Meditative moments

Charan Sharma’s paintings on Buddha creates an illusion of his presence, says Anita Iyer

Charan Sharma, the renowned contemporary artist, recently held an exhibition at The Museum Gallery in Mumbai showcasing his current works ‘Upasthiti’ which means ‘Being there’ or ‘Presence’. The exhibition displayed magnificent paintings on Buddha, Buddhist monks and scriptures engraved on the walls.

Ask him the inspiration for his works on Buddha, he says, “I attended an 11-day Vipasana camp in Nashik refraining from even talking for 11 days and concentrated only on Buddha. It was here that I became inclined towards Buddha and to know more about the Mahapurush and his philosophy, I travelled to Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and many other places. Now the principles of Buddha flow directly on my canvas through my brush”.
Charan Sharma has been involved in portraying Buddha images since the past seven years. “Buddha symbolises contentment and I am contented,” he believes. “I have travelled a long way from my last work ‘Enlightenment’ to ‘Upasthiti’. In the previous work, images of Buddha were clearly seen in the painting but in Upasthiti the presence of the Lord is felt without even painting him through monks and Buddhist scriptures,” he adds.

Charan Sharma was born in Nathdwara Gharana - a family of traditional temple artists involved in making miniature paintings of Lord Krishna and other idols. "I was born into a family of artists in a small township in Mewar, Rajasthan. Brought up in that traditional culture, I learnt and developed the art. My father and brothers were traditional painters from Rajasthan, but they painted Krishna paintings in Marwar style. Right from the childhood, I was exposed to the Marwar style of painting. But after graduating in Fine Arts from Rajasthan, I wanted to experiment with something different from the Marwar style and Krishna paintings. So I went to the J.J School of Art in Mumbai to learn something different,” he recollects.

The surroundings we reside in shape our thoughts and actions and this is clearly seen in Charan Sharma’s earlier works with strange themes like dilapidated Havelis, a dump of pebbles, puppets and toys. On this, Charan Sharma explains, “All these themes may seem unusual to you but to me who was born and brought up in this culture, it comes naturally. My paintings are inspired by the surroundings, the jharoke, havelis and puppets in Jaipur”.

Sharma is known for his works that brought alive the lonely ruins of Navalgarh, Dhund, Basoli, and Pichwai, among others. Quizzed why he draws dilapidated havelis, he reasons, “I generally draw dilapidated buildings because they are in pathetic state toda, reduced to ruins. Also I believe, however contemporary we become, we must stick to our roots, so I enjoy drawing havelis recollecting my past days. I wish to convey message of protecting and preserving the valuable heritage through my paintings.”

Charan Sharma has explored various mediums, different materials and techniques, but this time in Upasthiti is showing 20 paintings, which he has done on canvas using Acrylic colour and gold leaf. The uniqueness in his paintings lies in his style of combining tradition with modernity and yet preserving the originality. Each of his paintings has a distinct signature, an originality that cannot be plagiarised.

The modern artist has internalised the Buddhist message and reproduced his philosophy in a new light. Every painting by Charan Sharma has a gist of Buddha’s philosophy. “From Upasthiti, I like a painting titled ‘Entrance’ conveys the message of ‘keep going for knowledge and achieve enlightenment’ and the other work – Echoes means ‘let the vibrations stay in’.

Charan Sharma’s paintings from Upasthiti on Buddha in his meditative mood, and silent monks in a peaceful march effectively communicate their message to the masses. Having a look at the paintings gives a feeling of contentment and a feeling of the presence of Buddha.