Educational Galaxy

Chapter 18: Arts of the People, With the People, For the People — EG's own notes, in simple words

Book: Kriti (CBSE, Class 8)  |  Chapter 18  |  Section: Visual Arts  |  Medium: English

Diagram (labels are printed on the image): A labelled diagram of people's arts: knotted living roots, sewn patches and a painted papier-mâché form.

Community artists knotting, sewing and painting together, turning everyday materials into art.

What the chapter is about

Art has been a part of human life since prehistoric times. Every artefact carries the voice and touch of other humans, forging a connection between them and us across time. Just as innovations in materials, tools and technology influence art, so do the lives of the people who make it. This chapter studies three arts of the people, made with people and for people: knotting and linking, patchwork, and papier-mâché.

Activity 18.1, 'Tie and link', begins with nature's networks: even though you do not usually see the roots of plants and trees, you know they sustain life. Some trees like the banyan have roots growing out of branches above the ground. In Meghalaya, the Indian rubber tree has very strong secondary roots above the ground, which people have trained to form long bridges across streams and rivers. The roots are gently twisted onto one another and tied in different places for support; the bridges get stronger over time as the roots grow. Twisting, knotting, crocheting, knitting and weaving are techniques used by artists across the country — baskets, handloom fabric, fans and even charpoys are created with them, everyday objects made for daily use by the people, for the people. Students find ropes of cotton, jute or another natural fibre available in their region and create a small artwork.

Patch and match; pulp and paint

Activity 18.2, 'Patch and match', asks what happens to clothes you no longer use. Fabrics have a long life. Patchwork is a technique used in many parts of the world, where small pieces of fabric are joined and sewn together to create a large piece — made into blankets, cradles, bags, cushion covers, table mats, dhurries and more. In many parts of India, women bring fragments of old fabric each has collected and quilt them together. These patchwork quilts are like symbols of shared memories: imagine society as a patchwork quilt, where each individual plays an equally important role in the overall picture, and anything one person does or creates can change the picture of their entire society. Students work in small groups: collect old fabric from homes and school, use a base piece at least 30 cm × 30 cm, and cut the other pieces into squares or rectangles of about 5–6 cm to sew on.

Activity 18.3, 'Pulp and paint', asks what you do with old newspapers. Thousands are printed daily, discarded after reading, sometimes reused as packaging or bags. When soft paper like newspaper and tissue is mixed with water and glue, it becomes very strong. Papier-mâché is the technique by which this mixture is moulded into a three-dimensional form, inspired by the artist's environment and culture, then painted with pigments available in the region. Artists use the same base but motifs and patterns vary from region to region — for example, the Kashmiri papier-mâché box with the chinar tree motif. Papier-mâché is widely practised across the country, and the chapter asks how such practices travelled from one part of the country to another.

Chart / Table: Three arts of the people

Point	Detail
Tie and link	Living root bridges, Meghalaya; rubber tree roots twisted and tied
Knotting techniques	Twisting, knotting, crocheting, knitting, weaving
Everyday products	Baskets, handloom fabric, fans, charpoys
Patch and match	Old fabric fragments sewn into blankets, bags, dhurries
Patch sizes	Base ≥ 30 cm × 30 cm; patches ~5–6 cm squares/rectangles
Pulp and paint	Newspaper/tissue + water + glue → moulded 3D form
Painted motifs	Regional pigments; Kashmiri box with chinar tree motif

Practice set — try it yourself

1. Where are living root bridges found, and from which tree?
   Hint: Meghalaya; Indian rubber tree.
2. Why do living root bridges get stronger over time?
   Hint: Because the roots keep growing.
3. What is patchwork?
   Hint: Small fabric pieces joined and sewn into a large piece.
4. What three things are mixed to make papier-mâché?
   Hint: Soft paper, water, glue.
5. What motif is on the Kashmiri papier-mâché box?
   Hint: The chinar tree.

Questions with Answers

1. How are living root bridges made, and why are they an art of the people?
   In Meghalaya, people train the Indian rubber tree's strong secondary roots, gently twisting them onto one another and tying them for support across streams and rivers. The bridges grow stronger as the roots grow — a community artwork built by patience, for daily use, by the people and for the people.
2. What does the chapter mean by calling a patchwork quilt a symbol of shared memories?
   Because many women each bring fragments of old fabric they collected, and quilt them together: every patch holds someone's memory, and the finished quilt pictures the whole community — just as society is a quilt in which each individual matters equally.
3. Describe the patchwork activity's measurements.
   Work in small groups, collect old fabric from homes and school, use a base piece at least 30 cm × 30 cm, and cut the other pieces into squares or rectangles of approximately 5–6 cm to sew on.
4. How is papier-mâché made, and how do regional styles differ?
   Soft paper like newspaper and tissue is mixed with water and glue until strong, moulded into a three-dimensional form inspired by the artist's environment and culture, then painted with regional pigments. The base is the same, but motifs vary by region — for example, the Kashmiri box's chinar tree motif.
5. What connects the three arts of this chapter?
   All three turn everyday material — roots, old cloth, old newspaper — into useful, beautiful objects made by communities for daily life: art of the people, with the people, for the people.

Extension questions — go deeper

1. Make a small knotted artwork from cotton or jute rope available in your region. What did the material teach you that a drawing could not?
   Real fibre resists, stretches and knots: tension, thickness and grip matter in ways a drawing never shows — material knowledge comes only from handling.
2. Interview a family member about an old quilt or patched cloth at home. Whose memories does it hold?
   A good interview names the giver of each patch, the occasion it came from, and what the quilt is used for now — shared memory, documented.
3. Why does papier-mâché need careful observation of consistency at every stage?
   Too dry and it cracks, too wet and it slumps: the pulp's consistency decides the form's strength, so the maker must watch and judge like a scientist at each step.
4. How might a practice like papier-mâché travel from one region to another?
   Through traders, migrating artisans, fairs, marriages, schools and now media: techniques travel with people, and motifs change as each new region adds its own pigments and patterns.
5. Design a classroom exhibition of the three arts, with one label per object: material, maker, use, story.
   A complete exhibition gives every object its material (roots/cloth/paper), its makers (individual or group), its daily use, and the story it carries — the chapter's four lenses.

How to use this page: Read the summary, say the Key Terms in your own words, then try the practice set without looking. Use the Questions with Answers to check yourself afterwards. Ask your teacher or parent to check your answers.