Indian Science & Technology (HIST) Series.