Since childhood, art was a natural inclination for me. Staying in the backward belt of Orissa, there was no conducive atmosphere to nurture that desire.
Encouraged by my parents, especially my mother, who was the driving force behind the pursuit of art in my life, I took to art and graduated from Behrampur University, Orissa, in Fine Arts.
The deep quest to experience art continued.
I traveled extensively, seeking and serving traditional masters who specialized in various art forms like Orissa Patachitra, palm leaf painting, silk painting, watercolors, oil and natural colors.
My illustrious Kala Guru, the late Sri Dasarathi Maharana, was a traditional art teacher from Bhuvaneswar. Under his guidance, I received intense training in Orissa Patachitra and palm leaf paintings. The uniqueness of Orissa Patachitra is that colors used are hand made natural vegetable dyes which are stable colors.
Palm leaf painting is a complex and intricate art form and very time consuming. Palm leaves are processed over a period of 3 months to impart longevity and to make it suitable for painting. On this processed palm leaf, pictures are engraved with Lekhani (metal pen) and colored with the black dye obtained from charred coconut shell. To complete a palm leaf painting, one may take well over a period of 3- 12 months depending on its complexity and intricacy. Other systems of traditional art that I have pursued are Kashmiri, Tanka (Buddhist art) and Tanjur art forms. This includes creating murals and sculpting from wood, stone, terracotta etc.
Having taken to a life of spiritual pursuit, subtle but vital truth of life is conveyed through my drawings. Growing up with Tribals in the wild of nature, my childhood impressions are expressed in my art.
I journeyed the length and breadth of India, many times on foot, ‘sketch book in hand’, only to come back and work on canvas to portray Indian culture in diverse forms and hues. That was unparalled exposure...
To conclude, if I have at all made an impression in the art field today, I owe this my guruji, Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati, of Arsha Vidya Pitham, Rishikesh. It is the endless support and sincere encouragement I receive from him, which sustains me throughout all my endeavors. My art has flourished only due to his kind patronage. I have grown as a human being under his able guidance. My words fail to acknowledge his grace and blessings...
Om
