WOMEN POWER

Two women artists from Goa with no formal background in art yet an intense desire and passion for the subject have been painting their mind and heart for a very long time. They are an encouraging example of housewife rising up to establish their identity beyond the four walls of the kitchen.

Jyoti Mehta and Nandini Raikar are neither neo-liberals nor feminist. Their inner calling drives them to scale new levels. Initially guided by Wilson D’Souza, they went on to hone their skill of painting with senior and noted artist, Sadguru Chendvankar.

‘If Wilson taught the basics and helped use take the baby steps, Chendvankar sir helped us realize our own potential and explore it,’ says both, Jyoti and Nandini, in unison.

‘Nandadeep’ is an exhibition of their paintings currently on at the Goa Kala Academy, Panaji. Each of them is preoccupied with a subject that has been close to their heart. If Jyoti explores the life of Gautam and teachings of the Buddha, Nandini is fascinated by the spiritual wealth of Banyan tree as explained in the Hindu texts.

        

‘The world is growing intolerant and violent with divisive forces taking control with each passing day. Human beings have unleashed a wave of destruction of nature and plunder of natural resources. In view of the aforementioned, the teaching of Gautam Buddha stand a chance to bring a semblance of sanity and order to the human civilization,’ Jyoti.

Jyoti’s preoccupation with the teachings of the Buddha found itself transformed into paintings that illustrate and elucidate for the uninitiated. She has successfully touched upon the key aspects that add to the woes of the common individual and the application of teachings of Buddha that can mitigate the difficulties to lead a content life. She drew inspiration from the Buddha.

‘Key to Happiness’ and ‘Aadhar Stambh’ are philosophical whereas, ‘Pressure Cooker’ is a parody that speaks of the stressful life that we lead. ‘Paduka’ is almost reverential and speaks of the spiritual leaning of the artist. 'Journey to Enlightenment', 'Peace' and 'Ancient Wisdom' depicts various phases of Buddha's life.

“'Mother's blessing' gives us that message that we should use mother nature's resources like a Bhikshuk with a Bhiksa patra (bowl) where he will take only what is required and not be greedy,” explains Jyoti.

'Search of Self' shows the phases of human life where we keep changing our personality to adapt to a character of a successful person with time but still cannot discover our true self. ‘Imminent future’ shows the pressure we are building on the Mother Nature and ourselves and the danger emanating out of that situation.

Nandini’s faith in the ‘Banyan Tree’ has lead her to paint this subject. An impression that got imprinted during her childhood has got sharper and clearer as she grew in age. Her love for art and all forms creative gave impetus to the long stored wealth of religious symbolisms to flow out and transform into paintings that speak of Nandini’s deep-rooted belief in this revered tree.

‘I use symbols with limited interpretations,’ says Nandini before adding, ‘my works by and large speak a direct language.’ And it’s true for the message is not concealed in any difficult symbols. Play of hues and use of tints and shades elevate her works of an admirable level.

Lord Ganesh, Tulsi Vrandhavan, ‘Banyan Tree’, seemingly insipid seed and such forms play a drama to convey a message. ‘Banyan Tree’ magically bears human looking forms and faces that covertly convey the message of inseparable nature of our relationship with the whole of this world. The magnanimous Vedic concept of ‘Vasudev Kutumbakam’ gets illustrated through her works.

A humongous Banyan tree comes out of a small seed is aptly shown in one of Nandini’s works.The nature worship and the nature centric religious practices as prescribe in the ‘Sanatan Dharma’ are aptly projected through these works.

Painting for Jyoti is more than an act of amusement. It is ‘Sadhana’ that she intends to draw strength from and grow in Art and Life.

Both of them have put up some of their quality works with apt compositions and interesting hues.

The show was on view till January 7, 2013.