Address At The Inauguration Of Painting Exhibition Of Shri Amarnath Sehgal

Creative paintings Inspire

I am indeed delighted to participate in the Inauguration of Painting Exhibition of Ramayana series created by Shri Amarnath Sehgal organized by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts. My greetings to the organizers, artists community, art lovers, participants and distinguished guests. My congratulations to Shri Amarnath Sehgal for his life time contribution to painting and sculpture, and particularly to his recent creation of fifty paintings on the episodes of Ramayana and Mahabharata which are in display.

Contribution of Shri Amarnath Sehgal

Imagination and creativity of Shri Amarnath Sehgal resulted in the form of paintings of the life pattern of human lives of our planet. He has been depicting each social and political event whether it is a freedom struggle in Namibia or economic turmoil in Africa or the spectre of terrorism in the world. He has also created monumental sculpture which adorn in many parts of the world such as Mexico, Berlin, Geneva, Africa and India. He has always been concerned about the theme of peace. He felt that art and artistic expression can create peace.

On 16th September 2004, my team was in South Africa. On that day, I visited Robben Island in the Atlantic Ocean. I saw the prison cell, where Dr. Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 26 years. I was really moved how an indomitable personality was chained bodily whereas the mighty soul was totally free. This was beautifully sculptured by Amarnath Sehgal in 1986, in the form of a bronze block image ?THE CAPTIVE?.

The sculpture reveals the chained body from all sides and the indomitable spirit of the mighty soul. Sehgal?s imagination was beautiful and creative. I thought it is a good occasion to share with you this thought, when he has displayed another creation today.

Paintings and Sculpture Promote Creativity

Painting normally reflects the intellectual attainment fused with past and present and future blossoming in our thoughts. I was thinking, can the painter blend the poetry, graphics and sculpture, so that we can witness his thought depicted visually in calligraphy, texture and colour in unison. This exhibition provides me an answer to this which is a creative existence that is global and a talent that spans many types of creativity.

Artists and scientists are heroes of the imagination or of the deep insight into the nature of things. A painter appears to completely visualize the picture with his imaginative skills and creativity before beginning to paint. This I can clearly see in the fifty paintings of Ramayana and Mahabharata, the creative paintings done by Amarnath Sehgalji.

The paintings and sculpture brings out the creativity among children. To make the education process complete it is essential to include art as a subject in our educational curriculum. There are number of arts and artistic expressions hidden in our ancient village culture which have not been brought to usage by the modern generation. It is necessary to carry out research and bring the natural artistic strength in different areas of the country, document them and bring them as curriculum to the students. This is how we will be able to propagate the civilizational heritage of our country.

Technology in Arts

Art has also got technology in it. When the children start learning the art they come to know about the usage of wood, earth, stone etc. and how they can be carved efficiently to give beautiful expression to the end products. For example, for providing preservative qualities to the paintings and sculpture today one can use nano-powders. The various technological options in creation, preservation and promotion should form part of the art education.

Learning from our Epics

The Ramayana and Mahabharata have not been witnessed physically by Shri Amarnath Sehgal. However, he has given expression to various characters of Ramayana, Mahabharata in this exhibition which tries to make a common man feel how Rama had lived as an ordinary human being. When I saw the 30 paintings of Ramayana, I was alive with 24000 slokas of Valmiki Ramayana. Particularly, I like Jataayu crying for help for saving Sita, Portrait of Ravana, and agony of Dashratha. Kaikeyi?s presentation is seen as a queen, a cunning personality, a sorrowful personality and an elated personality. We witness such differentiation in personalities in our day-to-day life. The portrayal of nature blooming on the arrival of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana to Ayodhya was really marvellous. The portrayal of different characters brings out the various divine and devilish qualities of the human being.

In the Mahabharata section, Bhishma?s advice to Pandavas is an excellent portrayal. What I found to be missing was the portrait of Vidura and his teachings of righteousness in Amarnathji?s collections.

Here I would like to share, it may be out of context, when I was talking to children, one kid asked me, ?Mr. Kalam, please tell me who is your favorite character in Mahabharatha?? Without hesitation my reply was Vidura. I liked Viduras? action in the King?s court of Dhritharashtra. When there was a discussion of Duryodhana?s action against Draupadi, everybody in the court was silent including Bhishmacharya, which was assumed to be their concurrence. Only Vidura opposed the actions vehemently with reasons and explained why they shouldn?t insult the bride of the Pandavas. I can see the strength of Vidura?s character revealing the trait of righteousness. Today, what we need in the country is that every individual has to be embedded in righteousness. Now I remember the divine hymn:

Righteousness

Where there is righteousness in the heart

There is beauty in the character.

When there is beauty in the character,

there is harmony in the home.

When there is harmony in the home.

There is an order in the nation.

When there is order in the nation,

There is peace in the world.

I would request Sehgalji, to create Vidura?s portrait reflecting his righteousness in the next series. This will be a great contribution, particularly for the young minds and the experienced leaders.

Conclusion

Creativity is in every mind but to flourish it is the main task before us. Providing an opportunity to express their creative thoughts and the appreciation of the thoughts by enlightened persons is a means to promote higher level of creativity among the children. Schools, colleges, non-government organizations and art lovers can work together and create painting / sculpture exhibitions in various States especially in rural areas for promoting the creativity of the rural children and create an interest among them for participating in arts. The participation of children in painting kindles their imagination and they are made to see the holistic picture of every described situation. The interpretation of pictures by different persons varies, but when they exchange their thoughts, the multi-dimensional characteristics of the situation are fully understood. This will not only enable identification of talented children but also can become a wealth generator for gifted personalities. I am sure, the exhibition of epic episodes sends a message of creativity, peace and prosperity to the nation.

May God bless you.