Telangana on a canvas

Some of the most celebrated artists from Telangana give their imagination a free run at the art camp in the city
In the season of Bathukamma, with marigolds and sunflowers in full bloom, at the foothills of the Taramati Baradari, sits Laxman Aelay, painting, filling in the colours on his diptych. A sunny hued canvas that shows a reverse transition from urban to rural life.“See the Goddess, that Jonnapurna Devi,” he says clarifying that Telangana is a place where the staple is jowar and not rice. As about 40 artists work furiously and some lounge about as part of the Telangana Art Camp, what is unmistakable is the common idiom that encompasses their canvases.
Elsewhere, M Krishna Reddy is working to bring alive a canvas that has the Taramati Baradari in the backdrop while a huge sunflower radiates from one corner. “What we learn and do in an art camp is equivalent to one year’s work in a studio. Today, I am painting here while my teacher Narender Rai is painting here, my other teacher Anjani Reddy is painting there. It is a great interactive experience to be part of an art camp,” says Krishna Reddy.
In quite a contrast is the minimalistic work of Archana Sonti. The canvas looks huge as a small image of a baradari takes shape as she delicately daubs an exotic floral pattern with brown brush strokes. “When we are in an art camp, the language we speak changes as we interact with other artists. Even the conversation we have with ourselves is different. Naturally, the outcome is different. It is subtly different but the artist becomes aware of it,” says Archana.
“The Telangana Art Camp is in two phases. While today is the last phase of the first camp, the next phase will begin on October 1 and continue till Oct 6 with a two-day break,” informs filmmaker and artist B Narising Rao, who is part of the organising committee of the fest. “These art camps break down a lot of notions of artists and help them in their journey to compare and evaluate their work. For the audience, it is a rare privilege to see the work in progress and see how it shapes up. It is a dialogue that they can understand as the artist finishes the painting. This is not a performing art, but when you are an art camp, the energy is electric,” says Narsing Rao.
“These paintings will be showcased as part of the Metropolis World Congress. A coffee table book that chronicles 100 years of Telangana Art from the time of Ramakrishna Deuskar who worked for the Nizam to now is going to be released at the function,” reveals Laxman Aelay, who hasdesigned the Telangana government insignia.
The camp will end on October 6 at Taramati Baradari in Ibrahimbagh.