Painting Everything in the World

In a Rawtha community in India, the villagers prepare for and celebrate Holi—then strange things happen (“There’s no water to cook with!” “This cow has no milk!”). The Wise Man asks the community if they have remembered to make a Pithora painting—a rich mural showing “everything in the world: the sun and the moon, good spirits and evil ones, all kinds of animals and plants, people working and having fun.” Over one night, the villagers help artists create the mural in order to improve the community’s fortune. Hamir, a Rawtha painter from Gujarat, illustrates the story of how Pithora paintings came to be with expressive, stylized forms of active people and animals in red, yellow, green, and black, accented with white dots, culminating in a gatefold that shows the villagers’ painting. An endnote contextualizes Pithora painting traditions, making this book a useful introduction to a specific cultural practice. Ages 6–10. [em](Apr.) [/em]