Durga Bai

Oh, wow. This book is more of an experience than a read, to be honest. It's also definitely an art/picture book. I remember adding this to my list and thinking, "ah, this'll probably be something wordy and technical, hard to understand". Oops.

Book content warnings:
eye horror (visual)
body horror (visual)

The Night Life of Trees is a collection of screen prints from three of the most celebrated artists from the Gond tribe of central India: Bhajju Shyam, Ram Singh Urveti, and Durga Bai. Each show more print (set on black paper) is accompanied by a tiny folk tale/myth about each tree in the print. The book is huge and stunning, and it's nothing like I've ever seen before. The tales themselves aren't very involving themselves, and would be pale on their own, so I'm very glad this isn't just a collection of tales. But with the pictures, as a whole this book is gorgeous. show less

Die Bäume arbeiten tagsüber für den Menschen und erwecken nachts die guten Geister zum Leben. Für die Gond, eines der ursprünglichen Völker Indiens, steht der Baum im Zentrum des Lebens, denn traditionell leben sie in den Wäldern.Mit Bildern von Bhajju Shyam, Durga Bai und Ram Singh Urveti, alle drei Angehörige der indischen Gond, eröffnet sich hier vor unseren Augen eine wundersame, kunstvolle, aber auch bedrohte Welt voller Geschichten und Geheimnisse.

The Night Life of Trees is an exquisite silkscreen-printed art book of tree lore from the Gond tribe in central India. Trees are central to the Gond tribal imagination: in addition to the stories that surround them, trees are important in a lived, everyday sense. There is a Gond belief that trees are busy during the day, giving shade and food to humans and animals. It is only during the night that their real spirit emerges. A collection of work by three of the finest living artists of the show more Gond tribe – traditionally a community of forest dwellers from central India – this quintessential Tara title has gone into several editions and in different languages. show less

Absolutley beautiful illustrations on high quality paper. A wonderful collector's item for art, story and nature lovers.