Seed

Authors: Gita Wolf, Tushar Vayeda & Mayur Vayeda

Indigenous peoples | Trees, wildflowers & plants | Picture books | Natural history (Children’s/Teenage)

Published on 1^st August 2024 by Tara Books in India.

Hardback | 46 pages
269mm x 271mm x 16mm | 652g

A seed is a miracle. It is neither alive nor dead, yet holds within itself the potential for life. When it meets the right conditions, it starts to unfurl, witha promise of plenty and the hope of regeneration.

The astonishing variety of traits that a seed holds can be looked at in terms of botany, but also through the lens of art, culture and history. But it is only by connecting these modes—bringing together science and imagination, knowing and relishing—that we can begin to grasp nature with the wonder that it deserves.

This gorgeous handcrafted book makes these connections in two unprecedented ways. The exquisite imagery it features has been created by artists from the Warli tribe in western India. The Warlis nurture a felt kinship with nature to this day, so their art embodies rich ecological knowledge systems in an intrinsic way.

The book also connects form and meaning. Linked by short concise essays, four distinct paper forms explore a diverse set of themes: each designed to capture a particular aspect of the cosmos contained in a seed. An unusual collaboration between indigenous Warli artists, a writer-gardener and book artisans, this book is a celebration of the miracle that is the seed and its place in our lives and culturesA crossover picture book that brings together botany, history and story to express deep ecological understandingForegrounds the human relationship to seeds, expressed through metaphor, folktale and symbolSilkscreen-printed on kraft paper and hardbound, a fine instance of culture speaking to nature through artisanshipFour form of the book - pop-up, scroll, booklet and foldout - stitched and bound within a single cover extend the meanings of text and artA book for all seasons and readers - that speaks to our shared and evolved instinct to grow and cultivate, persevere and transmit plant life An ideal and meaningful gift for all ages