Of canvas, colours and clicks

Beyond their parent-child bond, these four professionals are bound by their shared passion for art and photographs

Aparajitha and Dr. Gayatridevi

The stunning Tanjore paintings by Dr. Gayatridevi depict Krishna’s story right from his birth to the manifestation of his Viswaroopa. A little ahead the abstract images by Aparajitha hold you in thrall. What binds these diverse perpsectives and forms is the mother-daughter relationship and their passion for art. While Dr. Gayatridevi is a leading Ayurvedic doctor, daughter Aparajitha is a software professional working in the US.

At their house in Masab Tank, Gayathridevi is in a buoyant mood - not only is Aparajitha home for the holidays, but the duo is holding its first exhibition together titled ‘Jagadguru & Jagad’ in the city. “This is the first time that I am showcasing my works here in Hyderabad and this time, I’m joined by my daughter too.”

Pointing towards one of the images, Dr. Gayatridevi shares, “I totally believe in Bhagadvad Gita’s verse ‘

Karmanye vaadikaalasthe, maa falechu kadachana... ’ It’s been the guiding force of my life.” Her tryst with Tanjore art began in Chennai under Lakshmi’s tutelage.

Aparajitha on the other hand is self-taught. She had learnt a few techniques of line drawing for a short while from a faculty of J. J. School of Arts, Mumbai. She draws on various themes and calls painting her stressbuster. “I like to use both sides of my brain,” she laughs. With her hectic schedule, she can only set aside one weekend a month for art. Her mother elaborates, “Her creativity is totally different from mine. I like her ideas; whenever we speak to each other through Facetime, she shares her perspective about different things.”

Dr. Gayatridevi leads a busy life with her clinic, patients and and her television shows on ETV and ETV Plus. And, in her free time, she pursues art. “I don’t like to be idle,” she states.

The interesting feature of Dr. Gayatridevi’s works is that important events in Krishna’s life have been presented in a sequence to present the entire Bhagavatam story in Tanjore art style. Some of her works on display include – Vasudeva crossing the river with the just born Krishna on his head, Kaliyamardana, Kamsavadha, Sisupalavadha, Narakasuravadha, Tulabharam, Draupadi Manarakshana, Geetopadesam and Krishna manifesting his Viswaroopam to Arjuna.

As we are about to leave, Dr. Gayatridevi quips, “My husband turns 60 and this exhibition is a gift from a wife and daughter.”

(The exhibition titled ‘Jagadguru & Jagad’ will be on at Nehru Art Gallery, Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University from January 5 to 8)

Love for photography

The bond shared between a father and daughter is special and in the case of architect Shankar Narayan and his daughter Maanasi Shankar, the bond is cemented with their interest in photography. A few days ago, their works illuminated the walls of Goethe Zentrum. The duo’s first photographic exhibition titled ‘Baap Beti 22/55 A Visual Narrative through Time’ narrated stories through their photographs.

“Having published my works in architectural magazines, I am a combination of amateur and semi-professional photographer,” smiles Shankar. In the 80s, his father’s camera had been a companion as he roamed around looking for ‘subjects’ to capture. “I got into photography primarily because I am an architect and wanted to travel. I have taken around 10,000 photographs of landscapes, architecture, people and anything that catches my eye. I began with a regular camera; the challenge of slides is that one cannot edit,” he points out and adds, “I follow the same dictum with my digital camera too. I don’t like to edit or touch-upmy photographs.”

Around seven years ago, history repeated when Maanasi began her photographic journey with her father’s camera . The duo loves to travel. “We both went to Ladakh for a month last year and attended a course on earth architecture at an institute near Leh and clicked photos in Srinagar and Ladakh. We also discovered how we look at things differently though there are some similarities,” states Shankar. Maanasi chips in, “Clicking with my father is not a planned process. Sometimes we have moments where we look at the same thing but our photos of it are different.” A design professional, Maanasi likes to look at details and objects. “I like to take abstract pictures and make the viewers think ‘what’s that!’ Guessing is fun. I never plan anything just for photography; it happens as a by-product of travel,” she avers. The two do not look into details but enjoy a good photograph. “We are not professionals so we don’t discuss much of the technicalities but appreciate each other’s works and view points,” says Shankar.

Maanasi calls herself a moody photographer. “I don’t like to carry a camera all the time; sometimes I like to enjoy the moment,” she adds.