Gunfire, explosions, late night raids and death of colleagues were a routine affair for Brajesh Varman. As the superintendent of police in one of the districts of Manipur bordering Myanmar, every day brought new challenges in the insurgency torn district for this decorated IPS officer.
“This was not a good phase in my life. I was asked to uphold the rule of law in a hostile, hilly terrain, with people in conflict with law, alienated and wrapped in abject poverty. I was away from my family, was either shooting insurgents dead or my team was being shot at. Even the people, who we were deputed to protect, treated us as aliens. As a painter, I tried to divert my mind from all the violence around me by taking up the brush but failed miserably. And then I saw these blocks of teak wood strewn around in the forests and unknowingly they became my friends,” said Brajesh pointing to several framed, exquisite pyrography works which were recently displayed at Alliance Francaise.
These ‘found wood’ as Brajesh likes to call them became his companion. Abandoned, discarded and rotting away in the rain, these pieces of wood seemed to resonate deeply with his state of mind. He felt trapped in a situation that was far from peaceful or happy by any stretch of imagination and the violence around depleted him so much so that the hollowness of these ‘found wood’ appealed to him. As he patiently set to work, cutting and chiselling them, removing parts that were rotting or eaten by white ants, the artist in him took over. Creating shapes out of the unyielding, robust teak pieces involved a lot of industry and the exercise turned out to be cathartic for Brajesh as he tried to regain his equilibrium in a hostile land by creating something unique out of teak wood remains. He chiselled the pieces to carve out spaces and details and then adorned them with sheets of foil – silver, aluminium, copper and gold; He sought help from the master installation artist and painter, Naresh Kapuria to finally get different textures and finish by artfully subjecting the carved pieces to a process of burning. The overall effect that his work has is that of a careless, irreverent expression of agony, anger and malevolence that he encountered in his trying tenure in Manipur. Two years of hard work resulted in Brajesh’s creating eight sculptures and thirteen wall mounted pyrography works that stand as testimony to his commitment to himself that he will not get sucked into the vortex of despair and violence. “It was a strong relationship, almost like falling in love when I decided not to turn away from these decaying forgotten teak logs and make them beautiful. It was as if they were communicating to me in their own way. I listened to them and to myself and here we are today,” said Brajesh with a wide smile.
As Additional Commissioner of Police for Traffic, Delhi Police, a busy appointment notwithstanding, this Lalit Kala Akademi award winner still finds time to work in his studio preparing for upcoming exhibitions. Having served as personal security officer to three presidents – K.R. Narayanan, A.P.J.Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil and also bagging the Presidents Police Medal award for meritorious services, Brajesh’s thirty years of police work could be stuff for a gripping pot boiler if he were to write a book. In the realm of Hindi publishing, Brajesh has made a name for himself by writing a book on the life of the Vedic sage, Vishwamitra, a fictional piece which delved into Vishwamitra’s relationship with Maneka. The research for this book was inspired by his conversations with the former President, APJ Abdul Kalam who personally tasked him to work on information relating to the famous Vedic sage.
A top cop, artist, sculptor, writer and a gourmet cook, Brajesh wears many hats and with elan.”Ï love to cook for my friends and prepare an elaborate spread whenever we have thrown a party at home. I unwind with friends, by painting and love cooking. My wife gives me enough space to do be a creative person. I’ll become a full time artist after I retire”, said Brajesh as he put the finishing touch to an acrylic on canvas.
For Brajesh, there’s a world beyond the high stress, intense environment of a police officer and it constantly beckons to him, a world of art that constantly enthrals and intrigues him.
