The ghats bathed in the dim golden light of the setting sun, sages and saints lost in their own reverie and people relaxing on the banks of the Ganges with expressions that remind of a child resting in the mother’s lap after a lot of running around. There’s precisely everything about the ghats and the city of Benaras that artist Rita Jhunjhunwala has tried to depict in her paintings that will be displayed at Visual Arts Gallery from March 20. The exhibition, called Benaras.com, is not only about the pristine and holy waters of the city. It captures the faith that every visitor has in his heart and also the old-world charm of the city. “The reason that I call it Benaras.Com is because I am not talking about the ancient city or things that once existed. I want to talk about the features that once can see even today. There have been many who were fascinated by the city and came up with beautiful landscapes. But in my works I highlight the beauty of the architecture, the faith that draws people to the city. River Ganga, like a mother, embraces all who come to her. No matter who the person is, which region or religion he or she belongs to, they all share a bond with the river. All this was so inspiring and as an artist it touched my heart,” explained Rita, who since her childhood has been visiting the city and she started work on this series almost four years back. “Every time I would go there, there were numerous things that will remain in my memory. But when I visited Benaras four years back I was deeply touched by almost everything that I saw in the city. Even the stones and the dark lanes have some kind of stories to share, so in a way the purpose of the paintings was also to share those stories with people who have not been to the place,” said the artist. It seems like Rita has some old connection with cities that are known for their colour and culture. Earlier she also did the series of works based on Rajasthan. “I remember when I was doing my sketches in Rajasthan, I met a person with a beautiful smile and he in a way described everything that we know Rajasthan for. I wanted to create his portrait and all the while I was drawing he kept smiling. After I completed the work, he asked for money saying that he has posed for me. The price quoted by him was pretty high. I thought that the person was willingly smiling and was being kind and warm to me but he was looking for money. When I went to Varanasi, this event was in my mind but to my surprise, no body is bothered if you are clicking or sketching them. The only thing that unites all is the faith and devotion for the river Ganga,” shared the artist. A self-taught artist, Rita began working in watercolours, a natural choice for someone who was born and brought up in Kolkata, and moved to oils for sometime before zeroing in on acrylic. “Acrylic ia a versatile medium. I can achieve a transparency with it, that I would have wanted from watercolour and I can make it dense for deeper textures,” she ended.