Bhajju Shyam was born in Pattangarh, in Madhya Pradesh in Central India in 1971. Sixteen-year-old Bhajju left his village and came to Bhopal in search of work. He found work as a night watchman, until his uncle Jangarh Singh Shyam, the most brilliant Gond artist of the time, and the one who brought Gond art from the walls of the village into the public eye, asked him to become his apprentice. As Bhajju’s talent became apparent, Jangarh encouraged Bhajju to strike out on his own.
Bhajju’s work soon became known throughout India, and his first international exposure came in 1998 when he was part of a group exhibition at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris. Since then his work has been shown in the UK, Germany, Holland and Russia. In 2001, he received a state award for Best Indigenous Artist. He has ten books to his credit and his best-known work, The London Jungle Book, is a visual travelogue of his 2002 visit to London, where he went to paint the interior of an up-market Indian restaurant. The book, published by Tara Books and the Museum of London, was released in November 2004, along with a three-month exhibition at the Museum. Bhajju has received many awards: In 2001, he received a state award for Best Indigenous Artist (Madhya Pradesh), CRESCER Magazine 30 Best Children’s Book Award Brazil in 2011 and the Ojas Art Award in 2015. Cumulatively, his books have sold nearly a 100,000 copies, worldwide and have been made available in multiple languages.
