Chennai, Oct 13 (IANS): Paintings of around 40 tribal artists will be on display here for a week starting Monday and the organisers hope to see sales worth around Rs.10 lakh, states Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Ltd (TRIFED) said in a statement.

TRIFED's Aadi Chitra exhibition would showcase the charm of India's age old tribal art at Lalit Kala Akademi here.

Themes will range from religious to secular, from gods and goddesses to animals and birds, lifecycles from birth, death, marriage, farming, harvest, celebration, and the five basic elements of earth, V. Ramanathan, regional manager (south) at TRIFED, said.

The first of the nine exhibitions of these tribal paintings of the 2012-13 series was held in Bangalore Sep 28-Oct 4. The exhibition is currently on in Ahmedabad in Gujarat and would conclude Oct 17. The last leg in the series will conclude on Feb 28, at Goa, after shows in Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Hyderabad.

Among the well-known tribal artistes at the exhibition series are Nankushia Shyam and Japani (respectively the wife and daughter of Gond painter Jangarh Singh Shyam), Paresh Rathwa (Pithora style), Rameshwar Munda (Saura) and Jivya Soma Mashe (Warli).