JOIN USMy car once broke down near Arjan Garh Metro Station. While looking around for water to cool the car, I found myself at an akhara (a traditional-style gymnasium) where a young man with well-chiselled body appeared in front of me.
Few years later, when I read the story of ‘Jaada Pahalwan’, inadvertently the same young man’s image made its way through my brush to my canvas,” says Ankur Rana, the artist.
His paintings displayed as part of the exhibition ‘Aarambh Ke Gyarah Chitr’ describe his real-life encounters. More interestingly, his works draw inspiration from the eleven short stories of Alexshendra Venus Bakshi which the latter has compiled in her book Aarambh Ki Gyarah Kahaniyan.
The portrait of the body builder (lookalike of Arnold Schwarzenegger) is thus imagined from the story of Jaada Pahalwan – one of the eleven paintings namesakes of the stories in the book.
A viewer without any knowledge of the stories tends to appreciate the bright colours that flow smoothly in the visual imagination of the painter, as presented on the canvas.
While Bakshi pens her poetic thought in her stories, Rana reads them and the characters in the stories come to life in the latter’s imagination.
“I don’t know if it happens with a normal reader or only with an artist but I could see the visuals moving in my mind like on a film reel,” says the artist who has not just let his thoughts flow freely but also provided them with a modern touch to stamp the artworks with his distinct style.
For instance, the painting titled Banno Bazi is based on the story of a muslim girl. The young lady dressed in a Kashmiri traditional outfit is captured in pensive mood. While the beautiful features of the girl give a semblance of Meena Kumari’s look in Pakeezah, her attire reminds one of Sharmila Tagore in Kashmir Ki Kali.
It is, however, not that every story has been literally translated in the paintings. The metaphorical description of the story Check Post makes one inquisitive of the tale behind the voice travelling from a mouth to someone’s lips.
Ankur explains, “This is the inner voice of the man who is going to get re-married without informing his first wife,” and the story comes alive.
The bright colours of the painting ‘Nuska chai’ make one fall in love with the aroma of tea leaves that are drawn next to a woman’s eye. Such is the depiction of the female face especially in the picture ‘Dandloo’. “This one is painted from the eyes of the boy who is in love with a girl named Dandloo.
She is not getting marriage proposals due to her oversized front teeth, but her lover finds her as perfect,” says Rana as one appreciates his vivid backgrounds that provide continuity to the dream sequence that a viewer imagines while watching these eleven artworks.
The exhibition ‘Aarambh Ke Gyarah Chitr’ is on display at Visual Art Gallery, India Habitat Centre till July 23.