Indian folk art will go into the next century without a doubt. As such, it is a worthwhile investment for the contemporary collector. Also, good folk art is available very cheaply indeed. In fact, Godna and Madhubani art can be had from prices that vary from as little as Rs 10 to Rs 200 per piece from Delhi Haat. But most of this is ``airport art'', which lacks the depth of genuine folk art.

What is the quality of genuine folk art? First and foremost, we must distinguish it from the decorative arts thatcoexist with it and often become integrated into it. For example, various types of tribal door-posts and lintels exist. Some are purely decorative with a plethora of natural and ritual images. These have now assumed ``airport'' quality, are mass-produced for the tourist trade and are generally worthless. But those that have a tale to tell are of value. This may be a visual rendering of an epic or it may be a visual chronicle, a smaller version of the Bayeux tapestry attributed to the wife of William the Conqueror, the first Norman King of England, recording the overthrow of the native Saxon rulers. Such works normally recall the depredations of British colonialism, local rajas and zamindars and even more recent peasant struggles in our own folk art. A third type of narrative is the personal one: a successful hunt, a marriage, or even a plague, incorporating the maker's thanksgiving. Works that do not have this narrative element in them should be treated as bric-a-brac that have only antique value or merely``airport'' art with an antique look. They are not objects of value, but merely decoration.

The second aspect that should be looked out for is simplicity of rendering. Good folk art, as opposed to decoration, is supremely simple. And one has only to look at the work of Jamini Roy, who was influenced by this art tradition, to really understand the importance of this quality even in our contemporary art. Good folk art is always simply executed. And the collector must develop an eye for simplicity of expression to be able to acquire works that are of value.

The third aspect is modernity. True folk art keeps up with the times. If one looks at the aeroplane painted in the Assembly building at Bhopal by the Gond artist, Jangarh Singh Shyam, Mithila painter Ganga Devi's visual narratives of her visit to the US or her record of her struggle against cancer, or Warli Jivya Soma Mashe's rendering of trains, buses and trucks that have changed the lives of folk communities all over the country, one understands howthis modernity has given the folk artist a contemporaneity that allows him or her to command prices at par with our contemporary artists. In fact, many like Lakshmi Pande, who practises Godna art, have been collaborating with contemporary artists like Arpana Caur in exhibitions all over the country and abroad--and signing these collaborative works.So now we have folk artists who are part of the history of their art. More research will of course bring new names to light. This is the duty not just of the Lalit Kala Akademi and other cultural bodies; art galleries, too, could send search teams out to rural areas to spot new artists and also seek out names and works of old artists whose names are still alive in their local traditions. Today, works bought between Rs 100 and Rs 200 each are worth anything from Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000 each. Artists like Jangarh Singh and Ganga Devi are definitely in this category today. There is a serious market waiting to be evolved in this genre of contemporary art. Those who wishto build the art market and not just feed off it should apply themselves to this.