A Saga of Immortal Love

Triangle, circle, point and line, trees and animals, people, sun and moon.
Simple and colorful images, which are reported immortal saga of love and glorify Krishna.

Within the framework of the agreement on expansion of the cultural ties signed between Armenia and India in 2010 November, Yerevan is hosting the exhibition of paintings of Indian contemporary artist Babita Biswas.  The inauguration of the exhibition took place in the National Gallery of Armenia on February 10. The exhibition is organized by The Ministry of Culture of Republic of Armenia, the Embassy of India in Armenia and ICCR (Indian Council for Culture Relation). The opening ceremony was attended  by Foreign Deputy Minister Mr Sergey Manasaryan, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Culture Mr Arthur Poghosyan, the ambasador of Inida to Armenia, H.E. Mr Achal K. Malhotra, the director of the Gallery Mr Pharavon Mirzoyan.

The opening ceremony

In the opening speech the head of the Armenian National Gallery Paravon Mirzoyan mentioned that the Painter has filled the Canvas with Indian contemporary art.

“By the agreement signed between the Foreign Affairs Ministries of the two countries the cultural dialogue will not be limited by exhibitions of paintings, almost all the branches of art are involved in the programs,” the ambassador pointed out. These events are aimed at introducing the Armenians and the Indians the rich heritage of both countries,” A.K. Malhotra noticed.

‘If you watch the paintings attentively you will understand that they depict the outlook of the Indian people about the world, love and friendship,” the Indian painter said.

Mrs Biswas specializes in Warli style painting, depicting famous image of the Indian mythology – Krishna. Warlis or Varlis are Indian indigenous people, who live mostly in Dahanu and Talasari talukas of the northern Thane district, parts of Nashik and Dhule districts of Maharashtra, Valsad District of Gujarat, and the union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. The ritual paintings of the Warli are usually done inside the huts. The walls are made of a mixture of branches, earth and cow dung, making a red ocher background for the wall paintings.

The Warli use only white for their paintings. Their white color is a mixture of rice paste and water with gum as a adhesive. They use a bamboo stick chewed at the end to make it as simple as a paintbrush. The wall paintings are done only for special occasions such as weddings or harvests. The lack of regular artistic activity explains the very crude style of their paintings, which were the preserve of the womenfolk until the late 1970s. But in the 1970s this ritual art took a radical turn, when Jivya Soma Mashe started to paint, not for any special ritual, but because of his artistic pursuits.

        Well, all these news you could read in almost all the news portals in Armenian network. Now I would like to write about a special day. The day when IAF members visited the exhibition and had the pleasure not only to enjoy the Indian exhibition but also to meet Mrs Biswas and watch the paintings along with her descriptions. A cheerful and lovely lady who was always ready to answer every question of the impressed audience. This exhibition is unique both for being the first ever to be opened in Armenia  representing Indian art and also the first one organized abroad for the artist.

As Mrs Biswas introduced the exhibition called "A Saga of Immortal Love", includes 22 paintings of Warli art. Most of them are  picturing love and life of the two gods of Hinduism: Krishna and Radha. Starting with his childhood Krishna is painted with his flute. When he plays his mesmerizing flute, the whole world is filled with love and compassion. Some paintings are of Buddha. Here you can see a painting with Krshna symbolizing love and Buddha  symbolizing peace. 

Peace and Love

Unlike the traditional way of Warli art Mrs Biswas's paintings are full of colors. "In that stage of my life I desperately was eager for light and purity, and I found it in Warli. The white was calling me, attracting me, an I felt it needed me as I needed it- purity and truthfulness. But I wanted to enrich it with lots of colors. And I started studying their culture from a folk artist". Since then she had several solo and group shows and was appreciated for her art with several awards.

Radha resembles to Krishna's shadow

The Rasa-Lila of Krishna (Love game)

  While discussing Warli and Indian culture with Mrs Biswas IAF members also had the opportunity to see who is the artist  Babita Biswas as a woman and mother.  Mrs Biswas has inherited her artist skills from her Grandparents. "My Grandfather was ա sculptօr and my Grandmother was painting too", she said. As a talented artist she is good at dancing and singing as well. She has got 2 children: a daughter and a son and  grows up her children in mixed Indian and western atmosphere.  She doesn't like getting presents but likes making surprises for her dear ones. She cooks very well, especially steamed fish and likes having evening gatherings for her friends in her house.

Lusine: I can hear melody in this painting: very gentle and live.
And I feel great love & tranquility in this blue atmosphere

Mrs Biswas also told us about her future planning. Back home she will prepare for another exhibition at The Nehru Center in London in June 2011.

Mrs Biswas shared her impressions about Armenia too. "Frankly said I had never heard about Armenia before I was told I would have an exhibition of my paintings here. I started surfing the net in search of the mysterious country called Armenia. Then only I fell in love with it. And now when I am here I think I should have planned my trip to be longer". Mrs Biswas ensured us that she will come back with her children to travel all over Armenia.

Next day 3 of IAF members spent the whole day with Mrs Biswas showing her Yerevan....