From Post Box to WhatsApp

Sculptor Vilas Kulkarni [ first one from the right]

      




          When our show was going in the Jehangir Gallery,Mumbai , at the same time, in the same place, Delhi artists were exhibiting their works in the spacious auditorium gallery. In the auditorium hall, postbox sculptures made in the fiber glass medium stood as testimony to the bygone period and caught the attention of each and every visitor's attention since the post boxes are connected to everyone's life. Delhi based artist Vilas Kulkarni had this concept of post boxes in his mind since a long time but the concept got materialized when he was planning for his Mumbai show. When asked about these sculptures, he was emotionally remembering the olden days. The technology has smoothened the ways and people are getting news very fast today but the new gadgets cannot bring the warmth and emotional touch that the letters used to bring, the artist expressed. Now the messages and emails are very brief and devoid of feelings as everyone sees and feels. Now the conversation is carried mainly in English. So the works displayed were satirical and reflecting the contemporary truth. From the red post boxes were spilling out only English letters as if all the regional languages have taken back seats. As English is flourishing across the world as global language, the regional languages are slowly vanishing one by one. If serious efforts are not put in , the regional languages will fade away within no time. Now the total scene has changed completely due to the invasion of computers and mobiles and new applications, so naturally the post box has taken a back seat. The post boxes used to play a very important role in everyone's life a few years back. The post cards , inland letters and covers which carried messages to friends ,parents and relatives used to be carried by this post box. Those were the days when connectivity was difficult and a distant dream. One had to wait for many days to get news. Post cards usually carried brief messages especially the death messages written in two three lines. Inland letters were lengthier than postcard and shorter than covers. The educated people opted for inland letters and inland letters were not as open as post cards. The postcard letters used to be read by one and all, whether one intended to read it or not, one could not abstain from eyeing its contents - open letters, open secrets. The covers always contained long sheets of paper either white or lined or tinted ones written with ink pens. While writing, sometimes the bluish or blackish ink used to smear on the pages here and there. In those days news and messages travelled slowly and reached the destination many times after its importance diluted. But everyone used to wait eagerly for the post man to come and deliver the letters at one's door step.

The invention of computers and mobiles has ultimately has put an end to the letter writing. During the high school days, language question papers used to have one question about letter writing. Now only for official purpose letters are written and dispatched as hard copies. Emails , messages and WhatsApp have become popular these days. Nobody bothers to sit and write letters elaborately now a days.


The small post boxes spread in the auditorium, catching everyone's eyes, stood as the testimony for the bygone period of emotions. The post boxes present in the auditorium belonged to different cities, and one them belonged to my place as the artist is originally from my place. The post box had our city name and pin code. I was really happy to see the particular post box. Some of the works were very interactive as some small children wrote small, small messages on paper and put into the boxes. After some years, the post box will become an antique piece and will be kept in the museums.

Jamini Roy, Bengali artist : The celebration of 130th birth anniversary, Google doodle honors the eminent painter

Jamini Roy : Born on 11th April, 1887, Beliatore, Bankura District, West bengal. Died at the age of 85 on April 24th 1972

Jamini Roy is an unforgettable Indian artist, who has contributed immensely to the Indian Renaissance of art . Though Jamini Roy had studied academic style of painting in the beginning, he turned to indigenous art study and developed his own style due to the impact of national movements and the awareness of Nationalism. The four painters namely Abanidranath Tagore, Gagnendranath Tagore, Rabindranath Tagore, and Jamini Roy are considered to be the pioneers of Indian Renaissance of Art. It was E.B. Havell, an English art administer, art historian, who had great respect and love for Indian art showed Indian artists to appreciate the beauty and merits of Indian Art. He was the principal of Government School of Art, Calcutta. As an art educationist, E.B. Havell, in the interest of Indian Art and Culture, created a model of education based on Indian Culture and the art practices hitherto practiced in India. This led to great turning and awakening in the Indian art field in those days. The beauty of Ajanta, Ellora fresco paintings' and miniature paintings' were started being appreciated once E.B. Havell showed the true worth of those school of paintings.

Jamini Roy was one of the prominent Indian renaissance painters, who strived to evolve his own style after getting inspiration from his culture and art. Khalighat paintings, Bengal folk art, practiced in west Bengal interested Jamini Roy very much. khalighat Painting as a school developed in the 19th century, in Calcutta, in the vicinity of Kaali temple and the neighboring areas. In the beginning, these paintings were based on mainly mythological themes and later the artists started to paint daily life scenes. These famous and colorful paintings are usually painted on clothes and handmade papers. After acquainting himself with the folk artists and spending some months in their company, Jamini Roy started simplifying his forms. With the simplification, the forms in Jamini Roy's paintings started becoming more powerful and bold. Bankura district in West Bengal is very famous for Bankura terracotta horses, and earlier these figurines were used for religious purposes, but now these horses have started decorating different spaces all over the country. From these folk art forms, Jamini Roy got lots of inputs and as a result his method of work took a different turn and gradually he evolved a beautiful authentic style of his own. Today we all artists remember him with affection and respect for his enormous contribution to the Indian art.

Gallery

Monsoon          Acrylic on canvas       by  Madhu Desai

Sensation    mixed media on handmade paper    by Gayatri Desai

Monsoon 2    Acrylic on canvas  by Madhu Desai

Sensation    Acrylic on Handmade paper  by  Gayatri Desai

Summers: Fans,AC, Refrigerator at service 24x7, sultry,suffocating and unbearable, mangoes,water melons and icecreams

…                                                            In recent years , summers have become unbearably sultry and suffocating. The whole night, the dry weather keeps one awake and tossing on the bed restlessly though the fans make herculean efforts to cool , comfort and take to a dream land. With difficulty, one closes the eyes to snatch some sleep but the mosquitoes' feather touches shoo the sleep away. The eyes keep moving to the clock every now and then but it seems the needles have become lethargic to move. Slowly, when the dark sky is turning in to light pale blue, the cool breeze starts enveloping and swinging one into sleep. Early morning birds start interacting with one another in melodious sounds. But there is no chance to enjoy that luxury for some more time. Daily chores waiting in line to be attended keep the sleep at bay. With half heart, one moves towards the bathroom, half asleep and half awake. On turning the water tap, the warm water comes out, mounting one's frustration. After this ritual, the kitchen invites as usual for a cup of tea or coffee. As one sips tea, the atmosphere filled with humidity makes it tasteless. How to hydrate during summer is elaborately stated in the magazine section of the today's news paper. In another article, the list of fruit juices goes

endless like a monkey tail. With all these woes, summers are always remembered for mangoes, water melons and ice creams. In India, everyone awaits, especially children, for mango season. All types of mangoes come to market in the summer season and the scene of women vendors in colorful saris with fruit baskets offers a visual treat. When one enters in to the market, every buyer is appeased with his or her choice of mangoes as all varieties are available. Summer is the ideal season for the preparation of mango pickles. In the afternoon after lunch, the pickle preparation starts. Women, girls and children - all take part in the preparation, every one doing one or the other small works. With the raw mangoes pickles are prepared for the whole year and distributed among the relatives. Mango sharbat, mango rice preparations are quite common during this season at every house hold. Raw mango pieces with chili powder and salt sprinkled on it, is the favorite of all children during summers. Vendors, during this season, throng outside the school premises, with raw mangoes and ice creams to make a good business. At every corners, on the road side, masala butter milk pots are seen along with tender coconuts. During the season, in every house, there is preparation Holige ( it is sweet dish prepared with gram dal and jaggery) and mango shikarni.
Fans, AC and refrigerators at service 24/7, windows covered with dark colour curtains, the afternoons still remain unbearable. A news in t bold letters catch my eyes and read that a photographer has captured the scene of glacier melting. who is to blame for this? If this is the conditions of human beings, what about insects, birds and animals ? What about next generations ? What measures can one take to reduce this global warming ? Birds , animals, trees, human beings - all are waiting for the first rain of the summer and for the smell of wet earth.
endless like a monkey tail. With all these woes, summers are always remembered for mangoes, water melons and ice creams. In India, everyone awaits, especially children, for mango season. All types of mangoes come to market in the summer season and the scene of women vendors in colorful saris with fruit baskets offers a visual treat. When one enters in to the market, every buyer is appeased with his or her choice of mangoes as all varieties are available. Summer is the ideal season for the preparation of mango pickles. In the afternoon after lunch, the pickle preparation starts. Women, girls and children - all take part in the preparation, every one doing one or the other small works. With the raw mangoes pickles are prepared for the whole year and distributed among the relatives. Mango sharbat, mango rice preparations are quite common during this season at every house hold. Raw mango pieces with chili powder and salt sprinkled on it, is the favorite of all children during summers. Vendors, during this season, throng outside the school premises, with raw mangoes and ice creams to make a good business. At every corners, on the road side, masala butter milk pots are seen along with tender coconuts. During the season, in every house, there is preparation Holige ( it is sweet dish prepared with gram dal and jaggery) and mango shikarni.
Fans, AC and refrigerators at service 24/7, windows covered with dark colour curtains, the afternoons still remain unbearable. A news in t bold letters catch my eyes and read that a photographer has captured the scene of glacier melting. who is to blame for this? If this is the conditions of human beings, what about insects, birds and animals ? What about next generations ? What measures can one take to reduce this global warming ? Birds , animals, trees, human beings - all are waiting for the first rain of the summer and for the smell of wet earth.
endless like a monkey tail. With all these woes, summers are always remembered for mangoes, water melons and ice creams. In India, everyone awaits, especially children, for mango season. All types of mangoes come to market in the summer season and the scene of women vendors in colorful saris with fruit baskets offers a visual treat. When one enters in to the market, every buyer is appeased with his or her choice of mangoes as all varieties are available. Summer is the ideal season for the preparation of mango pickles. In the afternoon after lunch, the pickle preparation starts. Women, girls and children - all take part in the preparation, every one doing one or the other small works. With the raw mangoes pickles are prepared for the whole year and distributed among the relatives. Mango sharbat, mango rice preparations are quite common during this season at every house hold. Raw mango pieces with chili powder and salt sprinkled on it, is the favorite of all children during summers. Vendors, during this season, throng outside the school premises, with raw mangoes and ice creams to make a good business. At every corners, on the road side, masala butter milk pots are seen along with tender coconuts. During the season, in every house, there is preparation Holige ( it is sweet dish prepared with gram dal and jaggery) and mango shikarni.
Fans, AC and refrigerators at service 24/7, windows covered with dark colour curtains, the afternoons still remain unbearable. A news in t bold letters catch my eyes and read that a photographer has captured the scene of glacier melting. who is to blame for this? If this is the conditions of human beings, what about insects, birds and animals ? What about next generations ? What measures can one take to reduce this global warming ? Birds , animals, trees, human beings - all are waiting for the first rain of the summer and for the smell of wet earth.