PATHIK - TRAVELERS 

NAGUESH  RAO  SARDESSAI

‘You yourself must strive. The Buddhas only point the way.’ This verse from the Dhammapada, a collection of sayings of the Buddha, is followed very diligently by nine enthusiastic artists from Goa, who are exhibiting their paintings based on Gautama Buddha at the Goa Kala Academy’s Art gallery.

The show titled ‘Buddha – In search of the enlightened” is an exercise in exploring and evolving a pictorial structure for the abstract yet profound pearls of wisdom by the enlightened master.

Conceived and curated by Vaishali Lall, graduate in fine arts from the Goa College of Art, the need for the show and the concept grew out of Vaishali’s individual attraction towards Buddha’s teachings.

Vaishali, an accomplished dancer, conducts classes and workshop on various forms of visual art that includes craft, oil painting and so on. A casual interaction with one of her student led her to conceive this exhibition and form a group labelled ‘Pathik’. Pathik is a Sanskrit word for traveller. Group comprising of Nitin Upadhyay, Preeti Verma, Siddhi Talwadker, Shradha Pal Patil, Darpan, Simpi, Suyash Tanawade and Dipti Sardessai is led by Vaishali and is on a journey of exploration, expression and realization.

Each of these artists has been trained by Vaishali except Dipti who has a degree in commercial art from the Goa College of Art. Passionate about painting, all have put in their best efforts in giving pictorial form to their understanding of Gautama Buddha and his teachings.

Dipti conducts art and craft classes for children as well as adults under the banner of Canopy Azure, an art and design community centre from Margao. Having participated in several group shows, her pieces on Buddha exude peaceful vibrations. Soft marble-white face of Buddha against dark background, amidst green leaves around and red lotus at the base speaks the gist of His philosophy.    

Nitin is curious about abstract and surreal art and his works are an example in expression of energy employing unique paint and texture that is unconstrained. He’s equally adept in painting realistic images with creative and surrealistic touch.

Darpan is a healer and her journey into art compliments her foray into spirituality. Her paintings reflect the spiritual refinement she has achieved and she believes that the art carries its own energy. Art for her is healing and reservoir of deep love and profound joy. The visuals in her wok evolve from her meditational and Reiki sessions and as such the works are pregnant with spiritual connotation. Her paintings have been exhibited at the Prince of Wales Museum in Mumbai and at various private shows. 

Preeti paints to experience inner peace. She does murals, paints on canvas and glass and experiments with mix media besides doing silk thread jewellery, paper quilling items and wall hangings. Talented and skilful, her paintings are stylised yet realistic and neatly executed.

Shradha, gynaecologist by profession, feels that just like medicine art too heals. Always fascinated by art and the idea of creating something out of imagination, she credits her mentor Vaishali for making her believe in her capabilities. Bold in application of brush and approach towards composition, her paintings reflect the energy embedded in the words of Buddha.

Washed with blue hue, Siddhi’s Buddha reminds me of Lord Krishna. Holding a lotus in the right hand forming a Vitarka Mudra against a complimentary background, the painting speaks of the urgent need of reasoning and debate as against chaos that’s seen in this modern world. Lecturer in electrical engineering, Siddhi is fascinated by colours and passionate about expressing her emotions on canvas.   

A self-taught artist, Simpi’s paintings are simple yet fascinating. Adept at handling oils and acrylics, she prefers to use watercolours as it is a challenging medium leaving no room for error. One of her work with silhouette of Buddha filled with pure light against a delicate tree and splash of colours representing seven chakras along the spine is illustrative.    

Suyash’s play of primary colours and visual texture is interesting. Simple lines and serene forms add innocence to his works. Beginning with pen and ink sketches, he graduated to use colours. Employing acrylics and watercolours, Suyash does mandalas and murals as well. Naturally creative, he creates best out of waste especially miniature bikes from electronic waste. 

There’s grace and subtle movement in Vaishali’s works reflecting her training as a dancer. Her compositions are dramatic. One of the works has Buddha enveloped by eight leaves denoting eightfold path of the enlightened one. Conduct exhibitions, workshops, camps and courses in Art & Education, Vaishali plans to spread awareness and love for art.

The show will be on till May 3.