Artist Jyoti Bhatt’s intaglio, Arpitha Reddy’s oil on canvas and sculptor Vivek Das’s papier mache creation of a Kalpavriksha stand apart for their depth and substance, says Uma Nair

This millennium of two decades comes to an end. In the contemporary art world, this is the time to look at the classic tree of life as a composition in art practices. In the many examples, this critic has seen three such works stand apart for their own depth and substance. Jyoti Bhatt’s intaglio, Arpitha Reddy’s oil on canvas and sculptor Vivek Das’s papier mache creation.

Kalpavriksha, also known as kalpataru, kalpadruma or kalpapadapa, is the wish-fulfilling divine tree in Hindu mythology. It is mentioned in Sanskrit literature from the earliest sources. It is also a popular theme in Jain cosmology and Buddhism.

In Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, we find that the kalpavruksha is the eternal giver. It grants wishes pertaining both material and spiritual. While providing us with shade, fruits, nuts, wood and life giving oxygen that purifies air, the kalpavruksha helps human mind to focus on attaining spiritual enlightenment.

Vivek’s papier mache

Vivek Das’s Kalpavriksha, created last month, is a papier mache creation that looked like a transverse section of a tree that has seen generations. The beauty of his Kalpavriksha is that it echoes the power of a landscape. The concept of the tree is translated in a manner that is deeply evocative as well as original.

Here is a modernist mould kalpavriksha that echoes Hermann Hesse when he wrote that trees are penetrating preachers for sanctuaries. We know that the “tree of life” has been used worldwide by numerous theologies, philosophies and mythologies. It reflects the link between heaven, earth and the underworld. It has been used in the form of a mural as well as sculptures, drawings and paintings.

“The philosophy I refer to is vasudeva kutumbakam,” says Vivek. “The world is our home and all living creatures are connected to each other. I have tried to connect the mud house wall and a tree form to connect the atmosphere, habitat of humans, birds, animals and any living species.”

Vivek does not go into the details but creates sunken spaces that make us imagine that the kalpavriksha has swirling branches and creates a mythical symbolism, suggesting the perpetuity of life in the turquoise green blend that he creates as a candid but hinted canopy. In the curved colours of upper reaches, we can imagine branches that twist, twirl, turn, spiral and undulate, creating a tangle of strong branches, long vines and fragile threads, perhaps an expression of life’s complexity.

Jyoti’s intaglio

Jyoti’s most iconic print is his Kalpavruksha which embodies the principle of “Purush–Prakruti”. According to Jyoti,  he had made two plates — the second plate, Purush-Prakruti, is 10 x 10 inches. Details are mesmeric here — he takes the metaphor of eyebrows to create a sublime portrait. He recalls that he must have been reading a poet describing a woman’s eyebrows as dhanushya (bow) because he created the dhanushya-shaped eyes five times and then compared that shape to the wings of parrots, leaves of trees and so on. The vertically arranged form would have reminded him of the mythical tree and so we see this replete in rhythms of the earth and erotic hints of child birthing. The work celebrates minimalism and the evocative juxtaposition of iconic symbols and the beauty of nature.

Arpitha’s painting

Trained in the Guruvayoor School of murals and frescoes, Arpitha Reddy’s Kalpavruksha is created as the mascot and masterpiece for Vriksha 2019 that was exhibited at India International Centre and Charles Correa’s marvellous architectural creation Bharat Bhavan Bhopal.

Arpitha took her source and inspiration as the mythical Kalpavriksha, said to have appeared during samudramanthan along with Kamadhenu. Thus, she personified the earthly manifestation of the heavenly kalpadruma. Kalpavriksha (of five types) are said to be located in the gardens of Indraloka with the devas and asuras at perpetual war over the wish fulfilling trees. Kalidasa’s Meghadutam tells us that kalpatarus yielded garlands, clothes and provided for all fineries for the women in Alaka, capital of Kubera’s Yaksha kingdom. Thus, while bestowing immortality, we find that kalpavriksha also provides for all our material desires. In her kalpavruksha, she has parrots, monkeys, fruits and lotuses, all part of a cosmic and celestial abundance.

These three creations embody the expanse of the imagination, the understanding of Vedic ritual and beliefs and also gives us a glimpse of the power of the manifestations of art practices that can be a signature of human power over the world. Indeed, art is long and life is short.