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Haryana’s Sohna gets an artsy, colourful makeover. See pics
The Chitrayog Art Festival held over a period of a one month in Sohna brought artists from across the country, who painted murals on themes such as nature conservation, mythology.
Art should resonate with nuances of the city. And when artists from around the country got together as part of a month long Chitrayog art festival, they splashed the city popular for hot springs and mythological tales, with street art reflecting themes such as mythology, preservation.
While the image of Rhino and a child on the rock is aimed at highlighting environment conservation, an image of Lord Shiva adorns the walls of the Sohna Bus stand showcasing the inseparable connection between humans and animals. Nature, also features in the form of lady bird that has spruced up the walls of a government school, and valour of a fireman has been brought forth through his image in a fire suit.
Amitabh Kumar, who painted a dog as part of the festival, shares an interesting anecdote from mythology that inspired the art. “I was very excited to paint in Sohna. Eklavya’s (from the epic Mahabharata) playground was exactly where Sohna stands currently. This is where he was practising when Dronacharya refused to give him any tutelage. The piece is revisiting the story when the Pandavs were in the forest, and just hearing the dog bark Eklavya attacked the dog with 100 arrows. There are various versions of the story. But I thought this was a great way to remind people of the land they are a part of.”
Echoing similar sentiment, Mumbai-based artist Ranjit Dahiya, who is originally from Sonipat, says: “I wanted to paint something that resonates with local people. Ever since childhood I have heard about Sohna being known for hot springs and often referred to as ‘Shiv Nagri’. So we decided to make an image of Lord Shiva where springs emerge from his lap. He [Shiv] is symbolic of universe, hence the use of dark colours.”
