A folk representation of the rare 'black tigers', the small and isolated population of which inhabit the Similipal Tiger Reserve, Odisha.
A traditional Patachitra painting religiously begins with crafting an elaborate border, as borders are believed to set the premise for the graphical storytelling within it. Inspired by this local folk art, this portrayal tells the story of a scientific research in understanding the evolutionary and genetic history of tigers for the purpose of effective conservation, taken up by Dr Uma Ramakrishnan and team (NCBS, Bangalore). The borders are decorated with varied DNA strands depicting the unique genetic premise this research is set in. The centre shows an almost mythical looking pseudo-melanistic tiger walking in the dark and dense forests of Simlipal along with the rest of the tigers and other tools like camera traps. Pseudo-melanistic because 'black tigers' aren't all black but have broader black stripes that cover up almost all of the tanned base of their coats. The team recently published interesting findings from the research like a possible genetic mutation that might have been an outcome of inbreeding due to habitat fragmentation. Or a natural selection in response to the local environment allowing better camouflage in the darker understory of the ecosystem. Further studies would lead to comprehensive steps towards the conservation of these species.
I believe that when local art and everyday sciences come together, folk art is born. This makes folk art a compelling communicator of complex sciences for common people. A stylized representation can serve accurate story-telling, its essence true to its land, its language understandable both locally and globally.
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