Art by Rati
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Looking at the bride 

9/15/2014

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PictureLooking at her 16 x 20 inches , acrylics on canvas ( private collection)
I am  attending a wedding in one of the small towns  of India . The whole affair is  very traditional and not the big tamaasha ( spectacle), Bollywood style , which seems to have become  quite a norm thses days .

The ceremonies are attended by family and close friends and they start a few days before . From the bride’s side –every evening we gather together to sing  Bunni  ( bridal) songs  which are folk songs teasing the bride ( bunni) and and are peppered with  motherly advice . They are accompanied by lots of clapping and dancing by the family . There is the official Sangeet , the day Mehendi ( Henna ) is put on the palms and feet of the bride , her friends clap, dance and sing . All these are accompanied by plenty of feasting .

The young ladies of the house are dressed in their finery with jewels and zardosi embellished skirts and veils on the day of the wedding ---but they pale in front of the Bride –who is dazzling , yet demure in  her  attire of red and gold .

The look on the faces of girls when the bride steps out of her room is something that stays with me .  The eyes big  , the look of excitement  . Their mood is infectious and I try to capture it on  canvas …  


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Second Career...

8/10/2014

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PictureTeen Bon ( 3 sisters ) Acrylic on canvas ,
Rediscovering, Reliving, Reviving

After decades, the pleasure of drawing and painting is mine again. This old tired brain is trotting and is getting ready to live again.

I visit  a  sleepy  lane of Old Kolkata( My Calcutta ) and  see three ladies gossiping on the front steps of their house . There are very few houses of that elegance and  charm left in the city and the ladies look so at ease, close and bonded. I am lucky to see them. The ladies are sisters and readily agree to pose for me.

I choose Acrylics for this painting. They are excellent and versatile –having qualities of both water colours and oil paints. Acrylics are a boon to experiment with. The many vibrant colours dry fast and stay true to its vibrancy on any surface and with any brush. Much unlike oils that are far more tempermental and high maintainence where one needs to ensure every stroke doesn’t turn into a mess. I used an old hotel plastic card key as my painting tool on this  canvas . . The card is perfect, smooth, firm with a sharp edge and fits in my hand ---I can glide the colours on with ease.

The paint layers on beautifully, opaque or transparent as and where I want it . I feel in control and yet in complete harmony with the flowing colours . The completed picture is snapped up by a visitor from abroad and that is how my second career begins…….

                                               



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