How many Kathak dancers can boast of being good painters too? Raghav Raj Bhatt leads the pack by being a celebrated performer and an artist too. At ICCR Art Gallery in Ravindra Bharathi, the artist is displaying his works at an exhibition titled ‘Divine Contour’. Coinciding with Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations, the exhibits include works on Ganesha and dances of India.
Enter the gallery and soak yourself in the fine lines. As you walk around, there is music adding to the soothing effect. “These sketches have been drawn over a period of eight years,” informs Raghav Raj, whose father Gopal Raj Bhatt was an artist too. Raghav Raj studied fine arts and went to Delhi. His casual drawings in his sketchbook caught the attention of Dr. Jeevan Pani, director of Kathak Kendra and also a poet and scholar. He encouraged him to draw and also used Raghav Raj’s sketches for the dance festivals.
At the exhibition, there are a series on Ganesha playing different instruments. “Ganesha is the storyteller, a composer, dramatist, has written Mahabharatha and he is an artist too,” smiles Raghav Raj as he shows us a series of sketches. Ganesha playing a flute, pakhavaj, and doing a taandav like his father Lord Shiva are also part of the works Also part of the exhibition are a series of pictures on the different dance forms of India. Unlike paintings which sparkle with colours and strokes, there are minimal lines here and drawn with sharp precision. From Kathakali and Bharatanatyam and to Manipuri and Kuchipdi and Odissi, these easy-to-look-at sketches bring out the essence of each dance. The Kathak sketches are interesting to look at as the artist has drawn even the fine details.
“I like to observe each posture carefully and have drawn it on paper. Youngsters learning dance can study these sketches to understand the anatomy and get the correct posture,” says Raghav Raj. A dancer and choreographer, Raghav Raj says dance takes off much time. “Now I want to draw portraits of Gandhi,” he says as a parting shot.
The display is on till September 7.
