It was sheer pleasure to visit Uttarayan Art Gallery with Prof. Arnapurna and students of Digital Cultures and New Media class. It is indeed one of its kind, analogue Art Space situated in Jashpur village on the outskirts of Vadodara city. It was a one-day trip and we travelled via bus. The navigation to and from the place is a little challenging due to dusty rural roads which lack street lights. But this indeed made the visit more interesting as it seemed that after a long journey through the countryside, one has entered a well furnished magical world with huge open spaces, decked with various forms of art all over.
Some of them are Pattachitras representing Bengal and Orissa cultures, brightly coloured Madhubani paintings, Dokra castings representing tribal culture in Bastar(Chhattisgarh), Iron statues of tribals worshipping Lord Shiva, Woodcut surface printing materials, digitally made art forms and many others. These art forms have been contributed by artists from all over the country and the diversity they reflect is in itself a testimonial to the same.
Different media were used to communicate ideas. This visit as a whole helped me understand how art is a profound medium which has been used for centuries to express a whole set of ideas and thus it conveys the viewer an in-depth insight into different cultures and practices. For instance, one of the Madhubani paintings depicted different scenes common in a village, like women fetching water, goat rearing, children playing near wells etc. One of the art forms which captured my attention was a Pattachitra, very similar to those found in the Jagannath Temple in Puri. It had on it, the entire life story of Lord Krishna. Another attractive and digitally made art form was a snakeskin shaped into a circle as if to be used to hang someone. This was made by pictures of an original snake skin found from the nearby forest area. Several delicately engineered artworks were placed on open grass fields. The joy of walking and watching these placed all around is like none other.
In a world where people are becoming more materialistic and more driven by money rather than passion, it is indeed interesting and inspiring to see such a beautiful expression of one’s skill and imagination. The silence spread in the gallery is not only an aid to the artists, who come to produce masterpieces there but also a respite from the city noises for the visitors. There is a lake near the area and the picturesque scene provides a room for introspection and soul-searching. I thoroughly loved and enjoyed the time I have spent there and would encourage all the readers to plan a visit to the place, as it caters to the need to get inspired and one cannot but appreciate the hard work which has gone in building the masterpieces. Cheers!
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