Vibrant colours of the Indian tradition

Artist Sachindra Nath Jha's paintings show his unending fascination with Benares.

As a child, he recalls being fascinated by the colourful rangolis his mother used to draw. His passion for colour finds expression in his paintings of Indian mythological figures. All this and much more is evident in artist Sachindra Nath Jha’s exhibition Charnamrit.

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Organised by Nitanjali Art Gallery and curated by Mandira Lamba, the show encapsulates Jha’s unending fascination with Benares. Former J &K chief minister Farooq Abdullah inaugurated the show and spent over an hour with the artist and his family. “It seems as if all the vibrant colours of the Indian tradition have descended on his canvas,” said Abdullah.

Nitanjali Art Gallery owners Nitin Bhalla and wife Anjali at the exhibition

Nitanjali Art gallery believes in promoting young talent. About Jha, owner Nitin Bhalla says, “He would soon be the hottest selling star in the Indian art circuit.”

Jha has focused on the activities around the ghats of Ganga in Benares depicting the Naga sadhus, Hare Rama Hare Krishna followers and pandits performing puja along the 80 ghats with each ghat being dedicated to a different god. The exhibition is on till March 29. “The series is aptly titled Charnamrit. The paintings symbolise divine blessings that come from praying,” remarked curator Mandira Lamba. Elaborates art critic Uma Nair, “It is as if Jha has carried in his psyche a cachet of Benares. Through each composition, he guides us into the dramas of the public sphere of the temples, into the secret life of the spiritual fantasy that meets realism somewhere along the way.”

Those who came for the opening included Usha Mittal (wife of UK-based steel magnate L N Mittal), businessman Robert Vadra, art collector Amitabh Aadhar with wife Neelima and TV personality Vipin Handa.