Where the brush paints in tandem with dance steps

The experiment started 30 years ago, on a rocky beach in Spain. But this weekend, it found a uniquely spiritual expression when artist Satish Gupta conducted his dance-music-poetry-and-art fusion at , the Krtashraya Aurodhan Gardens in the Union territory.
A total of 27 smaller artworks, painted to haikus penned by the artist himself, and two large scrolls, captured the frenzy of creativity as Gupta slapped brush stroke after brush stroke to capture the essence of different forms of creative energy as local dancers Carpagavinny and Asokavadhani danced to singing by Mahesh Vinayakram.
Just back from the Venice Biennale, where one of his experimental performing-and-visual fusion works was displayed, Gupta said his work would imbibe the spirit of the city as much as it would work on the music and dance forms on display. “It all started at a conference for poets in Spain to which I was invited,” he said. “An Austrian poet described the creative process as swimming and it struck me that it would be interesting to find what the sea feels about the process.”
Next morning, Gupta set out to get some canvas, brushes and paint but because it was a Sunday, he could only procure brooms, sponges, wall paint brushes and a huge red scroll from a hardware shop. "We painted on the rocky beach while a Soprano sang and someone else played the guitar,” he said. “Then when we offered it to the sea, the red scroll bled turning the water red. It was a unique experience.”
Since then Gupta has taken the experiment to several countries around the world including the US, UK, France and Virgin Islands. The last episode of the series, before Puducherry, was in his studio in Delhi where danseuse Daksha Sheth and her daughter Isha Sharvani created music and dance as Gupta painted in tandem, matching his strokes to the fusion of visual and performing art, in line with his haikus.
The 17 smaller paintings and two big scrolls created in Puducherry will be displayed at an exhibition in the city.