Elephants under the tree

Choti Tekam had only planned to take on her role as wife and mother, but her talent did not go unnoticed. Renowned Gond artist Ram Singh Urveti took her under his wing and taught her how to translate murals on paper. Choti expresses the poetry of her childhood, a tribal poetry tinged with joy, in her paintings. They have a lyrical quality that attracts not just the eye but also all the other senses. Her creations are a celebration of nature that she misses in her urban life. Amazed by the wild and carefree aspects of nature, she immortalizes the essential with her brushstroke. Over a period of two decades, her identity as an artist was established in India. She has won national awards for recognition of the arts. Today, her works form an important part of private collections in the United States, France and India. She was also the Artist of Honor at the Heritage Transport Museum in India and painted murals in luxury hotels.