Durgabai Vyam is a Pardhan Gond artist who lives in Bhopal. She started making dignas colourful clay patterns drawn on walls at the age of six. She is the co-author of The Night Life of Trees which won the Bologna Ragazzi Award in 2008 and the illustrator of Turning the Pot Tilling the Land. Bhimayana is the first book she did together with her husband SuSubhash Vyam is a Pardhan Gond artist. He had started to work with clay at the age of 10 then went on to make sculptures in wood but gave up due to a lack of buyers for bulky sculpture. He’s since been painting on paper and canvas. Bhimayana is the first book he illustrated in cooperation with his wife Durgabai Vyam. They live in Bhopal.bhash Vyam. Durgabai was awarded the Padma Shri in 2022.
<p>Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (1891–1956) one of India’s foremost revolutionaries grew up untouchable. Battling against the odds he gained multiple doctorates campaigned against social discrimination and the caste system and went on to draft the Constitution of India. Throughout his life Ambedkar faced routine discrimination: in school at the age of 10; in Baroda after his return from Columbia University; and while travelling in later life. The discrimination experienced by Ambedkar continues to haunt a majority of India’s 170 million dalits as many are still denied water shelter and the basic dignities of life.</p><p><span style="font-size: 1rem;">In this groundbreaking work PardhanGond artists Durgabai Vyam and Subhash Vyam interweave historical events with contemporary incidents infusing fresh energy into the graphic idiom through their magical art.</span></p>
