Basmati Rice brand, India Gate Foods, launched an initiative to preserve the dying art forms of India that have existed for ages but are unfortunately losing their existence with the onset of a new age.
The brand has embarked on this journey with the marriage of art and technology and is digitizing art pieces on Blockchain technology as tradable NFTs. It has launched the NFT legacy gallery to rediscover and commemorate India’s lost art forms to its real patrons. This initiative supports the artists as NFT sale proceeds go to them directly and also effectively connect with the next-generation consumers for the brand.
The brand begun this journey by presenting a heart-warming story, produced by Ice Media Labs Analytics, featuring a West Bengal-based Chaal-Chitra or rice artist Madan Bhowmik. The film has garnered over 6 million views. Known for creating sagas on one piece of rice grain - be it human evolution, the fall of the Roman empire, slaying on Mahishasura, or others, Bhowmik sees limitless possibilities in one single rice grain. However, there is no regular income, laurels, and any takers for Chaal-Chitra in this age and era.
India Gate Foods is closely working with Blockchain App Factory to digitally transform the art forms to tradable NFTs that will be available in the Blockchain market - Opensea for sale.
Speaking on the initiative, Kunal Sharma, Head of Marketing, KRBL India, said, “India Gate Foods has always worked towards preserving and enriching the culture and legacy of India. This time our focus is on preserving the dying art forms of India that have defined India’s rich heritage for the longest time. We are introducing India Gate NFT Legacy Gallery, a first-of-its-kind technological revolution to give unsung Indian artists a global platform to showcase and sell their artworks as NFTs. It's going to be a sustained effort, and Chaal-Chitra is the first chapter in this saga with Madan Bhowmik as our first art protagonist. I think the vast Indian artistic heritage needs this boost, and we are here to provide it.”
Debojit Saha, Founder & CEO of Ice Media Labs and Analytics, said, “It is an extremely difficult form of art as the size of the canvas is small and needs extreme precision from the artists. The film narrates the underlying zeal of Madan Bhowmik, who has been practicing this art form for the last 30 years without worrying about what people think about it. Bhowmik is an inspiration to everyone, and we wanted to bring his story to the world.”
As the digital world transitions into AI-based Web 3.0, NFTs are laying the building blocks for the assets and economics of communities. It has emerged as a popular medium among artists to showcase and trade their memorable work to takers across the world. India Gate Foods intends to make this initiative bigger by bringing multiple art forms from all over the country to their NFT Legacy gallery. It will facilitate their digital transformation and trading, the proceeds of which will be given to the respective artists.