Photo Essay: Pili Vesha
Throughout India, there are so many small traditions or specific occasions that only exist in some regions, different folk forms of art or celebrations that mark different festivals. It’s no surprise, in a country this pluralistic and expansive, that we are always discovering new and unique kinds of folk traditions.
We came across one such tradition in the work of photographer Indrajit Khambe, documenting the Kannada tradition of Pili Vesha that is widely seen in various parts of Karnataka as well as other parts of the Konkan coast. A tradition that dates back a few centuries, it is a tribute to goddess Durga’s tiger, and a celebration that takes place on Janmashtami. There are other local legends around the tradition as well - one story is that a mother whose child was unwell made promised to make her child dance as a tiger when he recovered, while another says it was a variation of a folk dance that actually originated in northern Kerala.
The term ‘Pili Vesha’ translates loosely to ‘tiger attire’, and on the days leading up to Janmashtami, groups of primarily young boys practice painting themselves as tigers and choreograph various dances for the day of the festival. Usually using oil paint, they prepare through the night and then do the performance in various public spaces across villages in the Mangalore and Udupi regions. There is a final performance where the winning group often receives a sizable cash prize, similar to traditions like dahi handi or nakasur in other parts of India.
Traveling with a workshop he was conducting, Indrajit Khambe learned of this festival a few years ago and decided to document his observations in this photo series around the phenomenon of Pili Vesha from behind the scenes. He was intrigued by the rituals and preparation behind the festival, as well as the ways in which boys and women had different ways of dressing up as tigers. The phenomenon of the youngsters staying up all night and the physical exertion and rituals involved were not only intriguing but also often led to the children ending up exhausted or even fainting after the night of practice when going from home to home before the competition. This Hammock photo essay presents a few of these photographs and captures an intimate look at a folk tradition unique to this region.
Indrajit Khambe is a documentary photographer based out of Sindhudurga near the Goa-Maharashtra border. Since 2012, he has been following his passion for photography and his work is inspired by photographers like Josef Koudelka, Robert Frank, Garry Winogrand, and Raghu Rai. His photographic subjects are rooted in his home state and he has explored various subjects relevant to this region like traditional theatre form of Konkan region, monsoon farming around Sindhudurga, the landscape of Hampi and the akharas of Kolhapur. His work has been exhibited in various festivals, publications and been commissioned by brands including Apple.
Curated by Karan Khosla with words by Abhay Puri.