It’s Krishna for them, always!
Artists swear by Lord Krishna as their muse, experiencing emotions of spirituality, devotion, and sanctity. They credit their success to Krishna's inspiration.
Artistes swear by him as a muse. They say that if you have Lord Krishna, the artiste in you, one gets to experience a myriad of emotions including spirituality, devotion, sanctity and much more. This Janmashtami we spoke to a few artistes who have been adding finesse to their art forms with the God of love and compassion on their side.
Artist Pankaj Gupta talks about the strong connection he felt with Krishna during his 50-year journey. He says, “I remember vividly when I decided to paint the eternal love story of Radha and Krishna in monochrome, some divine power led me to create one frame after another to create the magic. Their story itself is so vibrant that no painter needs colours to depict it. I made it a point to bring their pious bond on canvas with full honesty. I named the collection Epitome of Love, and it was sold out not just nationally but internationally. No words can describe the inclination I have felt for Krishna over the years as a painter, with Him as my muse.”
Kathak guru and exponent Pt Anuj Mishra, believes that it’s impossible not to have Lord Krishna as your soul companion while you are taking your creativity to the next level.
“I have done over 10,000 shows where Kirshna ka jeewan, unki leela and saare vyaktitva is an inspiration for all. My acts, mudras and depiction are always based on him. Be it Lakhnavi Thumari by Wajid Ali Shah or kathak recital by Lacchu Maharaj, the foundation of all is Sri Krishna since days of yore. Art without him is like kathak without thap and taal,” adds Mishra, who recently presented a kathak recital based on Krishna in Canada.
Not just kathak, other classical dance forms take the deity as the supreme inspiration. The disciple of Padma Bhushan awardee Saroja Vaidyanathan, Bharatanatyam guru Syed Shamshur Rehman feels that with the deity in mind and heart while performing adds nuances to any artiste’s performance. “I have come up with uncountable acts based on the most loved deity in the world. I have also choreographed an act on a famous South folk song ‘Maadu Meikum Kanne’ (O! My little Krishna...) and staged it for the first time in Delhi back in 2014-15 on Janmashtami and it was not only well received by the audience there but also my Guru appreciated it wholeheartedly. Till date, I have presented it over 100 times at various locations,” says Rehman.
