Triumph Of My Mother’s Ambitions

Well, being surrounded by moms of all ages, I am beginning to understand how much children dominate the mind space of a mother. Thankfully, my mom had just me to think and worry about, although, that does not mean I was an easy child or demanded less attention.

As a child and even now, I like to create. I feel good when I create something new, something that brings me and others joy. I had many hobbies as a child and don’t even ask the amount of junk that I’ve piled up at home. My mother, who is an ardent art enthusiast, loves all forms of art and since my childhood always encouraged me to practice and learn some form of art.

She tried her level best to make me learn Odissi dance, which is one of the many, yet the most popular, dance form of Orissa. I made a fuss about every class I went to and eventually dropped out. But during my tiny little dance career, I gave quite a few performances in the local community.

My mother did not give up; she then wanted me to learn Classical singing. So I ended up learning Hindustani Classical music for around 3-4 years. I also graduated in Hindustani Classical. My music teacher had really high hopes of me, but again I dropped out because I was unable to manage 10^th board studies and music together and without practice and hard work even the most talented cannot survive.

One thing that remained constant was that I always loved painting. My mom started learning art during her free time. She joined a school to learn Patachitra.  Patachitra, “Pata” meaning cloth and “Chitra” meaning picture is a traditional form of painting of Orissa (now Odisha) originating from an inconspicuous village called Raghurajpur.

When she used to get her paintings home, I loved them and I started practicing on my own.  This was right after my 10th board exams, when I had lots of free time and no tuitions or school to attend.

The technique used for this form of painting requires expertise and devotion since a single Patachitra can take somewhere around 3 weeks to 6 months to be completed. The brush, the canvas, and even the colors used are all natural.

Just a single shop in Bhubaneshwar (my home town) sold the natural colors that are required for Patachitra somewhere near the old part of the city. The traditional basic colors used are red, ochre, indigo, green, black and white, all obtained from the natural sources like turmeric, lamp black, and shells etc.

Traditionally, the artist uses fine brushes made from the hair of a mongoose or rat or coarse brushes made from the buffalo's neck. I use brushes that are available in the market. The base is usually a wooden base coated with a cotton cloth (matha cloth) using a gum obtained from tamarind seeds (Kaitha Atha in Oriya). Traditionally, another piece of cloth is added on to it. On the top portion, a layer of soap stone powder and tamarind paste mix is applied. The canvas is now glossed by rubbing coarse grain and stones. Once the canvas dries, it is cut into desired sizes. The colors for the paint are mixed with the same gum so that they glimmer when applied to the canvas.

Dancing Ganesha - Patachitra

The themes of these paintings are usually religious and related to Hindu mythology. Most of the paintings that I’ve completed so far are based on the Mahabharata. Some depict different rupas of Gods, some are figments of my imagination.

Since the time I’ve come to Canada, I haven’t really painted a lot, but its time to start again J. In summary, my mom and her desire to tie me with art won. This art form is also an example of how nature has provided us with every little thing we need in our lives to accomplish anything; we just need to look.