On the same canvas

In the centre of the gallery there is a portrait of a woman, draped in a sari, holding two lotus buds and looking out from the picture with half closed eyes, very sensuously. Behind her the full moon shines with all its might adding an almost mystical illusion to her figure. This painting by Chirtalekha Singh is one of the many paintings that adorn the wall of Art life Gallery in a group exhibition titled Cerebration: Power of thoughts. 

Singh is the dean of Visual-performing Arts and Research Institute, Mangalayatan University, Aligarh and takes keen interest in human behaviour. According to her people, when they get old, either become happy or sad. “It’s not a function of money or any outside circumstances that I can detect. The happy ones usually have very few needs and require very little to sustain themselves. Their hearts are open, they live in the present moment and their minds are simple and innocent, like a child’s. Even though their bodies may be aging they seem to get younger in spirit every year,” she explained.

Curator of the exhibition and promoter of the gallery Pratibha Agarwal pointed out that the main purpose of the exhibition was to encourage the lessons of yoga and meditation. “There are some incredibly useful benefits to be derived from this practice. The fast-paced life today needs people to introspect for a better synchronisation of the mind and body,” she said.

Meditation and the practice of yoga have different meanings to different people and the contributing artists have depicted their interpretation through their art. “I do not meditate so that I could become enlightened, or see God or transcend the universe. I paint because that is meditation for me,” said Santanu Sarkar, a well-known artist from Kolkata. He gave us the example of how a Kung-Fu master breaks a stack of bricks with the palm of his hand by using the power of his mind. “We all have an invisible life force energy pulsating through us. We need to learn to direct this energy by meditating. For me, painting is no less than meditation,” he added. 

For arts teacher Amrit Kapoor, it is the feeling of being in the reflective state while painting that she feels closer to finding the meaning of life. She said, “I paint for the simple joy that it brings to me on a daily basis.The joy that I derive from my meditations has also increased. The pleasure I get when I sit for meditation has expanded. I can’t understand or explain it. I’m still sitting like I always had, but suddenly what I’m experiencing can only be described as bliss.” 

There is a painting of a man sitting in the Dhyan mudra by SS Kukkal. The painter explained to us that the happiness that he derives from meditation does not require any money or travelling and said, “It is not exhausting, fattening or toxic and doesn’t need anyone or anything else to be experienced. It’s free, limitless and beyond any sensual experience I’ve ever had.”

There is a certain story that every practitioner of teacher of yoga and meditation narrates to their student, that of a beggar who sat on a box and begged for 30 years, everyday, without even looking inside the box. And when he does, he finds it filled with diamonds. The story teaches us that peace and happiness is inside us, we just have to access and release it. “All the participating artists seem to have got in touch with a simple, inner pleasure that keeps them happy and satisfied. They’re getting in touch with their inner bliss, and it’s growing and nurturing them every day,” Agarwal said.The exhibition, which also features works of Santanu Sarkar, Garima Singh and Jnanes Sekhar Roy will continue till June 25.