Rahim & Karim - Acrylic on canvas - 12″ x 18″

This is a small painting that I created in December 2007. I wanted to paint the names of Allah also used in Sufi Zikr (or Dhikr) - Ar-Raheem (the Merciful), Al-Kareem (the Generous). I did not follow any particular style. In the first place I am not a trained calligraphist and secondly I just wanted to be myself - in expressing the particular reverence for these chants.

There are many other names of God among the ninety nine that are also painted across the canvas in light hues. Yes they have an amateur style but then I wanted to make them a part of the composition. Now I could not have given up the idea just because I am not skilled enough with the Arabic script. Lame? No.

In the picture above, the painting is held by Sadia Dehlvi who is writing a book on Sufism these days. And, this little composition was meant to give her the strength and act as good luck charm too.

For an earlier Zikr inspired painting of mine click here.

The celebrated artiste Vidya Rao from Delhi has sent this tender and profound letter after reading my post on destruction of Buddhas in Swat (and the painting that was inspired by the vandalism). I am reproducing this letter with her permission as it adds to the debate and brings in a multi-religious and multicultural perspective that is close to my heart. Her words can be so moving:

But who can silence Silence? Who can erase Emptiness? The Buddha is, and yet is not, in the stone or metal representations of him. Nor is the truth of Islam contained within the structures of a mosque. It is not the Buddha or Islam or anything such that is destroyed. What is destroyed is the connection to the inner Buddha, the inner light. We are all the poorer for this, because form, the beauty of form, gives joy and love to our lives. The task is to both mourn, work in whatever way to prevent such destruction– but also to see this as yet another teaching on impermanence.

Here is the full text of the letter: (more…)

I have been working on this composition for quite a while. I was angered, rather revolted by what the Taliban were doing in the pristine Swat valley that has recently undergone full scale war. What has the peaceful and serene Buddha to do with the war on terror and US imperialism in Afghanistan? I have friends who try and explain that the regrouped and re-energised Taliban represent the angst against the US occupation of the Pashtun lands. Perhaps there is some truth in this. But my Gautam, what was his fault? He only talked of peace in this region and only asked us to traverse and preserve our humanity.

Who are these butchers of culture? What Islam they follow? They have no religion except barbarity and tribal notions of revenge and blood-letting. There is no excuse for the vandalism against our vital heritage - Pakistan will be a poorer place if these mad, roving fundamentalists would remove all the signs of our pre-Islamic heritage and ancient cultures.

So this painting evolved in those days of anguish. I remembered a broken Buddha head that was discovered from Swat decades ago and thanks to my useful library I got the picture. So I took the Taliban flag background, which is tri-coloured (that should be black in my not so humble opinion); and transposed the Buddha on top and to indicate my fears, I painted the star and the crescent on the green portion to represent the Muslim part of the Pakistani flag.

So this is the little story that led to the painting above. My partner likes it and a few friends who saw it, also appreciated it. I have to thank my art teacher for guiding me through the shades and shadows with little [master] strokes here and there..

I plan to do a series on it. But I will have to travel to Swat; and I am not sure when will situation normalise there. In the meantime, I plan to rely on my Gandhara books and twopence imagination.

First published here

On a long tiring flight, I was not too amused by another predictable rant on “Intimidation in Tehran” in the Time magazine. However, while browsing through, I could not help notice a stunning photograph taken by Olivia Arthur. (more…)

This is a painting that I revisited and converted its earlier abstract form into a calligraphic experiment. Now the challenge was that in addition to the lack of training in oil painting…

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This weekend was remarkable: visions and confusions found their way on a plain canvas and before long I was in a strange dialogue with the canvas - here is the result of this dialogue: Full entry here >>

Mehrgarh excavations continue despite all odds; and there is much more hidden under the rugged, topograhic layers of Baluchistan. Saw this figurine (on the right) and found it most fascinating. JB, my friend who introduced me to this new discovery suggested that I should use it in a painting (noting my new interest in the medium).

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Having spent some weeks in Bangladesh, I ventured to closely observe the folk motifs in Bengali art. I had always admired the simplicity and the colours of these powerful lines. With my new-found passion, I am daring to use bits of this style.

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