How the Jogis, Who Were Wandering Minstrels, Became Unique Artists

Take a break from modern art and look towards this arty couple who once started by singing on the streets for food.

The late Ganesh Jogi and his wife Teju Jogi, performing together. (Photo Courtesy: www.last.fm)

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that every village and hamlet in India is pulsating with artists.

While some are self-taught – some others carry with them legacies of art forms that are centuries old. It is from one such tiny village in Rajasthan that emerged the free-flowing art of Ganesh and Teju Jogi.

The couple followed in the footsteps of their ancestors by moving through the streets every morning, singing songs of devotion in exchange for food and clothes. (Photo Courtesy: www.last.fm)

This Famous Couple Used to Sing on the Streets for Food

Theirs is a story straight out of classic black-and-white cinema. Belonging to the ancient community of wandering minstrels, the couple followed in the footsteps of their ancestors by moving through the streets every morning, singing songs of devotion in exchange for food and clothes.

Eventually, severe drought and rising costs forced the couple to move to Ahmedabad to eke out a living as manual labourers.

However, their lives took a turn when they met noted anthropologist Haku Shah in the 1980s.

Enchanted by their singing, Shah gave Ganesh a pen and paper. Ganesh, who had never held a pen before, was unsure of what to do with it!

<b>Govind, son of Ganesh and Teju Jogi</b>

Their lives took a turn when they met noted anthropologist Haku Shah in the 1980s. (Photo Courtesy: Tara Books)

Shah gently prodded him to listen to his heart and draw from his memories and imagination.

And thus, began the Jogi family’s tryst with art.

Over the next couple of decades, Ganesh and Teju drew of their experiences, their childhood, their life in the city, their songs and more. Their art became a tool of reflection of their lived experiences in both urban and rural landscapes. It is this little-known treasure trove of art that philanthropist Tulika Kedia is showcasing from her personal collection as part of the exhibition, “Chronicles from Rajasthan: Art of the Jogis”, at her Must Art Gallery in Delhi.

Parkash Jogi, Size 28x22, Permanent ink on Paper. (Photo Courtesy: Tulika Kedia/ Must Art Gallery)

A book about the same – authored by Kedia herself – was launched at the recently-concluded Jaipur Literature Festival, by Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia.

How Teju Behen’s Work is a Shout-Out Against Patriarchy

It was a chance encounter that brought Kedia in contact with the Jogi family.

I fell in love with their art. You can’t categorise their work in any form. It’s got free flowing lines, flattened two-dimensional forms intricately filled with dots and patterns...

<b>Tulika Kedia, philanthropist</b>

JA TJ 16, Medium, permanent ink on Paper, Size 28x22. (Photo Courtesy: Tulika Kedia/ Must Art Gallery)

Especially striking are Teju behen’s work – large and vibrant murals done in poster and acrylic colours. So impressed were some publishers that in 2011, Tara Books presented her striking visual story, Drawing from the City, at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

Minhazz Majumdar (writer and designer of folk art and craft forms in India), has worked with the Jogi family closely. This is what she wrote about Teju behen’s work in an article:

“Teju behen depicts women in her own image, while the men in her works are all representations of her beloved husband, Ganesh.” (Photo Courtesy: folkart.org)

“In May 1986, several years after Ganesh had started drawing, Haku bhai asked Teju to draw something. She took to drawing immediately, at ease with the new tools, and evolving her own iconography…. While Ganesh prefers to draw with a pen and do black and white sketches, Teju is versatile. Working with colour pencils, pen and ink, acrylic and poster colours, Teju fashions her own paint brushes with bamboo twigs and old cotton rags. She depicts women in her own image, while the men in her works are all representations of her beloved husband, Ganesh.”

Kedia agrees with this assessment. She believes Teju behen’s work stands for women’s freedom in a patriarchal society.

“It’s so inspiring, even though categorised outside of the ‘mainstream contemporary art’. It is very modern in content and outlook,” she says.

A picture of Soni Jogi, holding up an art form she has created. Soni is one of the new generation of Jogi artists. (Photo Courtesy: Tulika Kedia/ Must Art Gallery)

The New Generation of Jogi Artists

While Ganesh is no more, having passed away in 2011 while singing at a temple, his family is carrying his legacy forward. Their six children too are emerging as vibrant artists, with their own individualistic style. While the eldest son, Prakash, focuses on energetic lines, the daughter Somi expresses her experience of a bad marriage in her paintings. Govind, on the other hand, creates delicate poetic narratives.

The Rajasthan Government has commissioned them to create billboards and paint the Jaipur Railway Station with their unique brand of art.

Prakash Jogi, 7.50 x 7.50, Medium, permanent ink on paper. (Photo Courtesy: Tulika Kedia/ Must Art Gallery)

(Avantika Bhuyan is a freelance journalist who loves to uncover the invisible India hiding in nooks and crannies across the country.)