This painting of Vahanvati Mata (mother goddess who guards vessels and vehicles), with its complex and multi-layered narrative, unique idiom, and rich color scheme is the perfect illustration of the intricacy of Mata Ni Pachedi paintings, which carry cosmic stories within their microcosm. The story unfolds on a six-feet, pure cotton canvas, with Vahanvati Mata at the heart of the art, under a canopied architectural structure, that serves as a substitution of temples for the Vaghari (a community that worships and uses Mata Ni Pachedi) to enter the complex.
In the foreground is a soothing blue with aquatic life depicted in beautiful detail, symbolizing the vitality of the sea and its residents in the culture and economy of Gujarat.
Filling each square inch of the canvas, the secondary subjects of this scroll painting are equally intriguing. On the top corners of the painting are the Sun and Moon god, a timeless depiction in nearly all art forms of India. The left side of the canvas is also sanctified by the presence of Sri Ganesha, the first-revered Hindu god who is remembered before the beginning of any story by Indian authors.
Since the story of Vagharis and their goddesses is being visually and orally told, the painters depict the foremost one, Ganesha in the beginning to ask for his blessings. Below him are displays of village scenes and rituals for the goddess, including animal sacrifice highlighted by the inverted body of a goat and its severed head. These depictions are followed by smaller shrines of mother goddesses such as Bahuchara Ji (goddess on a cock), Khodiyar Mata (on crocodile), and Meldi Mata (on a goat).
On the right side of the viewer are rows of women with pots and other ritual items, a depiction of the worship of Vahanvati Mata by the female members of tribes of Gujarat, who revere her for progeny and abundance in life. Rows of men and women follow, representing the local legends of the Vagharis, followed by scenes of worship of Vahanvati Mata, who sits on a ship over a water body populated by fishes.
A distinct element of this Mata Ni Pachedi is the depiction of scenes from the Ramayana on the lower right corner of the canvas- the deer, Rama and Lakshmana following it, Hanuman lifting the Dronagiri mountain for Sanjeevani herb, and Ravana lifting goddess Sita is shown by the artist. Such inclusion of mainstream Hindu legends and traditions with the folk idiom of Mata Ni Pachedi underlines the amalgamation of the two cultures, where Hindu gods and goddesses are worshipped alongside the folk and regional deities, and their presence in the same artistic and ritual universe is accepted and revered.
This canvas by Dilip Chitara demands awe and closer interaction with the fact that each detail has been hand painted, with some use of block printing using wooden screens which are passed down to the artists for generations as a family heritage. The simplicity and allure of this Mata Ni Pachedi speak for the meticulous work of the Chitaras (artists) who make each painting a devotional offering to their Mata.
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