Inspired by the Lord

ARYAA NAIK / TNN / Jul 20, 2007, 00:00 IST

Text Size

Small
Medium
Large

If one checks out the art exhibitions in the city, the number of works inspired by the Supreme Being can take the person by surprise. A PT report.

If one checks out the art exhibitions in the city, the number of works inspired by the Supreme Being can take the person by surprise. A PT report. God is here, there, everywhere . Neither are we talking about a religious reality, nor we are trying to establish a philosophical notion. Instead, our focus is entirely on the portrayal of the Supreme Being that continues to inspire artists.
After the recent palkhi procession passed through the city, one can notice various gods adorning the walls of different art galleries around town, each offering a different interpretation of the artist. Artist Murlidhar Nangre, whose frequent trips with the warkaris has inspired him to explore this subject, has been working on a series of paintings depicting the Pandharpur wari for the last five years. His latest series is on display at a city art gallery. "This subject is the nearest and dearest to all Maharashtrians. My mother being a devotee of Lord Vitthal, I would take her to Alandi every year with the wari. The experience was so beautiful - the one of being surrounded by colours and walking in harmony with people from different strata of society. The subject is so deep that I have worked on it for a long time. The art which has come out as a result is from my heart, my life and from this mud," he says.
Murlidhar Nangre is not alone. Dilip Kadam, who has done Amar Chitra Katha's Mahabharata series, is working on a series on Lord Krishna . "Our mythology is so beautiful, and it offers vast scope for art subjects . An artist can derive so much inspiration from Lord Krishna's life that s/he can use his creativity and imagination to portray Krishna's various avatars, chamatkar and leela," he says. However, he feels that most artists use the impressionist form to depict various gods and goddesses, whereas realism can give a closer account of the forms and lives of gods.
Similarly, Sachin Kharat exhibited his series on Ganesha recently . His paintings, in strong contrast colour schemes, reflect a multiplicity of emotions. "I wanted to portray emotions reflecting the state of our world today. I thought Ganesha would be apt in conveying these emotions to the common man due to the faith that people have in Him. I have painted Ganesha emoting sadness, confusion , happiness, conflicts, through various paintings."

It is known largely that the works of artists embody their attitudes and values. "Religion has been an integral part of our lives. We grow up listening to mythological stories. We have respect for gods and goddesses in our minds, and that is what inspires many artists to interpret them through their creativity with colour and line," explains Murli Lahoti, an acclaimed senior artist. "The god or goddess revered in a particular region finds place on the artists' canvases of that region like, for example , Kali in Bengal, Krishna in UP and Ganesha in Maharashtra," he adds.
Well, art movements may come and go, but looks like the strokes of divinity are here to stay.
punetimes@timesgroup .com

End of Article