Senior bureaucrat Rakesh Agrawal says that he would adopt painting and photography as a full time job after retirement. Agrawal is Additional Chief Secretary in Cottage and Village Industries department of Madhya Pradesh and his retirement is scheduled next year.
A noted painter, Agrawal feels that God’s creations have always inspired the artists to paint. And the artists always try to imprint the same beauty in their works. It is said that Nature is God’s creativity and one of city’s eminent personality has beautifully presented the God’s creation before the art lovers, he added.
While talking to The Pioneer, he disclosed his perception about painting and the love for nature. “For me nature is not less than my first love. Since childhood I have been attached with it so deeply that I always try to capture it may be in paintings and photographs,” says Agrawal. Interestingly, he only paints landscapes and moreover, he not only paints but also is a very fine photographer.
As he picked up painting and photography as a hobby 20 years back, he has added his name among the finest painters of the State. Being an IAS, Agrawal never let his love for art and nature diminish and till date he maintains the same emotion for it. He says, “I have travelled places, not only in India, but even abroad. So whenever I used to witness a beautiful scene in the valleys, mountains, rivers, I used to capture it in my camera. later, I used these pictures as my inspiration to paint these scenes over the canvas.”
“I would say that I find pleasure in nature’s lap. I enjoy it to the fullest,” he added. Talking about the young artists, he said, “The young generation of artists brings much innovation in their works. Their creativity and imaginary is so broad that you can learn from them. Even I am not a professional artist so it will be a positive thing for me if someone would critically appreciate my work.”
He finds the modern and abstract art as beautiful but one cannot connect with it deeply. “Of course abstract is nice, but the depth the figurative work can bring in more impact. I do not get fascinated with abstract that much,” he said. Regarding his inspiration in art field, he says that his wife is an artist and engaged in glass painting. “So I always remain curious to know her comments,” he added.
Notably, his solo art exhibition is being put up at Rangdarshini Gallery Bharat Bhavan. Agrawal says that this is his first solo painting exhibition and he is happy to display his works before the art lovers. The charm and splendor of nature defined by Rakesh into his paintings is much appreciated by the art lovers. He signed off saying, “I will surely conduct exhibitions in other cities too. It will definitely encourage me to perform better.”