Myriad hues to capture the magic of Rajasthan

The form was modern, but the colours were traditional — hues of bright orange, yellow, blue and red, like the wall paintings in age-old havelis.
The essence of Rajasthan came alive at Desert Hues, an art exhibition by artist-bureaucrat Kiran Soni Gupta, which was inaugurated by Governor MK Narayanan at a city five-star on Tuesday.
The interaction that followed was like a whiff of desert air.Rajasthani folk music played in the background. The discussion gave the audience a glimpse into the Governor’s easy-going nature, attention to detail and sense of humour. Those present included artists Jogen Chowdhury and Eleena Banik, academicians Sugata Bose and Krishna Bose, filmmaker Sangeeta Dutta and American Center director Jeffrey K Reneau. Sundeep Bhutoria, also present at the event, praised the paintings for portraying the true colours of Rajasthan. “I admire how Kiran Soniji takes out time for doing her painting collections. She has done innumerable shows in India and abroad and this is the first time she is showing in Kolkata. I also like the fact that her work is not restricted to one medium. She does oil on canvas, acrylics, watercolours — everything,” he said.