Bhuri Bai

Bhuri Bai is a painter from the Bhil community of Madhya Pradesh whose bright, lively work has made her one of the best-known names in Bhil art. She was named for the Padma Shri in 2021 in the field of art, from Madhya Pradesh ^[1].

Painting walls at home

Bhuri Bai was born on 10 May 1968 in Pittol, a small village in Jhabua district ^[2]. She never went to school and had no training in art ^[2]. Like other girls in her village, she learned by helping her mother and elder sister decorate homes for weddings and festivals, using colours they made themselves from earth and plants ^[2].

A start at Bharat Bhavan

Her life changed when she and her family were working as labourers on the building of Bharat Bhavan in Bhopal, the arts centre designed by Charles Correa ^[2]. The painter J. Swaminathan noticed her and other girls drawing with charcoal on rocks in their spare time and saw her talent ^[2]. With his encouragement she moved from labourer to artist, painting first on paper and then on canvas and walls ^[2].

Her own style

Over the years she developed a style of her own, known for its vivid colours and its blend of form and design ^[2]. Her paintings hang in state and central government offices, company offices, museums and private collections ^[2]. At the Madhya Pradesh Tribal Museum she painted an entire wall as a picture story of her life, from her childhood in the village to her life as an artist ^[2].

She has taught painting to her children, grandchildren and relatives so the tradition carries on ^[2]. Her awards include the Rashtriya Devi Ahilya Samman, the Rani Durgawati Samman, the Shikhar Samman and the Madhya Pradesh Gaurav Samman ^[2].