Black and beautiful
RANA SIDDIQUI
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Sujata Dere’s works, to be mounted in New Delhi from this Sunday, have an impressive blend of the old and the new.
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A TIMELESS look Sujata Dere’s “The Card Players”.
Sujata Dere is an alumnus of the prestigious J.J. School of Art in Mumbai. After scoring excellent marks in her Board Examination in 1979, when Dere took to this art course, the artist recalls, “People around me were shocked and sad.” She relates, “They said, ‘You have scored great marks, so why are you taking up art for a course? It won’t take you anywhere’.” Adamant as she was and with parents supporting her endeavour, Dere followed her heart. Today, her creations boast texture, quality and themes that we rarely see now. They exude an old world charm. Her people, picked from the roadsides, transport the viewers to the era of kings. They wear long, flowing sherwanis and short kurtas and topis. They sport a beard too. Their headgear seems to be from the Moghul era but their actions belie the period. The old world appeal is enhanced by the medium she uses: pencil, charcoal and pen and ink.
For instance, her ‘Chess Players’ are men from the streets of Bhopal unwinding against an old fort. They decide to play chess on the concrete slabs of the road. The harmony among them is shown through their togetherness. Similarly, her ‘Sufi Gaan’ has many men relaxing to music. With daflis in their hands, they sing and swirl against the evening sky dotted with flying birds.
These and other images form an exhibition presented by Nitanjali Art Gallery at Alliance Fraincaise de Delhi from September 2 to 4. Says Sujata, “These images have been drawn from the streets of Bhopal where I am living for a few years now. This city has an old culture and a certain timelessness. People happily co-exist. The harmony between them is shown through their mehfil (congregation) that I often see on the streets. They are very well-behaved. I make an attempt to reflect all that in my works apart from the apparent action.” She feels her interest in Sufi music and poetry “make them lyrical.”
Returning point
Sujata has been painting in acrylic and oil too, but pencil and pen have been a constant. “Each time I return to this medium, I am able to draw something very different,” she states. To draw horses for this latest exhibition, she learnt horse riding. “Each horse has a different personality. I got to know it only when I rode many of them,” she explains. Though Sujata has shown her works in Dubai, London, Virginia and Washington besides Jaipur Palace Museum, Delhi and Mumbai, she enjoys being connected to home. For here she gets a variety that is not easy to find in places having similar architectural strictures. She recalls, “Once I saw my washerwomen doing the clothes with the ease of a perfectionist without realising how beautiful her hands and feet were. I was so fascinated that I drew them and prepared a series on ‘Hands and Feet’. I draw my inspiration from people whom I meet every day.” The show shifts to Nitanjali Art Gallery on September 4 and will continue till September 15.
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