Vid artists to recreate 800-yr-old saint tradition in Maha’s R-Day tableau

30-Member Team From Nagpur Working Hard In Delhi

Nagpur: This year’s Republic Day parade in New Delhi will have many firsts such as restricted number of spectators, no chief guest and bio-bubble for the participants due to the Covid-19 situation. For Vidarbha, there is an additional first; and it’s very special.

A team led by an art director from Nagpur and comprising of 22 artists from Vidarbha, all youngsters below 30 years, is making the Maharashtra state’s tableau in the national capital. This is for the first time since 1980 that artists from Vidarbha are making the float of the state for the R-Day parade.

Art director duo Naresh Charde and Pankaj Ingle who run ‘Shubh art’, an advertising and event management firm in Ajni, have bagged this opportunity this year. In a video chat with TOI on Friday, Charde said they had been waiting for this opportunity since 10 years. “Finally, the state government as well as Defence ministry selected our proposal this time,” he said.

The basic concept of the tableau is Santancha Mela (a congregation of Warkari saints) which will depict the 800-year-old tradition of Warkari saints in Maharashtra for which the state is known across the world.

Young artists Tushar Pradhan from Yavatmal and Roshan Gule from Wardha, both pass outs from Government Chitrakala Mahavidyalaya in Nagpur, are working 24X7 along with the team to recreate the history on the float. Nagpur’s Rahul Dhansare is supervising the entire task.

“An eight foot tall statue of Sant Dnyaneshwar, the pioneer of the Varkari Sampradaya, will be at the forefront. Next will be Sant Tukaram with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. An 8.5-ft tall replica of Lord Vitthal’s idol from Pandharpur will be in the backdrop. Statues of all major saints from the state will be placed all around the float,” said Tushar.

The artists are using fibre material to make lifelike and durable statues . It takes special skill to carve the statues out of this material. Rajesh Tembhre and Ankush Tembhre from Yavatmal have made four moving statues for this float.

“Literature has been the most important and rich part of Varkari Sampradaya. The writings are not only spiritual but also philosophical. Our artists have done amazing calligraphy to show this literature,” said Charde.

Maharashtra’s tableau has always been a special one in the R-Day parade. In 2018, a tableau designed by renowned art director Nitin Desai had won the first prize. Nagpur artists are eager to be a part of this tradition.

Maharashtra in R-Day parade

- State’s tableau won first prize in 1980, 1983, 1993, 1994, 1995, and 2018

- Second and third prize in 2007, 2009, and 2017

- Did not make it to the parade in 1972, 1987, 1989, 1996, 2000, 2005, 2008, 2013, 2016 and 2020

- This year, the concept is ‘Santancha Mela’ — a congregation of Warkari saints

- Tableau will have statues of saints, Lord Vitthal, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and saint literature

- The float will move on the tunes of abhangs