SONGS OF AMITY

A SOLO SHOW BY BRATIN KHAN

To worship a super power. I think each and every work is a Prayer to its own manner. Primarily the journey began with worshiping the nature, through many landscape paintings. I was born and brought up in a village in North of Bengal. In my early age there was no electricity even at that time. So I have strong memory of down, twilight, moonlit night. Absolute greenery. I could smell the jungle. Aroma of flowers in morning and evening. I still have the greenery in my village despite globalization, urbanization. Internet and original rural beauty are living together. Always I am recharged with beauty of nature whenever I visit my village. Now I can realize how these green shades and the essence of rural life inspires my paintings. Now the creator of this universe has come in my subject. The Lord is tied up with his own creations. Sometimes by directly the God himself or sometimes through the bodies of incarnations; the Lord took birth on this earth to enjoy his own creation I am praying, I am paying my Tribute the Lord through my canvases. I love to paint the blue God “Krishna” Though he has come with human body; he painted himself blue, to make him separate from the normal human beings. So it is my tribute to the Lord or my dream to decorate him with huge ornaments. Sometimes I call him “Anand”. As if he is a lovely small child of my locality. I can see him, dream him, everyday in my studio. Immediately I make drawings, I compose, decorate and plan for another paintings. The blue God moves around, he plays with friends in a fantastic atmosphere, with cows, birds, with lash green branches of trees, and colourful flowers. As if the memory of my childhood in my village. Anand is a series where I have been painting the Lord as a child; “Anand” the childhood pleasure, playfulness, has created its own language, own atmosphere, its own identity. It is not an illustration of religious epics. Though it may link some common references from epics or Indian mythology. Another subject of practice is Lord “Buddha”. It is the tribute to Sri Aurobindo, In his famous Uttarpara speech Sri Aurobindo talked about “Sanatan Dharma” and ancient way of living, which he called a “Dharma” that may mean, responsibilities, duties, in human life.A way of living, where we will not celebrate the religion of humanity but to live humanity, truth. A practice of harmony, truthfulness, wisdom. Sri Aurobindo wanted to mention a human religion which is above caste, creed or differences of religions and colours or territory of different lands and countries. This is my earnest effort to portray such a personality of wisdom and inner light; and enlightened existence. Thus “Krishna”, “Buddha”, “Mahavira” comes in my paintings. And I offer my prayer through my paintings to that great concept. Through which concept, this present turmoilcy around the world can be stopped. I myself cannot create a bomb to destroy terrorism, communalism. But I can show my paintings, my dream as a protest against terrorism, extremism.