Colours of India: The gift that keeps giving

I am one of those people who feels moved to tears everytime I hear Lata Mangeshkar sing Aai mere watan ke logon. And even if it is for the thousandth time, I will stand up every time the national anthem is played anywhere and no one is watching me. I am from the generation whose parents had experienced the Partition first hand. My father never spoke about the travails, but about the fun-filled pre-Partition days with part wistfulness and part wisps of a memory. For me, Independence Day is very special. I have inherited a fierce sense of patriotism and great respect for our armed forces and the role they play in keeping our freedom intact from my mother — never mind the world being a global village types!

So when I was invited to be part of Spandan — Colours of India Celebrates the Spirit of Freedom at a perfectly timed exhibition of paintings by eight artists Niren Sengupta, Manisha Gawade, Niladri Paul, Nupur Kundu, Shridhar Iyer and Sudip Roy and Hemraj, I readily agreed. All of them are some of the most important abstract artists of this generation whose art is philosophical in its essential perspective. The works are aesthetic in the selection of colour, there is a positive energy that underlines each work and has the ability to energise any space they are placed in.

All the artists featured in the show bring long years to their canvas’ in terms of time spent in creating and experiencing art and yet have a freshness in their idiom that is so effervescent and vivacious that few can remain untouched by the sheer beauty of their creative impulses. When Indian artists paint abstracts, they are speaking from a point and position of strength for they have a rootedness, a history, an experiential connection with other forms of art that leads them to create works that reflect the larger canvas of life.

“I feel that abstract art needs no introduction to ‘understand’ for it is not difficult — all it needs is to be viewed with the heart, the mind will follow and make the connection effortlessly. And if it means getting art that is also good long-term investment, then it is a win-win for all,” says Rajan Arora, the person who has brought us together.

The show is looking splendid in the space as the joyous and unusual colours find their balance with each other. Prof Niren Sengupta’s perspective ensures a spiritual quest to his paintings that just seems simple on the first glance but in actuality is layered with profound meaning. Niladri Paul’s works are bright yet subtle and he is a rarity of sorts where he is in the throes of coming from a platform of figurative to the abstract. Manisha Gawade focuses on relationships and her work is an aesthetic blend of several types of techniques garnered over the years to trace her journey transcending time and space. Nupur Kundu’s work is an amazing balance of the tandava and the lasya or male and female energies that is almost primordial in its manifestation. Shridhar Iyer’s works are essentially a sum total of his spiritual journey, very masculine and stark in their colour palette but have a completely international quality in their approach.

It was decided that we would do a media photo shoot in one of monuments to give a feel of the monsoon and the heritage that is India. We all congregated at the Safdarjung’s tomb dressed in colours of the Indian flag in keeping with the theme of the show and had a whale of a time talking, laughing, clicking selfies and often the photographer Umesh Verma had to tell us to stop laughing! Post the photo shoot conversation veered to serious discussion about art.

I am a great believer in intellectual and aesthetic freedom. I love the open-endedness of the tradition of nirgun and nirakaar, or formlessness. I feel abstraction is the visual manifestation of this formlessness. In literature too, poets like Kabir have taken this formlessness to a level where the poet is hooking into formless Universal Light and invoking it. And my continuous long-standing affair with the colours of India be they in any form — landscape, clothes, food or architecture comes into play. No matter what anyone says, I feel the best time to travel in India is the monsoon for the sheer aesthetics of the verdure of the landscape and this love shows when I paint.

Often when I am taking trying to juxtapose rarely seen jewel-like colours, it is a life-long loyalty and modest obeisance to the unnamed Indian textile artisan.

Upon which Prof Niren Sengupta, guru to an entire generation of artists said, “the interplay of colour over form and formlessness is something that has fascinated me forever. My own sense of spirituality lingers over all I create. My colour palette is rooted in the Indian colours from the rural to the urban landscape, the myriad hues are my language and I use to convey my deepest thoughts through this idiom. The close knit interdependence of people eventually also sets them free, is my conviction.”

The effervescent, extremely well-travelled artist Manisha Gawade said, “My latest series Teri thi zameen, mera aasman draws inspiration from internalising nature's landscape to the landscape of one's mind. It narrates the journey of the inseparable love between the earth and the sky. The infinitesimal point of the horizon where it seems they meet. Sans boundaries, they run parallel to each other's thought processes. Far apart in the larger picture in the context of the universe, they are still together. Going back to the Upanishads which state that when one has a desire and one releases it to the universe, it ensures that one’s deepest desires are granted.”

Niladri Paul’s works are aesthetic — replete with powerful forms, strong lines, sweeping brush strokes and bold, vibrant colors. “Freedom and spontaneity have been important to me in my personal life as well and therefore animate all my paintings too. A constant fascination with the performing arts leads me to begin the still ongoing endeavour of translating the ever-evolving movements, rhythm, and sound onto my canvases. My contemporary application and sensibilities combined with this hugely complex and all encompassing subject lead to a style of painting that bridged the gap between figurative and abstract art. The energy of my pigments conveys a primitive force and energy of cheerful optimism that I myself feel.”

For Nupur Kundu, who was fortunate in developing her idiom early on in her artistic journey, says, “I endeavour to embody in my work the indefinable in colours. The colors are given freedom to flow, move, and dialogue with each other, share inaudibly and even invisibly the mystery of their being. They carry no thematic burden nor are pushed into the straight-jacket of meanings. They are a narrative into themselves primarily — ‘Colourscapes’. I would not like to paint an idea but get sensitised by the painting. This has indeed had a great influence in my thinking and practice. As rhythm and colour of Indian classical dance has deeply influenced my work, I treat colour as performance. On my canvas, particularly the larger one, colours engage in furious dance. My art in fact is “very performance – oriented.” It is a pure dance creating significant patterns of movement and rhythm covering space without overshadowing it. The space gets painted, in fact, sometimes over-painted.” Shridhar’s work too has undertones of performance in his long-continuing Jatra series.

Sudip Roy, the effervescent artist quipped, “For me, time and its manifestation and how it changes the light are paramount. The ever-changing hues of the sky replete with shadows and light in a micro-cosmic dance are something I try to capture and create in my work.”

For the opening I loved the fact that not only did we participating artists sport colours of the Indian tricolor, most of the guests too did and there were squeals of delight as they greeted each other and appreciated the diversity of using the tricolour hues in their apparel. Viva live the patriotic spirit and the hues of India. Dr Alka Raghuvanshi is an art writer, curator and artist and can be contacted on alkaraghuvanshi@yahoo.com