An art show to wipe away their woes

CHENNAI: Three Puducherry based artists arrived at the Lalit Kala Akademi on Monday, long after the inauguration of the Thane Art Show & Sale organised by the Vikatan Group was held. And the trio who had driven down from their home that morning walked around for a while, simply taking in the magnitude of the show.With over 350 paintings contributed by more than 250 renowned artists – this was much larger than they had dreamed. KS Sekar, an artist for 35 years, who has lived in Puducherry all his life says, “When I got the call for this exhibition two weeks ago, I was asked for one painting, and I willing ly agreed.” He quickly adds, “Had I known that it was such a large effort to help people affected so close to my home, I would have given 10 paintings.” Amid reputed names in the art world, this trio were certainly not the most well-known. What set them apart is that they were among the few artists present who had witnessed Thane’s destruction first hand. So, the opportunity to fund the rehabilitation of their own community with their art came as a pleasant surprise.The eldest of the group, R Rajarajan, an veteran in arts and professor in the fine arts department at the Bharathiar Palkalai Koodam recalls the violent winds the day the cyclone hit- “Lines and lines of trees were uprooted, some over a 100 years old.” “Thankfully, our houses were safe, but the fisherfolk along the beach were not so lucky – they lost their huts, their boats and even their fishing nets.” Sekar adds to this, “For one week, there was no water supply and no electricity – it was a challenge to travel anywhere, life was utter chaos.” Though the paintings themselves do not show the plight of the people after the storm, having been gathered together on short notice, each painting (priced between Rs 3,000 – Rs 3 lakh) will go toward the rehabilitation of victims of Thane affected areas. P Margandan, also a freelance artist from Puducherry, states, “My painting hasn’t been sold yet, but when it does, I hope this contribution will go towards helping the village communities and school students who are suffering.” He later adds, “As artists, it is impossible for us to think of organising such exhibitions for relief work on our own. We hope well-wishing organisations come forward to fund an exhibition just like this to be held in Puducherry.”