You can almost hear the painted branch groan under the weight of the thousands of leaves painted on it. Mayank Shyam stands on a scaffolding adding yet some more foliage.
The Gond artist is in Coimbatore to paint a wall mural at a private residence. Even though the scaffolding hides portions of the mural, the little we can see is breathtaking. We catch glimpses of the canopy of the tree, flashes of the colourful birds, great big brown fishes, insects and water ...
Twenty-nine-year-old Mayank is the son of the renowned Jangarh Singh whose art work so impressed Jagadish Swaminathan (then Director of Bharat Bhawan) that he invited the artist to Bhopal to further develop his art. Jangarh Singh went on to become an international name and Mayank continues to do his father’s memory proud.
“It is a way of life in our village,” says the artist whose aunts, uncles, mother-in-law and cousins all paint. His sister Japani is also a famous Gond artist. “Our rituals, pujas, myths and legends are all represented in our art.” Mayank incorporates the symbols and stories of his community and says he is most inspired by trees. “Though I grew up in Bhopal, my father insisted that we visit our village Patangarh. On one such visit, I walked miles to carry food to my uncle who was farming and it was hot. I rested underneath a tree and realised how cooling its shade was and how comfortable and sheltered I felt under it.”
No wonder there is so much love going into the tree Mayank is painting. The tree and flowers and birds and fishes he has drawn on the wall, while not being botanically accurate, bristle with life. You can almost feel the surge of the painted fishes.
“Water and trees are two sustaining elements of creation and survival,” explains Mayank. “We believe our universe was born out of the water.”
While ancient symbolism abounds in his work, so does the modern world. In one of his works, he has painted aeroplanes. “Just like the birds leave home in the morning, fly forth and return to the tree at night, we set out in planes to conduct our various business, travel far and wide and come back home,” he says.
Primordial creatures as well as buses and autos, forts and skyscrapers find space in Mayank’s work. “When I see something interesting, I make a mental note of it or, if I can, scribble a few sketches. But very rarely does what I have in my mind reproduce exactly on the canvas. Once I start painting, it evolves into something else as I go along. It is an organic thing. I never know which way my trees will sway or which direction my fishes will swim.” He never corrects something once he has painted it. If it is not right, he starts over he says.
Mayank’s optimism is infectious. He says he has received all that his heart has desired. “Bharpur mila hai,” he smiles and is not looking for anything more than to be allowed to paint what he wants.
“I don’t want to be in the rat race always worrying about why I have not been invited to a particular exhibition, or why I am not being paid as much as someone else.” But Mayank has already won the Madhya Pradesh government’s State Award and he has made a name for himself in several Art Camps where he has worked with other artists. In 2007, his work sold at Sotheby’s.
He lives in Bhopal where he has his studio on the floor above his home. “I don’t have fixed working hours. I paint when I am inspired and I can go on for hours. I am delighted when people seek me out after they have read about my work. Respect is everything. And I hope artists in our country get the respect and recognition from our countrymen and women. Apni cheez apni hoti hai , there is nothing better than love and recognition from our own.”
Mayank and his young cousin Santosh Maravi who is helping him with the Coimbatore mural clamber up the scaffold after a break. Mayank can’t wait to finish the mural. When it is complete, he knows there will be both great pain and pleasure. “ Dard bhi hoga, mazaa bhi aayega ,” he says.
