Sunday, April 29, 2001		Article

THE exhibition has been mistimed. Had he got the paintings ready by February, he could possibly have caught up with the Shivaratri festival. After all, Shiva Shakti is also in celebration of the myth of the Lord of Destruction and Regeneration.

But then, that is one way of approaching Anup Chitrak’s unusually large canvases on the metaphysical aspects of Shiva. The larger and surely, more commendable purpose behind the series was to donate its proceeds to the victims of the Gujarat earthquake.

So there was Shiva in all his cosmic glory — as Mahakala, the controller of time, as Sarveswara, an embodiment of the universe, as Hiranyabhu, the golden-armed source of a green-leafed samsara, as Pashupati, the lord of all creatures, big and small...

"I have tried to go beyond religion and rituals," says the 57-year-old painter. "All the 1008 characters of Shiva, as described in our scriptures are conditional assumptions, born out of devotion and from an understanding of the universe. There is no one form that can be ascribed to Shiva."

Typically, all of Chitrak’s Shivas bear a sweeping arc to symbolise the "third dimension" — not of the deity, but of the concept behind his painting. It goes beyond the obvious and the apparent to draw upon the observer’s personal conditioning and perception.

Another characteristic is the absence of facial features — since that would again influence the observer by the artist’s subjectivity. The absence of such detailing is yet another aspect that has become Chitrak’s signature style over the years.

"Everyone has his own view of what God should be like," he explains. "If I draw the face, the viewer will get trapped by my personal perception. I don’t want that to happen. I want my paintings to appeal to everybody as the values depicted in them are universal."

Born in Siddapur, a remote hamlet in Karwar district on the Goa-Karnataka border, Chitrak ran away from home at the age of 17, to pursue a career in arts in Mumbai. His father was a feudal lord with a firm grounding in law and naturally wanted him to follow in his footsteps.

In Mumbai, he came up the hard way, doing odd jobs and shifting homes between friends and relatives, till he could afford a roof over his head and enroll with the J.J. School of Arts in the commercial stream. At the same time, he studied fine arts in the Nutan Kala Mandir under Prof Dandavate Math.

In 1969, he was ranked first in Maharashtra in commercial art. And then began rounds of ad agencies and sundry apprenticeships, till he eventually found his way to Delhi in 1971. There, he set up home, got married (to another artist) and in time, founded a studio on the city’s eastern outskirts.

"Over the years, I have developed a lyrical style of my own," says Chitrak. "My lifelong interest in mythology has given me the energy to recreate myths and legends in pictorial form. This is a subject of infinite possibilities, which can take an entire lifetime of painting.

"Another great source of my inspiration is Indian classical music. I have to listen to music specially when I am working on my concept as well as painting. At times, I also burn incense while working... And then I, am transported into another world where everything means more than the obvious."

So it is out of worship and meditation that images take shape in his mind’s eye and are transposed into oils on canvas. The vision is fortified with extensive readings and cross-references from the scriptures as to allow no room for misinterpretation.

But ultimately, it is his consummate skill at marrying elements of both commercial and fine arts that sets Chitrak apart from run-of-the-mill artists. Sharp geometric forms, scriptural texts (with appropriate namaboli typefaces) and precise graphics blend seamlessly into free-hand compositions of the sublime, traditional iconography and wild flourishes of colour and strokes.

"I do not know how this happens," confesses the artist. "All that I know is that my painting should look pleasing to the eye. This is where some very talented painters make mistakes. They produce great works but the packaging could get all wrong. Even the framing demands attention."

Chitrak will soon be embarking upon a mammoth project, producing the 1000 manifestations of the Lord of Preservation — Vishnu Sahsranama. This would entail creating at least three canvases a day, if he has to meet the deadline of completing the series within a year!

— MF