Pradeep Marawi was born in Gaakmatta village in the Dindori district of Madhya Pradesh on June 1, 1977. Born into the family of a Gond farmer Pradeep initially learned the art of tribal carpentry. But side-by-side he was drawing pictures on walls during ritual or festive occasions. Later in his youth he turned more towards painting. He got his imagery from the great mythological tales of the Gond tribe as well as from the childhood tales he had heard from his maternal aunt. When he put these stories on canvas, they turned into animated scenes of birds sitting in trees, deer standing in flowing postures, falcons hunting snakes and mothers holding their children. Pradeep’s application of thick dots which cover the inner space of his figures gives an impression of a colorful mosaic. It creates a kind vibrancy in his figures and they appear animate on his canvas. His work represents a kind of rooted relationship between man and the nature around him, similar to a story Pradeep narrates about a girl helped by birds, snakes and tiger cubs.
