Abhay Tamhane
I am a professional photographer trained at JJ School of Arts. My painting “Life is a Chess Board” was my first attempt to express myself on canvas which I attempted after 30 years as a commercial photographer, that too at the age of 50. As on a chess board, it’s very important to make that first move. You may think in black and white but life becomes as colourful as a butterfly.

Abhishek Chandoria
In my painting I have depicted an old Indian priest with his monkey friend to show the culture of our country. The friendship between the two is evident in the expressions of the holy man and the monkey. The ornaments they are wearing, the beads and the chain the monkey is tied with are all elements we see in real life. This is a holy man who is living alone far away from his family in the asylum of God. This painting depicts a part of our heritage, one we often see at pilgrimage places in India.

Ahobilam Prabhaker
My paintings are located in the realm of eternal love, providing an image of love in the depiction of Radha and Krishna. I have represented them in the elongated figures, using thick opaque paints and the rich drapery, in contrast, with transparency. The depth is created with the help of solid tints which emerge from dark contours and the subdued folds and undercuts. The visualization of the protagonists with stylised noses, thick lips and broad fish-like meditative eyes, tilted heads is reminiscent of idealized Indian sculptures that have motivated me with their lyrical quality. They are abundantly ornamented with fluid lines and tones through these qualities. I have made an effort to show the divine magnificence and the eternal love to appeal to both common people as well as art connoisseurs.

Ajay De
My Art….My Life
Life for me began when I was six when I picked up a piece of charcoal for the first time. It gave my inner most feelings a means of expression. For me, inspiration came from life and nature. It was a form of romance but also a means to healing and recovery. Since then I have continued developing my art….my life. I have captured many different ideas and subjects, Mother Teresa, Women, Rickshaw pullers, Butterfly people, The Last Communist, Bull and Horse. I have been living and working in Mumbai for the last 27 years. The beauty of the monsoons was the inspiration for the current series, Monsoon in Mumbai.

Anand Panchal
Painting is an integral part of my life. I have loved painting since childhood. My birthplace is Latur, Maharashtra. I completed my primary education in painting at Latur, followed by Abhinav Kala Mahavidyalaya, Pune and Sir JJ School of Art, Mumbai.
In my paintings, the subject matter is mainly related to what I have seen growing up in rural areas. I have presented my work in many exhibitions and I constantly try to introduce something new every time.

Ananta Mandal
My journey as an artist has been dynamic yet embedded in the realities of circumstances. My works showcase subjects from the hustle and bustle of city life to the beauty of whispering serenity, human activities and different festive celebrations. I have always had a soft spot for the earthy colours of my homeland. Starting from my Kolkata college hostel to life in Mumbai, popular destinations and gothic architecture. The Varanasi ghats pulse with the harmonious rhythm of life as the divine Ganga lined by the ghats flows alongside. My work is inspired by diverse cultures, the influence of the ambience, observation across boundaries, over time crossing miles and beyond.

Anil Kumar Yadav
I was born in in a village in Uttar Pradesh, where the rangolis at the village festival and the local potters’ fine works of art inspired me greatly towards art as a hobby and potential career from early childhood. I then moved to Kolkata, once the capital of India and its rich cultural heritage and character immediately caught my attention. I started painting for the first time in the city. The central theme to my paintings is related to present day society, my works appear photographic or naturalistic. The religious ghats of Varanasi, Haridwar and other ancient places attracted me for their cultural heritage. I portray the beauty of the doors, temples, sculptures, the narrow streets and ‘galis’ which cannot be described in words. I always prefer a highly realistic approach in my paintings but try to reach a horizon that photography cannot reach and make a statement that is called hyperrealism.

Anindita Chakraborty
I think that “the Self” doesn’t have an autonomous existence. It is always over shadowed by the other. That is, we see the reflection of our self in others. Paintings of the great masters from different historical periods and geographical locations are a major source of inspiration and motivation for me. My work is autobiographical and involves self-portraiture. I borrow an image and repurpose it in a new ideology. I use my body as a metaphor to travel from one time to another, to examine a relation and conflict simultaneously.
“I paint self-portraits because I am the person I know best”.

Anjum Khan
I am an aware, concerned and involved human being of society. My subject matter comes from day to day life. I observe young girls achieving woman hood and their goals and ambitions in the existing global environment. In earlier time painters used to make portraits of royal families and goddesses. These were accepted and admired by the kings and rich society. With time and the evolution of different painting philosophy, different styles became fashionable. I have started to explore and evolve women’s faces, emerging after imbibing contemporary society’s norms of living and fashion directions. The human faces in my paintings reflects the environment in which the society surrounding me is moving. I depict the faces with added painting requirements and professionalism.

Anuja Sane
My paintings travel through the onlooker’s memories and tickle them of the places visited sometime in the past. My work represents the places I have visited, and the ones that have given me a sense of belongingness. This range of my paintings is a unique combination of my inspiration from such places with my dose of imagination in search of Peace, Calmness, Serenity and Happiness.

Archana Sharma
I grew up in the holy city of Benaras – amidst festivals, colours, temples, spirituals, and deities. Sitting on the ghats of the Ganga, you watch the great river on one side and as you turn around, the oldest living city, which is always celebrating. There is something in those ghats and narrow streets from where I seek the inspiration for my work – tangled wires, holy flags atop buildings, jasmine gajras or the monkeys that watch over the city. There is magic in this place and it fills my heart with ideas and creativity.
A metal art designer, I am a firm believer that restricted boundaries of a material subject do not exist for creative souls. My work resonates with Indian mythology and culture and I bring them to life by geometrical lines and splashes of colours.

Arpan Bhowmik
I recreate themes of cityscapes and everyday life. Using a black and white base with a simple pop of colour, I try to show the beauty of the city on my canvas. My paintings invoke a strong feeling of nostalgia and belonging, they are bound to draw the viewer deep into the canvas. I use acrylic paint to give the effect of watercolour.

Arpita Basu
Park: Growing up amongst the hustle of the city has developed within me a keener outlook towards the tranquillity of nature. My work brings out the peaceful side of Kolkata, engulfed in the soft whispers of the trees and the calm winding roads, represented on a medium of water colour on paper.
Monsoon: This is a peek into the Bengali household in a portrayal that plays with mundaneness and warmth with equal balance. The characters come alive against the greyed monsoon backdrop, shown as engaged in a stream of daily activities. The work captures a bird’s eye view with a multi-directional aspect to it.

Arup Das
I have discovered that the form of my art is the best way to express characteristics and techniques and give them classic dimensions. My paintings are mostly figurative and rendered in mixed media treatment with charcoal and acrylic. The figures are mostly centre composed around characters that are metamorphosed versions of natural surroundings, showing the journey through the complexities of everyday life.

Ashif Hossain
I paint to spread my feelings and happiness to everyone. The sanctity of Benares Ghats greatly affects my mind. Their enormity captures my feelings again and again. There I can see a hint of peace. There is a glimpse of heaven, which I express through my paintings.

Ashok Rathod
Since childhood I have been closely associated with nature and religion. Nandi represents a joyous or happy person. Bull is the symbol of wealth, strength and happiness. My aim is to keep the Indian tradition and culture alive and narrate a scenic beauty with the devotee when hung on wall.

Atin Basak
For the last 25 years I have been a practising artist. In the early stages of my life, I tried out for several jobs and related services, but nobody could quite utilise my capabilities and my potential. However, I believed in myself, I kept on striving hard for excellence. Whatever I believed in is laid out on the canvas. This is my life’s work, this my art. This is what I believe in, what has kept me alive through time.

Avinash Deshmukh
I have been a freelancer in Mumbai for the last 15 years. I did my art education from Pune in 2006. My subject is human love and my work style is modern figurative. My work is inspired by mosaics. I use bright colours because they are suitable for my emotional subjects.

Bharti Prajapati
‘Devi’ has innumerable interpretations in beliefs and mythology. Devi is a divine power yet she has a human side to her. Evolving culture has led to the portrayal of feminine energy in shades and hues of changing times. Devis are virtuous women; they are revered, feared and worshipped. The Devi series of paintings is a montage of eternal characteristics prevailing in myriad forms of divine energy. The metaphor for the theme is an ordinary rural woman who has motivated the development of this collection. The Devi is a celebration of the collective identity of a woman intrinsically linked to a larger cosmic female entity – be it the Laxmi, Saraswati, Durga or Kali, each facets of the same radiant and divine female energy. Her desire to be free, fly, and live life is an equally strong emotion. Tangled in a web of various emotions, delicate and loving, are birds of her own desire which have nested in the web. This painting is a depiction of the beautiful web and wings of desire. I have used a rustic chain ornamentation that rural women wear, the birds are desires waiting patiently to fly.

Bhaswati Das
Thinking gives me a way to pictorial language. Words have no purpose. Their limitation is intrinsic. The subject of my painting is ‘Landscape’. The essence of my paintings emanates from nature. I allow them to come into my dreams in colourful and colourless forms. I bring together nature and form, sometimes in bright hues, and sometimes in light shades to evolve my own distinct style, with consummate use of light and shade. They represent layers of meaning and mystery. My composition tries to communicate with the viewers and make them reflect.

Bhoomika Dange
My paintings are happy colourful faces of artists who love to spread happiness with their creativity and dedication. Sunflowers which symbolize love, positivity and happiness are inspired by Van Gogh’s paintings and express my gratitude and love for life.

Bina Aziz
To analyse what I paint and why I paint is difficult. It’s about the moment, the feeling, the awe, the inspiration, the admiration, the beauty and innocence. It’s about capturing your imagination on canvas and freezing it in the frame of time. My work is a combination of realism and abstract art which allows me to experiment and ideate more. Whether it’s Horses, my Child series, Jesus or Buddha, I have tried to convey what I feel through my art.
Horses have always been my passion and inspiration. Their majestic appearance, their beautiful mane flying with the wind as they gallop and race to the finish line. The beauty of a horse is its majestic personality and the power it exudes so gracefully. The Palomino horse in my painting is known for its yellow golden and white mane and derives its name from the Spanish Royal family.
My latest series, ”Nature” is about beauty and colour which brightens our daily lives. It is God’s canvas which brings the freshness of Life, it’s fragrance and colours that light up our world. A bouquet of Red roses will always bring a smile and happiness. It denotes love and passion. So just “Say it with Flowers”.

Biswajit Mondal
The word clown denotes a person who lacks his own personality. For me this isn’t the case. A clown is a human being and has all the characteristics, a mind, body and soul capable of displaying love and affection towards others. If we watch ourselves and others around us very closely, we would realise that we are all quite similar to a clown, playing our respective roles in society. My painting represents such a perspective towards the life of a clown.

Bolgum Nagesh Goud
The subject matter of the works is inspired by traditional leather puppetry. The works are a visual interpretation of stories picked up from the epics, Mahabharata and Ramayana. The popular characters from the epics come to life in a new light in my works. I create a stage for my ‘Nayak’ and ‘Nayika’ so that they can exemplify their strengths and spirits at the very best.
The linear rhythm of the ”thollu bommalata” gets recreated in my paintings. I carve out the silhouettes of the figures and then turn inside the form to define the details in a specifically aesthetic and creative manner. The features of the characters are sharp, defined and finely chiselled. The huge, soulful, almond shaped eyes are the most prominent feature of the portraits. The line boldly yet lyrically runs over the coloured areas and connects the different planes, weaving them together with intricate patterns, floral clusters, motifs and suggestive jewellery.

Bolgum Sai Aditya
India has vast varieties of cultures that have evolved with time, culminating in the present urbanisation. Every city has its own speciality and a vibe which can be felt when we live in it or visit it. Indian streets have inspired me as an architect and helped me perceive various cultures and made me observe how people make use of every inch of space according to their need and create their own habitat to live within. It is said “we live in some cities but some cities live in us.” Mumbai is one such city, flavoured with different habitats and cultures along with its unique architectural elements. These works have been rendered and detailed with different views from the bazaar streets of Mumbai city.

Brinda Miller
For me painting is like meditation. It is spiritual. It brings colour and happiness to my life. I share this positive energy with the viewer through my work.

Charan Sharma
I was born into a family of artists in the small temple town of Nathdwara, a place rich in art and culture, where painting is the main source of living. Art is in my genes. Shri Nath Ji is the principal deity in Pushti Marg. Since the last decade I have focused on the Shri Nath Ji image and have tried to create a very contemporary imagery containing the shringar and calligraphy of bhajans. It is bold and beautiful.

D. Jayaprakash
The Feline form “The tiger” is a round, curvy delicate yet assertive form, a form that has the strength and beauty of the wild cat. The lines are curvy to imply motion for the viewer to feel and to imagine. The long lines and train of designs are a part of the element and strengthens my composition. These forms are metaphorical and strong. Two heads in one body with numerous feet and fore limbs denote a form from mythological stories. My palette is subdued and soft, delicate shades with their tints, silver and sometimes gold, the beasts are a narration of my story. The background is usually plain so that the dominant character of the tiger prevails. The expressions catch the viewers eye, not only in a still pose but also in an expression of intimacy with its partner and gazing at oblivion.

Datta Bansode (1969-2017)
A few lines about my brother Datta Bansode
I was not fortunate enough to be a part of his journey to become a great artist but I feel that I was fortunate to have such a great and kind hearted brother. In my opinion he was an even greater human being than a great artist, so humble and inspiring for young and junior artists. I will share here his explanation regarding why he painted Buddha. After Pokhran-II, the government titled that nuclear blast “Buddha smiles again.” He said that it was a mass destruction weapon and Buddha’s teachings were about peace and humanity. How can Buddha smile on such a destructive weapons blast? After that he started painting the Buddha series. He not only followed Buddhism, but he lived his life as Buddha. Struggling with all his physical and mental problems, he never spoke of them. He always remained cool, contained and an inspiration for all his friends and the young artists he mentored. I’m proud to be a brother of such great human being. I miss you brother.
Ravi Bansode, in memory of his brother, Datta Bansode

Deepali S
Girl with birds
Happiness is not just a smile on the face but courage and freedom to walk through life on our own. A girl is a gift to parents from God, a natural form of happiness. Vibrant reds and yellows snatch attention towards the act of a bird helping the girl to understand the deep happiness in her as the bird knows that true happiness is to fly on our own than to be in a cage.

Devidas Dharmadhikari
I have worked as a freelance artist for the last twenty years. During this period, I have worked on many different subjects and techniques. I have worked on the “Horse” series from the last seven years. Everyone knows about the power, beauty, strength and many other qualities of the Horse. All these are very challenging to portray in paintings. I have tried to keep the realistic anatomy/ proportion of horses without trying to stylize it. Sometimes I have simplified the form. My paintings are trying to capture the movement of the horse through bold strokes and vibrant colours showing its strength, power, beauty and force, the different semi circles in my paintings unleashes the power of horses to run towards the goal.

Dhiren Sasmal
Bulls epitomize masculinity in the animal kingdom, symbolizing strength and power in both their physical and spiritual presence. Here I have tried to depict the characteristics in an artistic manner. The delicate lines and the detailing and various forms in the background add to the figure with powerful and vibrant colours like red, blue, yellow to make it more indianised and attractive.
Goddess Durga symbolizes the divine forces known as divine shakti that is used against the negative forces of evil and wickedness. She protects her devotees from evil and safeguards them. Here I have simplified the form in my style of work and gaven a monochrome colour treatment which, to me, is more divine and depicts an aura of positive energy. The delicate detailing over the whole canvas becomes evident as you come closer to the canvas.
My painting of the flower has a positive meaning. It represents the beginning of new things and major change. It inspires confidence by signalling the birth of a new era and brings hope and courage. Once again there is a lot of detailing and the use of strong colours.

Dilip Kumar Sasmal
Painting is my profession, it is my passion, it’s everything, it’s my life. I have many things to say which I express through different mediums of visual arts.
The owl- On a moonlit night with rays of hope, there is someone there to look after you even in the dark.
Galloping- Horses represent dynamism which is life. Stagnancy is death. I believe in dynamism. I worship life.

Dilip Naik
I am Dilip Naik Artist from Karnataka, India. I have visited so many places in India. They have attracted me. I have got so many ideas from these places. I paint to show the world about our Indian cities.

Dinkar Jadhav
I have established myself as an artist who dares to walk on the path less trodden. My journey began with the ASHWA CHITRAMALA (the horse series) a few years back, which met with success and admiration. I have now resurrected my swift horses Flaming and Novelty and achieved a new form of muscularity, the Bull. There was sheer anguish and fierce passion in my earlier horse paintings which exploded through the colours and fearless strokes on the canvas. This anguish had given way to love now and the passion has transformed into lust. I have painted these horse couples with the heart of an evergreen romantic. The colors are bright and gleaming with self-assurance, the brush strokes are gentle yet confident. I have also introduced the Bull, the symbol of muscularity and virility in my portfolio this time. These bulls are mighty, confident and charging towards their dreams and desires.

Fawad Tamkanat
‘I am very fascinated by the chaotic streetscapes of Hyderabad, the hand rickshaw pullers sharing space with jostling auto rickshaws, people sandwiched between old crumbling buildings and domes of ageing edifices, crackling under the sound and pressure of increasing traffic. Also, it is the unique set of its inhabitants who motivate me to make them come alive on canvas: fakirs, sweepers, young and old pedestrians, sharing space with animals, carts on the road. I have been walking these streets, observing people and creating many stories. I had several meetings with them as well. I have tried to capture their mood. We all get busy with our individual lives and miss out on what is around us, the architectural details, the socio-economic scenario. That is my view of what art is, it is neither a profession nor a hobby; it’s a way of life. The new, fast-growing culture of malls also inspires me. When I see their tall wide window displays, the contrast of the opulence juxtaposed with the reflection of the street life outside, that is a canvas worth bringing to life in paint.’

G Pramod Reddy
I am influenced by Hindu Mythology. Since I belong to an orthodox family, I start my day with pooja-paath and believe in work and worship with my paintings. Hindu Mythology has a rich history, enigmatic characters, resounding stories, and a surprisingly innate association with modern science. I paint on Hinduism’s mythological stories to express my inner feelings through colours and drawings with my kind of signature style, mythic scripts, veda mantras, layers of colour applications and with fine line drawings. My paintings speak for present and future generations.

Ganesh Doddamani
From the very beginning of my career as an artist, I have had a great passion towards figurative art and heritage of India, employing metaphors and abstractions. This helped me realize my spiritual qualities. Now, over the past few years or so, my work has naturally and gradually drifted towards abstraction and a distinctive method of compressing the rich colour and form of my environment into complex landscape paintings that imbue material reality with a deep sense of peace. I combine colour making techniques with the vernacular, in a bid to arrive at an idiom that is entirely contemporary.

Gautam Patole
I paint with the sole intention of spreading joy. I make sure that I deliver a sense of pride to whoever owns the painting. My work gives me a purpose to live. I like to paint women, kids, spiritual subjects and anything that impresses me. I did this work during Corona. With Corona like viruses the future of the new generation may be bleak. I can’t imagine how the young ones will survive with masks, social distancing and fear of getting affected. “God, do I have any future?” the child is asking God.

Girish Adannavar
I am Girish Adannavar, an artist from Karnataka. I have experienced so many traditional places in South India which have impressed me. I paint male and female figurative works to show South Indian traditions, culture and beauty to the world.

Gurcharan Singh
THE GOLDEN TRIBE: The family is one of Nature’s Masterpieces. Here I have depicted a scene of the Golden tribe, a family celebrating the New age era of Togetherness in the midst of the hustle and bustle of city life.
THE NEIGHBOURS: In the Garden of Humanity every new Born is a Learner. A scene from the past is depicted where the infant is full of curiousity. Every aspect in the painting reveals a desire for exposure to new meetings and experiences in the life of the infant.

Gurmit Kaaur
I thank God for his gift to me, of being an artist, which I recognised very early in life. It started in school with helping out my classmates with projects, which evolved into freelance work at advertising agencies, orders for office, restaurants and homes kept pouring in. But my actual journey as a professional artist started 28 years ago. I realised my forte was painting portraits and I did lots of commissioned work of known names. I love painting human faces especially women and the subject of tribal women with their exotic jewellery and attire enthrals me to no end.

H. R. Das
The beast within! That is the thought that comes to mind when one is confronted with my bulls. My canvases evoke an empathy in the viewer. The bulls represent the power, pride and heart of the beast that is inside us all.
The horse generally represents patience, speed, power and courage. But my horses also show love and affection and playfulness.

Heena Pari
As an artist and a homemaker I engage constantly with the eternal questions about identity, gender roles, patriarchy and conditioning within my artistic practice. My work is an attempt to address the set notions about domestic life and also to celebrate the multiple roles within.

Ingrid Pitzer
My art is the expression of the joy of creation. I know no other. If it reaches the heart and Joy of other people it has served its purpose.

Jagannath Paul
Geometry, by definition, is a branch of mathematics concerned with questions of shape, size, relative position of figures, and the properties of space. But if we look at it with an aesthetic outlook, we realise the depth & beauty it holds. It is human faces beauty. When we observe geometry in something, be it symmetric or asymmetric, we lose ourselves into its splendour. This is what I have expressed through the medium of my art. The importance, grandeur & charm of geometry and solid vibrant colours has the ability to transform minds.

Jagdish Chander
As an artist, it is my profession to paint. I do my work with all my heart and feelings for my painting. I always paint my subject in a way that my painting becomes a new reality and also creates a new illusion.

Jahangir Asgar Jani
I have worked with the human figure for a long time. Recently, I was looking at photographs of migrants and riots. What moved me was the environments that these situations generated. But I was not interested in replicating them. I want to extract the essence of these images/situations and reduce them to almost abstract forms, using colours so that the statement becomes accessible to the viewer and the reality of the image gets altered, as happens with memory over time. We humans are inclined to remember the colourful and cheerful more than the unpleasant.

Jayita Borthakur
My paintings usually reflect a very surreal environment with two or three women who are quietly sitting next to each other with mild conversations over a cup of tea. This is a very typical personal space which many like to envelop themselves in. The flowers from behind, symbolises a furthermore surrealism. The fine blossoms in the frame shows calmness in the overall environment with accents in the red flowers. The cat is a new addition. The biscuits that have been kept with the tea is a snack to the cat and he is quietly trying to pounce on the same. This is a sign of playfulness. The reason to introduce the cat is to balance the emotion of calmness of the women with playfulness creating an overall joyful scenario.

Jyotsna Kadam
Earlier I have painted the Sahyadris in all their glory. I then embarked on my fascination with the panchatattvas (the five elements of nature) the earth, water, fire, air and space; exploring them through my work. The panchatattvas continue to mystify me with their profundity, infinite possibilities; constant renewal and acquiring of new knowledge. I paint every work as the subject speaks to me, sometimes abstract, other times naturalistic. I believe that it is significant to feel the expression and how it is represented with lines, colours and shapes. What is important is that it portrays an untainted work of art and that is what I have attempted here, to create a work of art as truthful to my expression as possible.

Jyotsna Sonavane
As an artist, my best work comes from the deepest place inside of me and fulfils the need to create. Painting thus becomes an inward journey for outward expressions. I have always considered painting as a language, not of words but of perception, feelings and beliefs. My paintings are impressions of the internal aspects of my life. In essence, I am finding myself.

Kahini Arte-Merchant
Though much of my work over the past decade makes reference to and is inspired by the dream state, “pomegranates” have been popping up in my work throughout my artistic career. Though the fruit can have darker connotations, to me, especially in the case of these two works, “Garden of Plenty -I” & “Garden of Plenty – II”, they allude to abundance. In Greece, a pomegranate is often the first gift to be given to a person with a new home. This is because in many different cultures from ancient times till the present, it is symbolic of abundance, fertility and good fortune. In these times of uncertainty it is perhaps correct to be more mindful of how we take the abundance of nature for granted, abusing it at will and without a thought or concern for the future of humanity, till nature itself is forced to turn upon us.

Kanchan Hande
My journey on this beautiful yet difficult road started as an engineering graduate but I was wise enough to know that this is not what I want because it did not ignite my soul. That’s when I decided to hold a brush and started a rush for my passion which was painting. For this process I chose water colour as the medium. I fell in love with water colour as it gave me the freedom of experimenting. The mistakes I make were just a collection of beautiful accidents. In my Vintage Saga series, I tried to put life into a long-lost culture so that its designs forms and shapes are displayed on my canvas. In the Acrylic vintage car series cars shapes are seen as beautiful forms.

Kannu Behera
I belong to a family of Patta painters from Odisha who paint mythological stories on palm leaves in aesthetic patterns, laborious but exquisitely sophisticated. These Patta paintings and the local rituals include the tiger dance are my inspiration. The tiger dance is a special ceremony in which the males are adorned with tiger symbols. They are required to pray and perform ritualistic dances to the Goddess Durga for two days. They are required to pray deeply in the temple and on their return, they are considered to be energetically cleansed and with spiritual energy which is then conveyed to the females in their family group. In my work I try to build a bridge between historical documentary depictions of the established rituals and modern contemporary expression. My primary purpose is to give exposure to the medium, techniques and cultural heritage of Orissa.

Karishma Wadhwa
My series of paintings titled “OPUS” are an abstract representation of cityscapes. No matter where you go in the world, HOME remains a rich embodiment of memories and aspirations. These are depicted through a vista of structures and colours on canvas, each standing on their own yet connected to the larger community. This abstract series in oil paints aims to be a personal process, inviting the viewers to experience and interpret them, relative to their own journey.

Kishore Nadawdekar
The breath taking Havelis of Rajasthan portray rich culture and tradition which fill us in awe. This very majestic hugeness caught my eye which I have presented in the painting.
Ajanta and the Monk: This painting captures the beauty of the Ajanta caves and its history as a centre of Buddhist learning.

Kiyomi Talaulicar
For me, painting is a journey that brings me each time to affirm eager reverence towards life as a singular vision, despite its dual nature. The main stream of thought behind my work is about embracing life and seeking the lyrical, in any given situation.

Krishna Ashok
About “Her ornaments”: In my painting I have tried to convey the relationship between man and woman by showing a woman wearing “Him”, her soulmate as “Her ornament” in and out to her body and soul.

Laishram Meena
The bench: This painting depicts my childhood memories. The themes of peace, togetherness, co-existence, love, humanity silently underscore the expressions of innocence.
The swing: This painting depicts the time we used to play without care. The fun we had in school, the games we played, those silly sibling fights, the lullaby our mother used to sing, the tales told by our grannies – reminiscing about childhood days brings a smile on our faces.
Mother and sons: This painting depicts the single mom who raises her kids alone. Being a mother is difficult and being a single mother is even more so.
Mother & child: The lullaby our mother used to sing made us sleep soundly. As we grew up the burdens of life hardly let us sleep. This painting radiates a sense of freedom as well as sadness for a lost era, a part of the self that we can’t have now.

Lakshman Chavan
Buddha is the main subject in my work of art. My works are inspired by Indian sculptures, the Ajanta fresco paintings as well as the Khajuraho sculptures. These reflect in my own style of paintings. Swayavedan depicts the silent pain that Buddha went through to attain consciousness. I appreciate the Buddha’s philosophy, so I take the Buddha subject and try to present it in my style of thinking.

Lalitha Lajmi
Woman, Blue Clown and Girl: This is a painting I had painted in water colours in 2009. This painting shows the woman and the girl are performers in a circus and the clown is a part of the circus too. This has been a theme I have been working on for some time.
Woman and Man: This is also a painting of 2009 and is a representation of the relationship between man and woman.

Madhuri Bhaduri
I found my true self and fulfillment while creating abstract compositions. Discovering abstraction is much deeper than a play of colour or lines, I returned to my first love of landscapes and created a body of abstract landscapes and seascapes. Abstracts are about the person you are. They help you understand and work out the complexity of your own emotions. As I explored the expression I came to love the process of painting abstracts and then there was no looking back. Colour, texture, form and the most versatile medium of oil become my tools towards creating a unique language of my own. Art is about what you are and I feel that the canvas should be the mirror of an artist.

Manish Chavda
My paintings reflect a mood of uninterrupted reverie avoiding monotony, with gentle changes from soft washes to firm brush strokes, from diaphanous forms to sharply focused details. I try to evoke by painting in a slow savoured process of rendering of a plant, a wild landscape or just some flora, my expression of the inner life of things which could in turn assist the viewer’s quest for enlightenment. The viewer will find that, as in life, the transitions are so subtle that they are hardly noticed until they are gone.

Manjri Varde
The Chakra Tryptich: Even as the Universe reverberates to the resonance of the universal sounds of Aum, the individual energy centres of Nature and our bodies correspond and pulsate to the prime chakras and their seven colours, seen in the rainbow, as clearly as we see the entirety of nature’s palette. Each Chakra has it’s colour and Beej Mantra and it’s position in the body. The Muladhara, Swadhisthana, Manipura, Anahata, Vishuddha, Ajnya and the Sahasrara. And in turn they all reverberate to Aum! The Chakras grant us balance, harmony, peace, joy and quietness unparalleled.
The Rainbow Chakras: The rainbow is an iridescent, glorious , brilliant phenomenon of nature. It is pure uplifting light that spreads across the skies. It contains seven colours which correspond with the seven prime chakras in our body also. Energy is derived from these energy centres and dispersed within us.
The Lotus Chakras: The lotus is a glorious flower, that symbolises the victory of infinite purity and beauty. An exceptional joy, that rises from muddy waters and yet, remains untouched by the dirt. It glows and shimmers and gifts its ethereal beauty to the observer.
The Bindu Chakra: The Bindu is the ever expanding, ever contracting, infinite consciousness of the universe. It can be a dot, a tiny atom that can ripple out and encompass entire universes, stars and suns. All shaped as the infinite circular heavenly bodies. And we humans are each a minuscule part of this throbbing, pulsating, incredible awareness that resonates and resounds with the universal sound of Aum.

Manoj Das
My work reflects the spiritual bent of my mind. I have done many works on Sadhus depicting their hard life through the lines on their faces and unkempt beards. I recently turned to the Banaras series of which these works are a part. The domes, the umbrellas, the steps seem to have remained unchanged through centuries. The stillness evokes the spiritual nature of the city.

Meera Devidayal
My paintings are usually triggered by an image. I try to turn this ‘found image’ into a visual metaphor to evoke, suggest, and charge it with new meaning. It could even be a news item, as in this case. From Indian Express: “The upper Vaitarna Dam near Nashik supplies water to the residents of Mumbai who stay 120 km away from the dam site. But less than 2 km away from the dam, women in the tribal settlement of Barde-Chi-Wadi, have to rappel down a 60-foot-deep well using flimsy ropes, to ensure that their families get water to drink.”
This news item led to a series of works about the contrast between the city’s water tanks atop buildings, and the hollow depth of empty wells in villages. And about the water wars in other situations too.

Mohammad Osman
There is no story in my work. I just try to show the beauty along with my best skills. My child hood spent in my village are the reasons I paint Gangireddu, the sacred bull. I lived in a village for twenty five years and am strongly connected to it and my roots there. I have chosen to paint Gangireddu because I found it had beautiful traditional elements in it. I feel it’s a beautiful composition of art.

Nagesh Ghodke
Village and Culture: As a painter I see an artwork in the design of houses. I find beauty in the design of a house, the combination of several houses and the design of an entire village. A painter needs the medium of lines, shapes, colours to express himself. I have transformed the design of these houses into an artistic shape in my imagination. And that particular shape is my artform. My art developed in rural areas and it is aimed at keeping alive the rural aspect. I have expressed the life of the village, and how they have faced the problems. There is not enough water to survive so unfortunately villagers have shifted to urban areas for their needs. In future, there may be only houses and no human beings there. I feel sad for them and I have expressed it in my paintings.

Nawal Kishore
I am presently working on “Life Series”. This portrays various aspects of human life – its living, thinking, surviving, making progress, planning for goals in life. It reminds us to focus on each precious moment of the journey of our life. I try to project Indian culture, art and women’s empowerment through my paintings. For me life is a journey. Live your journey. Celebrate it. Our true journey begins when we have a purpose. This is what I have shown in these paintings, painted with mix media on canvas. Every painting has its own life, its own world like an individual. Each painting has a very personal, spiritual experience for the viewer, which I hope will lead you to the universal understanding of human nature.

Nayanaa Kanodia
When the world that disturbs me and the world that I have an intimate understanding of are amalgamated and absorbed, a new artistic dialect is created. The conversation I hope to create in my paintings is a certain truth of life and on a deeper level a well thought out philosophy. Viewers may interpret my work in vastly disparate ways and each view will be equally logical and plausible, thought provoking and intriguing. A picture of the moment is built up in which whole histories and relationships become visible.

Nimisha Sharma
My canvases are filled with fluid forms. They reveal pristine imagery and reflect my moods. They bear forms which I give emotion to, a thing of beauty, a physical sensation and emotional experiences. These paintings are from my latest body of work “OM.” These works are a pure experience of Aum, sacred sound and a spiritual symbol in Indian religion. It signifies the essence of the ultimate reality, consciousness or Atman.

Nina Mahtani
An interior designer and a fine artist by profession, I work from my studio in Mumbai. These paintings, from my series ‘The Essence’, are inspired by a trip I made to the monasteries in Bhutan. As my spiritual journey began, I found my paintings became more and more meditative and contemplative.

Nishant Dange
Butterfly: The theme of women has always attracted me. I try to connect this beautiful form with another lovely creature created by god, the butterfly. The transformations that happen in the lives of women and butterflies are not easy. They are a symbol of beauty, aesthetics, adolescence, romanticism, protection, fragility and sensuousness together exemplifying the feminine power and strength and find a place in my work.
Landscape: My art reflects the deep sense of harmony, mystery and beauty of the world around me. I had a love for landscapes in my formative years. Inspired by the majesty and mystery of architecture and nature, I have been feeling the urge to get back to painting landscapes. My current body of work showcases my fascination with the silent, ethereal aspects of the landscape. The transcendent experience I create with the use of charcoal and bright acrylics allow my landscapes to recede into a dreamy haze.

Nitin Nangare
Women at their daily tasks are the kind of universal, enduring theme that reveals as much about the person depicting it as it does of the subject imagery. My latest paintings depict the dynamic forms of the country’s tribal women. Their flowing luminious garments are offset by dark dramatic shadows, deftly textured to express fascinating depths. Against a stern landscape the women emerge as strong indomitable figures. Not aggressive, yet unflinching, they are the true protectors of life. They bring water, the gift of life. Their earthen pots are highlighted.

Nupur Sakhuja Kundu
I am blessed! My passion is also my profession. Each experience of my life, my training as a dancer, my thoughts, my vision, each emotion and spiritual adventure is transformed as movement and colour in my painting. I am very intuitive when it comes to painting. Sometimes I work furiously and complete a work with total focus whereas some other works require more discipline and time commitment. The colours are given freedom to flow, move, and dialogue with each other. They are a narrative unto themselves primarily – Colourscapes. Dancing was my first love. The rhythm and colour of Indian classical dance has influenced my work, it is not altogether surprising that I treat colour as performance. On my canvases, colours engage in a furious dance. It is like dancing from one colour to another. The space gets painted, in fact, sometimes over-painted.

Om Swami
Kabir: Suddenly life changed from a mad rush to silence. That silence started to talk to me and ask me questions. What is it that we actually didn’t have time for earlier? Or didn’t we want to take out time? Were we afraid of the silence? Why were we running away all the time? During this lockdown my mind was restless and I tried to unlock my subconscious self. I felt like something within was trying to surface. I was restless to seek something beyond. I started reading about Kabir to quench my thirst for the unknown. I started resonating with his Dohas and his belief of expression of love which is the only medium that binds the entire human kind. His thoughts of oneness with God started overpowering my emotions. These emotions started taking the form of visuals. I began to ponder about life and human existence. What is life? Was the life we were leading meaningful? What are we looking for? In this series of Kabir I am trying to express simplicity, love and devotion in visual form. I have missed that silence, I am now trying to talk to that silence and build my communication with it.

Pandurang Tathe
Painting comes easily to me, words do not. Forms, elements enter into my space on their own and settle there in line with my conditioning, routes and impressions. I just let them be there. These shapes, lines, hues dwell there comfortably without encroaching upon each other’s existence, overlap but coexist peacefully. My paintings, images and prints are very much about a process that has evolved over the years. The final images maybe abstract in nature but there is a latent undercurrent of my own convictions of visual order that reflects automatically in my works. These reflexes of keeping some and erasing some elements after they resolve make me believe that I have been here earlier, maybe in my dreams. Déjà vu.

Parth Prajapati
Moonlit Walk: This painting depicts a serene moment at the end of a long day, right before catching up with close friends, as I walk down my usual path illuminated by the silver of the moonlight. Streetlights start to fade into the distance, city noises are suppressed by the weight of a cool breeze, as leaves rustle above, insects awaken and roam about, nocturnal birds and animals start communicating and I enter into a different world. The green represents the tranquillity of trees surrounding my path, with magenta coloured flowers blossoming in the calm of the night. The Moonlight blends itself with nature forming a dreamlike aqua atmosphere.

Partho Chatterjee
I paint because it is soul satisfying. My human creativity finds expression in my paintings and I express my ideas and feelings best in paint. My images express peace and tranquillity in the Divine and nature, this best conveys my deep sense of love for life.

Prabal Roy
In my paintings, the human figures seek to recreate the innocence and simplicity of rural life, where tradition and a framework of cultural values sustain the spirituality of a nation, society and individuals. Nature plays a vital role and the figures, graceful and free-flowing, are sometimes drawn from Indian mythology.

Prakash Ghadge
Seclusion has always cast a spell over me. This allows me to strike a conversation with myself and nature. Being one with nature is something very crucial to my being. It reminds me of my existence in the universe and therefor my role which tempts me to say something through my paintings. I prefer not to render my thoughts in colour for they cannot represent the directness of my paintings. To me black possesses a power with its innumerable grace to make a statement on its own.

Pratik Sharma
“The outermost shell of a car for me is my own body.” I love the freedom of expression and interpretation that I portray on my canvas. I believe in simplicity, hard work and being true to my creativity. I feel spiritually connected to each car I paint on canvas. I have formed a distinct style of my own, cars are something that I always wanted to work with. I meticulously choose show cars which I have seen around the world. This recent body of work and unique portrait-like style is nothing but “Portraits of cars” having its own distinct features and individuality. I am inspired by POP Art and by Andy Warhol, the American artist who was a leading figure of the POP Art movement. he application of gold and silver leafing on canvas, a technique that I have adapted, is inherited from my forefathers, master artists of their times.

Pratiksha Bothe
Kabalikruta, the swallower of the sun: In Ramayana, it is narrated that Hanuman in his childhood thought the sun is a fruit and jumped in the sky to try to swallow it. While Surya enjoys this child’s play, Indra is not amused. He hits Hanuman with his Vajra, which enrages Vayu (Hanuman’s father). Vayu (wind god) stops all the wind flow across the universe, which starts troubling people. Hearing this, Indra and other gods revive Hanuman and offer him many boons. Surya becomes Hanuman’s guru and teaches him all the Vedas.
Celestial beauty in memory of Harappa: The Mother Goddess is often the subject of my paintings. She is the celestial female, a motif often seen in the visual arts and architecture of India. She reminds me of the culture of Harappa, the world’s most ancient civilization. To me Sursundari represents ‘shakti’, (the feminine cosmic energy), and I consider her to be both auspicious and empowering.

Priya Anand Pariyani
‘Anguish to Ecstasy’ – My journey as a painter. Every true artist is filled with this insatiable and indestructible energy of creativity that makes him strive for the yet undiscovered frontiers of creation and it is the most alluring challenge for him. In this process I have experienced the artist’s ANGUISH to express his feelings on canvas and then his ECSTASY when it has taken tangible form through the colours of imagination. Art is a way of meditation for me which calms my mind and makes my soul happy. There are many ways of expressing what we feel, some people write, some sing but I paint and this has no limitations to it. Art is understandable in every country, no matter what the language, thereby making my input more useful. Despite all of these things, I truly don’t know where or what I would be without art as it is a major part of my life.
When it comes to what my art portrays, I would say “my emotions” at the very first place. Secondly, I show the character of a woman in different aspects of her life whether it is motherhood or bonding with her husband. Not only this but I blend nature with my mood and emotions. Lastly doodling is an important part of art which I really enjoy doing.

Pulakesh Mandal
Self-taught artist Pulakesh Mandal was born in 1972 in West Bengal. His father passed away early at a time when his mother was expecting his younger sister and he spent his early years in an orphanage. He was later reunited with his family, his mother, two elder sisters and a younger sister. He worked, often in menial jobs to secure their future before embarking on his own life’s journey. He believes his art is a God given gift and that he must return the fruits of his gift to society in any manner possible. He tells his stories through his paintings with many mythical elements. His paintings breach a psychological realm where the strokes, colours and compositions speak for themselves, without losing their poetic quality.

Rahul Mhetre
The painting shows iconic metaphors of a past life of the couple through memories. It is a representation of their past life in different modules and stages including both sweet and sour events. A pictorial array of such memories in the relevant perspectives portrays the course of various life cycles and the happenings in it.

Rakhee Shah
I have been painting for the last 27 years and have tried to use my talent to help people in pain. This is so because I myself have suffered tremendously in life and know pain and suffering. Through my art I want to reach out to the world and continue to help people in whatever way I can.

Rameshwar Singh (1948-2014)
Since years I’ve experimented with my own culture and was never bounded by academic discipline. My art is my mystic expression of the pleasures in life and every painting is a romantic story told by the parrot and mynah (Kissa tota-maina Ka). I have a Fascination for antiquity. The subject matter may be old-fashioned, but the treatment is novel. My work is very much in tune with the times. It is just that I prefer to go back to our roots in search of our rich artistic traditions and put them in the context of the contemporary. It’s like an artistic excavation in an effort to link the past to the present. Though not cut off from the present, I tend to live in the past. It’s a side of my personality that adds character to my work. Blending the past with the present and striking a right balance in the process is what has helped me establish my identity. My paintings can help to bring out the ancient life of India hidden from overseas minds as well as large number of Indian minds. It is just like refreshing the forgotten past.

Ranjeet Singh
My art is the reflection of the inner truth of my life. And in my case the truth is a harsh one. Being a Bihari by birth, I have experienced the situation of the people of Bihar as well as the ‘Hindi Belt’. Gripped by the clutch of illiteracy, corruption, unemployment, social inequality, poverty and communal disharmony, the Aam Admi does not get a chance to cherish the basic rights allotted to the citizens of this illustrious democracy. People of the ‘Hindi Belt’ who have humble backgrounds are treated as ‘daily-wage labourers’ by their counterparts. The callousness of the state governments also compels them to embrace a life of humiliation and uncertainty in cosmopolitan cities. My art gives voice to this class.

Rekha Hebbar Rao
The Boats and Lone fisherman speak of an unusual silence and uneasiness born of fear and uncertainty. We see a clear sky and sound of waves. Hope when things return to normal, we will continue to respect nature and it’s bounty.

S C Sekhar
Photography is a passion that I have pursued since 1969. I enjoy traveling and photographing people, festivals, architecture, landscapes etc. My hobby has helped me to unwind and cope with pressures of a corporate Job and view things around us in a different perspective. Photography to me is a way of feeling, of loving. What one captures is captured forever. It freezes a moment, and reveals how rich reality is. Both the photographs are part of a larger canvas of work titled “Faith”.

S. G. Vasudev
I have always been an admirer of music. It could be Hindustani or Carnatic or Jazz. I listen to the music always in my studio, whether I am painting or not. I started my professional career as an artist almost Five and half decades ago. I have done many series starting from Fantasy, Maithuna (Act of Love), Tree of Life, Tree of Life and Death, Humanscapes, Earthscapes, He and She, Theatre of Life and now Rhapsody. I have called these two paintings “Rhapsody” to reflect my growing interest in music. In these paintings the heads are, for me, singing. I have used oil paints, more liquid, and different waste materials to create textures.

Sachin Sagare
I always try to portray a woman’s emotional world through my paintings. I have spent my childhood in a small village in Maharashtra. I grew up in an environment surrounded by women who worked on farms. Even after working on the farm and doing the household chores, they were active in all the cultural activities, supporting their family through love, affection and care and contributing economically on par with men. The calmness, happiness and joy of the women I paint hides the secret of the hardships they face.
They are the most important pillar of the family but their presence is not acknowledged by anyone. I do not paint these women’s pain and sorrow, but their happiness, love, care and joy through my bright colours. I am very thankful to all these Indian women who provoked me to paint this subject.

Samir Saha
My colour and contours resemble prehistoric paintings on canvas, walls of mountains and hills. Figures and faces come up on canvas without layout. The prehistoric look of paintings may be defined as archetypal. Lines are spontaneous, colour not gaudy but never subdued, they mingle in the whiteness. My aim is to keep afloat my aesthetic and creativity

Sandeep Ghule
When I first came to Mumbai the first place I visited was Crawford Market, the place anybody can fall in love with as I did. At the time, I thought that I would certainly capture this place on my canvas and it is with that thought that I have tried to recreate the beauty by showing another era in my painting.

Sandesh Khule
My works are the extension to my inquisitiveness for cosmogony. My painting has a spiritual dimension in its purest sense. I am in search of infinity, enlightenment and awakening to the true nature of beauty. My paintings took shape from personal knowledge of this reality rather than from doctrines handed down, and this is the very foundation of this art-form’s compelling power. The character, realization of the surroundings and my spiritual inclination gets transmitted into the painting itself. My paintings thus can be described as explorations, search into the depth of the SELF conducted through the abstract gaze that mark my journey into the spiritual dimensions of painting.

Sanjay Raut
My paintings are a glimpse of the Gurukul system of education prevalent still in rural parts of our country. I have endeavoured to adorn my vivid creations with the sanctity and relevant vignettes of cultural and educational heritage through various emotions and backgrounds, leading to enlightened serenity of a sensitive soul.

Sanjay Soni
I create artworks to express my feelings and capture the things I like. My inspiration and experiences with the visible power of nature in invisible form drives me to paint it. My journey is a constant interaction or companionship with this invisible energy. I love to explore as well as express the rich culture of India which is simple, soaked as it is in spirituality. Rajputana is my favourite. I love the choice of colourful dresses of the people and their way of life despite the natural hardships in the region. The people have a lot of character and traditional zeal and I try to bring all these aspects into my paintings. Recently on my visit to Rajasthan, I met some old people and asked them whether their traditions were being followed by the younger generation. They told me that youngsters now dressed up differently for trends inspired them more than the grace of culture. I was so moved that I decided to keep their traditional dresses intact through my paintings.

Sanjay Tikkal
In 2003, I passed my Diploma in Painting with First Class and then started the real struggle to explore my space in the field of painting. For the last fifteen years I have been working on different concepts. I started my journey as a painter with portraits and landscapes and then moved to the abstract. I explored several possibilities of landscapes by visiting different places endowed with scenic beauty in Madhya Pradesh and Konkan in Maharashtra. Being born in a Dhangar community I have been familiar with the ancestral work of weaving which is now related with my painting. I have observed the mutually evolving relationship between the image of thread, its visual experience, texture, colours and shapes. Due to the textures of colours emerging from each other, the art of weaving creates an impression of the energy constantly moving from the depth to the upper crust as if the energy is coming out of its depths.

Sanjukta Barik
An MBA in Sales and Marketing with a Diploma in International Business, I found true inner calling and surrendered myself to Art almost three decades ago and made it my profession. Art is akin to prayer and meditation to me. I have participated in 50 exhibitions, with 16 solo shows. I use my talent to help the brave hearts battling cancer and children with special needs.

Satyajit Chanda
During my visit to Vasai Fort, I was reconnected to the elements and concepts learnt during my earlier studies in architectural design. The use of natural look of the rocks as a façade, the merging and blending of the structure with surrounding nature creating harmony, struck me. The use of natural texture of the rocks as building blocks creates a beautiful masterpiece and enhances the overall beauty of the place, without intruding into the nature around it. I have tried to explore the use of the beautiful, natural, and colourful rocks of Vasai Fort in this painting.

Shankar Gojare
The impact of a palankhi procession, lit with diyas and gas lanterns, accompanied by the sound of lezhims and dhol taashas, has stayed with me since the age of eight. The villagers dancing rhythmically and throwing fistfuls of gulal and puffed rice mixed with coconut pieces was beautiful to see. Today the same music and colours which captured my mind then have expressed themselves on canvas. Even though I have settled in an urban area as an artist, the aromatic fragrance of the soil reminds me of my past.

Shanti Kasivisvanathan
Observation is key to my work. I observe the effect of time on things and then translate this into art through a representational visual language. I like to see the positive in everything. Reflecting this, my work is an optimistic reinterpretation of what could be summarily dismissed as the ugliness of urbanization combined with the ravages of nature. My work is an invitation for those who like open-endedness, who like to journey and discover for themselves, to see things differently.

Shardul Kadam
My recent work have been conceived in my travels to various heritage sites in India and around the oriental world. Socio-political conditions always fascinate me, since art is related to what happens in the society. Although it may not depict the actual events, my work derives out of the political and social conditions I see. Knowingly or unknowingly, these ideas develop into the forms and characters I create in my paintings. My work is not just decorative. They are the face of the expressions within. My experiences form the imagery, not the subject itself. Layers of meanings may unfold as the viewer tries to delve beyond the beauty.

Shilpa Kishore Patole
Search within: My works interpret those objects which I come across in my daily life. Bags, letters, etc. These are the objects seen during my travel to places and that I have found attractive. Out of these came my latest series, “Books”. These books tell us many different stories, have many secrets and each book has its own message. The same feelings are reflected in my work, through different colours and various forms. I love to play with light and shadows in my work using subtle relief. My motive is to get acquainted with new objects and subjects and put forth those in my work. The process of my work is in layers. It may be a layer of colours which are developed on canvas or paper or it may be layers of thinking process going on in my mind. Though some subjects are depicted consciously, there is a spiritual side which tries to peep out subconsciously at times.

Shiv Kumar Soni
Childhood is like a treasure for me. I like to drench my paintings with the things I saw and observed as a child. I like to depict my emotions, imagination and moments creatively like playing in rainy weather, soaring over the clouds, flying kites and many beautiful things. I am influenced by objects of childhood like kites, birds, balloons, toys, trays, hats. Anybody can surely marvel the innocent charm of childhood memories in my paintings. I feel joy when viewers start reliving their childhood memories when they stand in front of my artwork.
I show these things in my artworks with an imagined character, a child whom I have given the name, “PUPPY” and I paint him in my own creative style. This character seems like my self-portrait. My artworks drench the viewers in a flashback of their childhood memories which I hope they enjoy.

Shubha Gokhale
Bazaar: By Bazaar I mean the fish market and the word Bazaar in local usage also means the “fish purchased“. This place has fascinated me for ages. I think it is not just a place of trade but a living theatre filled with sights, sounds, smells and the hectic activity of the main characters in this vibrant setting. I see patterns and compositions in this vivid imagery of the myriad forms of different varieties of fish, the varied shapes and sizes, colours and textures. The Bazaar series is a small effort to capture the essence of this mileu and to translate the Bazaar atmosphere into a visual language.
Ghusmat-The Suffocation: Things happening around me have always subconsciously reflected in what I paint. These two latest works depict the current situation everyone is experiencing in this Pandemic. The physical and mental suffocation is due to the uncertainty and fear of the unknown! But still hoping and looking forward to a better future.

Shukla Chowdhury
My work “The Circle of Life” is a depiction of my understanding of the simplicity and profundity of nature. At Shantiniketan, I had the opportunity of being tutored by the legendary Ramkinkar Baij and Sarbari Roy Chowdhury and I was exposed to the great literary texts of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, all of which went on to inspire my canvases. I favour Abstract Expressionism style of painting, also known as action painting, which is the last of the known art movements to have evolved in the art world, with bold, vivacious strokes and stunning, raw hues. My work has been consistently collected by art lovers and connoisseurs across the globe.

Shuvankar Maitra
I use colour as my theme of expression. I believe that colour is a universal language of expression. I don’t use colour to illustrate a theme, colour itself is my theme. Colour has existence of its own, it generates emotion and atmosphere, whether happiness, melancholy, warmth, buoyancy or serenity. Emotion of joy, sorrow, anger is a language in colour and nature encompasses all that is colour. Nature, which inspires me, herself is a composition of countless colours and it is the tones and nuances of these that I try to capture in my paintings.

Shyamal Mukherjee
My works present a riot of vibrant colours accompanied with a sense of joy that showcases the Bengal School’s strong figurative tradition interpreted in a contemporary idiom. The joie de vivre experienced is the reason driving me. The medium of reverse painting and the depiction of the simple life of common people in my signature caricaturist style amuses and enthrals the viewer. I take the inner perception of folk elements and add a visualisation that gives the viewer a real sense of happy attachment with my ideas. The rural figures are free from all sort of modern jugglery. My figures are dressed in bright, gaudy costumes that adorn street performers, but the eyes are gazing and drawn, the faces are almost cartoon-like with podgy fingers, making evident the irony and pathos that surrounds them. My paintings portray a melange of the Bengali folk culture by highlighting the quintessential ‘Bengali Babu’ lifestyle, in this case buying fish and feeding birds, through my series of ‘Baba and Beebi’.

Shyamala Ayachit
I come from a small town in Karnataka called Hubli. Hubli, unlike most fast growing towns and cities in india, has still retained its greenery. I am lucky to have my house amidst a neighborhood where birds ranging from peacocks to pigeons are no rarity. Over years of housing their nests in my living room and hearing their constant chirping, I have formed a deep personal bond with them and hence, they’ve made their way into my canvas too.

Siddharth Shingade
Govardhan: Bhagwan Shri Krishna lifted Govardhan Hill to provide the villagers of Vrindavan shelter from torrential rains. The incident is seen to represent how God protects all devotees who take refuge in him. Today, devotees offer a mountain of food, metaphorically representing the Govardhan Hill, to God as a ritual remembrance and to renew their faith in Him. The festival is observed by most of Hindus all over India and abroad. For Vaishnavas this is a very important festival.
Door: 30-35 years ago, gypsies or “Banjaaras” would come to my village to sell toys and other items. All day they would sell their wares and in the evening they would sit at someone’s doorstep for food and rest. I have painted a couple sitting beside such a door. I miss the memories of my childhood which I share in my paintings now.

Soma Vajpayee
My art explores the eternal within the ephemeral. In our lives, we vividly remember moments of peace, rejuvenation, energy, hope and love. When memory strips the cognitive deluge of the time, a feeling lingers even as the details retreat. How we feel about sights, moments and experiences define our memories, which become anchors in our lives. In my work I bring a piece of “outside” nature to “inside” of your homes. I want to instill calmness and joy that is in nature through my paintings. Being in this pandemic, in these most trying times, there is a heightened sense of gratitude for everything we have. Everything is a gift. When covid hit us, the relentless numbers of affected, were overwhelming me. I decided to channelize the anxiety, fears and uncertainty through painting. Painting has always been my refuge in most difficult times of my life. It is calming and rewarding. These water colour paintings are a part of my “100 days of artwork” series during the covid times.

Somenath Maity
Why do I paint? The question haunts me. Perhaps it is woven into my consciousness from childhood as a rainbow of colours washed over my senses. I remember the green of the mossy walls, the white of the egret’s wings, the yellowish milk in copper vessels, the colours of the clay idols of Saraswati that took shape in my uncle Subodh’s hands and the blackness of night.
What do I paint? I paint the high walls of the city and the towering blocks of concrete that rise up to the sky. As I splash colours onto the canvas my restless heart sails the river of life while its swollen waters are dappled with glimmering hues.

Somnath Bothe
Mumbai: My painting takes the viewer back to Mumbai in the British Colonial period before India’s Independence. The classical architecture of the historical buildings often are a reminder of the development and progress of trade and commerce. The street lights are highlighted in shades of black and white to give a realistic touch to the scene. ‘The city that never sleeps’ tag has been highlighted in the image with cues such as the moving carriages at night. The city basks in twilight and is splashed with nuances of blue to make the viewer remember the beautiful cacophony of the rains; again something the city widely is known for. It is a rhythm of light and shadows.
Banaras: Banaras, one of the most visited holy places of the planet, has been displayed in this creation. I have tried to capture the beauty of the city with a microscopic eye, bringing for viewers the gentle waters of the Ganges, the boat rides, the morning worships at sunrise, the evening ‘Ganga aartis’, the high banks of the ancient ghats, the array of shrines, the myriad temple spires, the palaces at water’s edge, the ashrams, the pavilions and the palm and cane parasols.

Sonali Iyengar
Throughout my career, I have been fascinated by nature, human and animal species. My artworks explore nature in all its aspects, with its myriad views, textures, colours, and the co-existence of various species. My paintings help me to express my sensibilities and the boundaries of my subjects, to express my social concerns. I paint in oil on canvas. Both in the process of creation and my subjects, my work addresses issues of social causes, like endangered nature, globalisation, urbanisation through a unique feminine perspective.

Subrata Das
I try to imbue my art with colour, mysticism and romance. My works feature a cast of ethereal mythological beings from the Hindu epics with long limbs, cascading hair and a flame orange mist of vermillion dotting their foreheads. I focus on the sublime and poetic aspects of ancient Indian myths and legends. A favourite theme of mine is the divine love story of Radha and Krishna, depicted as two young besotted lovers. The beauty of the art lies in the serene, graceful aura that radiates from my aqua and blue green heroes and heroines and the lush forest of natural imagery they are set in. The paintings are dotted with blue lotuses, doves, peacocks, birds and the omnipresent flute. The ethnic subjects and themes are rendered with modern aesthetics and tradition mixes freely with contemporary techniques.

Subrata Gangopadhyay
Jagannath is described as Param Bramha, who can move without feet, see without eyes and listen without ears. This explains why Jagannath has no ears, no hands and no feet. But such an unassuming and truncated look of the idols begs a sociological explanation. Lord Jagannath is a symbolic representation from all religious perspectives. I have depicted Lord Jagannath with the mélange of the traditional or the known form and the secret belief in visibilities; Hands holding Shankha, Chakra, Gada Padma and the widespread eyes manifesting the solar cycle or the magnetic flux of the universe. Lord Jagannath, as an embodiment of the complete concentration of all the powers on Earth.
Krishna is represented in the Indian traditions in many ways, but with some common features, wearing a peacock-feather wreath or crown, playing the bansuri, accompanied by cows or a calf, with the gopis (milkmaids), making music or playing pranks. I have tried to show his spiritual essence and the love-eternal in existence, the gopis metaphorically representing the prakṛiti matter and the impermanent body.

Subuddha Ghosh
My work is my way to communicate my feelings and thoughts with my viewers. There are so many expressions in our daily life that we normally do not bother about, such as light and shadows, never ending love, old doors, verandahs, trees, flowers everywhere. They are all very much related to us. When I think on the relationship, I touch my life, my past. Normally we try to search for the super power outside, but I believe the beauty and existence of the power is found in love, in blessings and smiles. I try to reach it by searching constantly, even in our mythology.

Sujata Achrekar
We modern Indians find it difficult to believe that God takes birth on earth in mortal form and lives a life full of challenges along with us while working to rescue us from evil and problems. Is this topic relevant to a common man? Can a common man try and attain divinity? Hindu culture has always attracted me. It is vast and has various perspectives. Every perspective has an image or a metaphoric representation. Fine art of India is rich due to allegories from our mythology and folk tales. My paintings touch upon the theme of the divine descent on earth or the manifestation of God on earth.

Sunil Kulshrestha
I started my painting with water colours during my school days when my Drawing Master thought I did well. He further trained me and I obtained State awards during the time. The Drawing Master wanted me to join an Arts college, but middle-class life wanted me to pursue another profession to earn a living and hence painting remained a hobby. I would paint intermittently, mostly as presents to friends and relatives. Post retirement, I found time to again pick up a brush and colours on a more regular basis. This painting was my first attempt with Acrylic colours on canvas.
I experiment with mixed medium since, and love nature and the wonderful colours it offers.
This painting is influenced by my stint in Daman.

Suresh Gulage
After my post graduation diploma in art, I decided to make an identity for myself by painting architectural landscapes as my trademark work. Buildings may be mute spectators, but they hold the life of a city. I love to watch the light play on buildings. The same light illuminates different part of a building in many different ways. Window, door and motifs on the wall give out a different feel in the same light. Besides, the same building looks different at various time of the day. I love to capture that sight. Through brushwork and hues, I highlight the beauty of buildings by recreating these marvels using a vibrant colour palette and technique that oscillates between being in-the-face to subtle and suggestive both instances replete with the exquisiteness of the built form.

Sushmita Dam
I feel relaxed while painting, converting an empty white canvas into colourful art gives me immense joy. I am inspired to paint doors of different shapes and sizes with vibrant colours and believe that every door has a story of its own.

Swapan Kumar Palley
Cave paintings of Ajanta in particular and Indian arts in general are always a special attraction for me. With a realistic touch, geometric division of the canvas and the artistic division of human anatomy, I always aim to create a new very personal style. Combining contemporary art forms with various textures I endeavour to create an atmosphere of mystery and drama in my paintings. This endeavour makes my women in the canvas very real. Their smiles, cries and pain become real, as if they have entered the canvas from the real world.

Swati Pasari
Art for me has been a means to spread happiness and positive vibes to the people around me. Even though I have studied business and was ready to join my family business, I always felt something was missing. It was only after the encouragement of my close ones and the success of my first experience, that I understood that art was my true calling and I have never looked back since then. Being a Pranic Healer, my objective has always been to spread happiness through the vivid use of colours in my artwork. I have always used my creation as a medium to spread happiness and love.
Each of my artworks is a portrayal of my inner soul. My paintings, sculptures and each of my creations are a manifestation of joy and the celebrations of life. They are a method for me to connect to the power above us. When I create something, I find myself connected to Him through my soul and when I complete an artwork I feel a sense of completeness within and find my inner peace in the process of each of my creations. My artworks are a mirror to what I see, believe and witness in my real life and how they inspire me. To heal people through my artwork is the biggest achievement for me as an artist.

Thota Laxminarayan
Our family has a wonderful rural background which has had a lot of influence on me because of the animals, the birds, the green fields, the people there and their way of life. I moved to the city a while ago and the city effect is in my paintings.
Fish cleaning girl: The fish cleaners in the kitchen garden used to drain the water from them to the plants and the water was good fertilizer for the seedlings. There were chickens and cats in the house and the bed was placed across from them.
Girl listening to music: A group of people holding a tape recorder and listening to songs in the villages during the 80’s and 90’s, making loud noises while walking around the streets.

Tapas Ghosal
I spent my childhood and early youth in the quiet idyllic environment of rural Bengal. The soothing lyrical landscape and intrinsic mythical past within the rural life made a great impact on my inner being which aroused in me the love for spiritual beauty, making me contemplative and focused inward.

Tejinder Kanda
I have admired the panoramic caves of Ajanta and Elora, the shrines of Banaras and Bharmour, the hill towns of Kugti and Chamba and the cities of Mumbai, Amritsar & Kolkata. All these scenes have inspired me. Earlier on I have worked in serigraph and intaglio process, but moved on to impasto technique. I feel impasto creates a freshness with the thick pigment. The intermingling of those thick pigments generates mysterious strength of its own in various colours, creating vibrations on the surface of the paintings. I feel this causes the spectators and the artist to feel connected with the painting and this love is all that matters.

Umakant Kanade
I execute my pen and ink works on canvas and paper. My subjects cover all aspects of nature, rocks, birds, trees, shrubs and even the elixir of life that is water. My black and white world always includes a touch of colour in the form of birds and flowers.

Umesh Bhoi
To me, painting has been a self-discovery. An artist paints what he feels, experiences and sees in his life. I was born and bred in Nandurbar, a tribal area of Maharashtra. The tribal atmosphere aided in nurturing my inner emotions to express the feelings of attachment with the tribal community through my paintings and sketches. It stands to reason that in my paintings the figures are humble and unpretentious. I have always been deeply influenced by the privations of these simple people who would go to far-off lands to earn their livelihood. I am also trying to contrive the living image of their contentment and enjoyment of life by adding the embellished patterned foliage in an ornamental way.

Vandana Mehta
“The Chanting” originated in my mind in the peaceful hills of Ladakh. I have tried to capture the positive energy created by the sound of the monks’ chanting on the peak of the hills at dawn. The inner peace is mind blowing. The bright red colour is mesmerizing with texturized rings as vibrations and the invincible Lord Buddha looks on.
“The Happy Beginning” with a bouquet of flowers can be a glory to any wall. The textures in the painting with soothing yet attractive colours and composition brighten the mood of the viewer. It has a magical welcoming effect. The abstract look of the painting makes it very unique.

Veena Chitrakar
Born to a prominent mythological painter Indra Sharma, I learnt about colours at a very early stage. After winning a gold medal from Sophia College for Textiles, I joined New Great Mills where I created a large number of striking ‘colourful’ designs and patterns. I was one of the youngest designers to represent my designs globally. My legacy from my father, as well as my expertise in textile designing taught me that colour, rather than form, is the primary medium of pictorial language which I entwine into all of my designs. My signature motif of soft, weaving patterns floating on a geometrical field of colours is all about orchestrating a symphony. The repetition of forms and subtle colour juxtapositions is like a musical composition in an orchestra where the simultaneous contrast is the very best of the painting.

Vijay Gille
Lakshya In this picture some children are preparing to shoot at their target. One of them has already achieved his goal. The children are aiming at their target and are focussed on the goal. In order to conquer the darkness of life, to achieve positivity, concentration is required. My work tries to convey the enthusiasm, concentration and positivity in life.
Dabbawala: In this painting, a Dabbawala is standing with his handcart. The simplicity of his attire, his uniform, is his badge of honour. His work is to provide food on time to countless people while making the stressful journey in local trains and finding his way around crowded areas of Mumbai, yet there is spontaneity in him while he is working.

Vinita Karim
The Corniche: This is inspired by North Africa’s Roman Road, all the way from Alexandria to Gibralter. I have had the good fortune of having lived in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. The caravan trade route between Alexandria, Carthage and Tripoli in the Roman times has been fascinating for me, especially since I have walked on these ancient routes and tried to imagine how many people have lived and walked on them. When I saw the ancient cities of Leptis Magna and Sabrata outside Tripoli, I was fascinated to see the almost intact Roman cities on the Mediterranean. I have always loved the myriad shades of the waters of the Mediterranean and enjoyed walking along its Corniche, in Cairo, Tunis and Tripoli. This painting pays homage to my wonderful memories of living in North Africa.
The Blue Treasure: I have always loved water bodies of all kinds, be it rivers or seas or oceans. As a child, I lived in Sudan where the longest river in the world, the Nile flows. The most fascinating part for me was to observe the Blue Nile merging with the White Nile in Khartoum. The blue hues of the waters carry the intense colors of lapislazuli, a precious gem stone believed to carry the spirit of Gods by the ancient Sumerians, whereas the Egyptians saw it as a symbol of the night sky. I have added my signature crescent moon to complete this painting which is an ode to the mysterious Nile river which is 30 million years old.

Vipta Kapadia
My paintings are an immortalisation of deep silence turning into primordial sounds. They are scripted with broad lines and strokes that draw out and depict feminine energy. I try to place on my canvas the vastness of distant landscapes. My blacks diminish into grey and, equally effortlessly, the green recedes into the ochre gold. The land begins to go deeper where the water ebbs and a lesser known village surfaces.

Vishnu Sonavane
When we engage in the arts, we dip into our souls to discover deep pools of wonder, breath-taking gifts of beauty and quiet revelation. As we create, we are invited into playfulness, poignancy and surprise – energies that renew us and revitalize our sense of purpose. Through my recent suit of works I seek to explore the realms of mythology, folklore, innocence and the vibrancy and beauty that are present all around us.