The golden deer আমার সোনার হরিণ চাই

''The Golden Deer''

30 cm x 30 cm

(Acrylics on gallery wrapped canvas,

finished with matte and glossy varnish)

Inspired by the words of a song by Tagore.

''তোরা যে যা বলিস ভাই আমার সোনার হরিণ চাই
ও সেই মনোহরণ চপল চরণ সোনার হরিণ চাই''

''সে যে চমকে বেড়ায় দৃষ্টি এড়ায় যায় না তারে বাঁধা

সে যে নাগাল পেলে পালায় ঠেলে লাগায় চোখে ধাঁধা

আমি ছুটব পিছে মিছে মিছে পাই বা নাহি পাই

আমি আপন মনে মাঠে বনে উধাও হয়ে ধাই''

Tagore describes the deer as an elusive,

evasive creature - untamed and unattainable.

Yet, the poet is determined to chase it without a care.

The concept of chasing the golden deer has its origins in the Ramayana,

an episode humorously told in the animation below:

In fact, the deer has played significant roles in

mythologies across the world.

In the Indian context, the golden deer symbolises maya,

an illusion, that which prevents man

from seeing the world as it truely is.

We are all chasing the golden deer, each one of us,

in different forms......aren't we :) ? !!

Moving on from that rather philosophical thought (ahem!),

here are some depictions of this scene from the epic tale

through different Indian folk art forms:

Malwa miniature painting in bright bold colours,

dating back to circa 1634 -40 A.D.

A madhubani depiction in the typical folk style.

A north-Indian miniature style rendition of the scene.

Another very ornate Orissa patachitra (scroll painting) style illustration.

Even Hussain rendered this, in fact, this was one of his works auctioned

a few hours after the news of his passing.

Last, but not the least, a page from one of my favourite books

of vintage Indian match box designs on the deer.

You'll see the starting point of my painting in one of these,

no points for guessing which one :)!

Hope you enjoyed this post, the print of this painting

will be available in my shop in a couple of days.

Maa Lokhhi

'Maa Lokhhi' (Bengali Lakshmi, Goddess of Wealth)

(Commissioned art)

Medium: Acrylic on canvas

Size: 40 cm x 50 cm

Finished with matte & glossy varnish

Details:

The details took me months to finish,

glad to be able to share the snaps with you all finally!

Thank you PB for this one :)

Maa Saraswati

'Maa Saraswati' (Goddess of Knowledge and Learning)

Medium: Acrylics

Mount: Canvas Board

Size: 22cm x 27cm

Varnish: Matt + Glossy

Commissioned work.

This was the sketch for the painting.

Here are close-ups of the detailing:

'The Goddess Saraswati is often depicted as a beautiful, light-skinned woman

dressed in pure white, often seated on a white lotus

(although Her actual vahana is believed to be a swan), which

symbolizes that she is founded in the experience of the Absolute Truth.

Thus, she not only has the knowledge

but also the experience of the Highest Reality.

She is mainly associated with the color white,

which signifies the purity of true knowledge.'

- wikipedia on Goddess Saraswati Iconography

The requirements out of this rendition for the collector was

not a heavily religious undertone, but an imagery depicting Saraswati Maa

seated in the lap of nature, playing the Veena in the full bloom of spring.

In the traditional depictions and descriptions of the Goddess,

she is believed to be adorned with pearls.

I have added a very Bengali touch to her jewellery with the Gold earrings

in the shape of, and named after, 'Kaan's or ears.

Though this one is a small painting, it has a lot of detailing.

The Veena, for instance required some research in getting the structure right;

a majestic instrument indeed.

The varnish, to my mind, has added more depth to the painting

in terms of how it reacts to light differently in certain areas than in

some others. I have worked with both matte and glossy varnishes this time.

You can see what I'm talking about here:

This is one of the only two paintings I've been working on last month.

Personal life and social commitments had completely taken over.

This piece was requested by family friends

who wanted to gift this for their sister's PhD thesis defense,

which was around April end.

Originally timed for then, I have taken much longer to finish this piece :(

However, I am really happy with the end result.

This forced break may have extended some deadlines,

but I think I've got back to work with a fresh mind and renewed energy.

For all of you who have written to me over the last couple of months,

including mails with commission requests,

I am really sorry for not having responded yet.

I'll take up all my pending responses and try to answer your requests by and by.

Many thanks for your patience and love.

Missed you all - a LOT and am SO glad to be back :)!!

Ganeshji at home

Over the last few years, we have brought home 'Ganesh-ji's....

This is from one of our early morning visits to Sidhhivinayak temple

in Mumbai, the beauty of the murti (idol) at the temple is captivating.

This next one here is a tiny silver Ganesha

that was a gift from the lady at Chamba Lama,

the most famous curio shop in Kolkata.

Not just us three sisters, even dad received a tiny Ganesh-ji

after one of our generous shopping sprees at the store!

It has a beautiful Bhutanese mantra intricately carved all around.

Some of my jewellery and artifacts from the shop in the backdrop :)

I have been visiting this store from my college days..

spent hours (and most of my pocket money at that time) at the store,

which boasts of an awesome selection of

silver jewellery and Tibetan curio.

Even now when I go back to Kolkata,

a visit to Chamba Lama is indispensable.

This little Ganesha is made of sandalwood and gifted to us by Mr. Suryani when

we visited his store/factory in Mysore to purchase

a Ganesh-murti (photo later in this post) with my first salary:)

This is Ganesh-ji carved in stone, from Orissa craftsmen,

collected at a handicraft fair in Mumbai.

Arnab and I had gone with my mom. I loved their detail and form

so much... I had to take home one; it was only after

I had picked Him up that Maa looked and said,

'You picked a Ganesha with his trunk bent towards the right!'.

We are not superstitious but she could not help remark that

apparently it is supposed to be lucky and is very difficult to find

(most Ganesh idols have their trunks bend towards the left,

Siddhivinayak is another exception).

This is the Ganesh-murti we brought from the

Suryani brothers' factory in Mysore in 2004.

And here is the latest addition to our family of Ganeshas,

I painted him on a little block of wood.

Size: 14.5 cm x 24 cm (rounded corners)

Medium: Acrylic paint and acrylic ink

The vahana (mount) of Lord Ganesha is referred to as 'Mooshika'.

In the Hindu pantheon, each deity is seated on a mount(vahana)

which always has a symbolical meaning.

The mouse is apparently used as a symbol of greed and inquisitiveness.

Our mooshika here seems quite controlled and poised, thanks to Ganesh-ji!

The text reads ''श्री गणेशाय नमः '' (Shree Ganehsaya Namah)

(Meaning: 'Gan': people, 'Eshaya':loved by; He who is loved by everyone)

which is so true for Ganesha!

The ''Batua''

Title: ''Batua'' (or the little pouch bag)

Medium: Acrylic

Size: 18cm x 24cm

The 'Batua' or the little pouch was a bit of a fashion statement in the olden times.

It was used to carry money, betel leaves or 'paan' or other valuables.

My grandmother had quite a collection of these, in a myriad of colours and materials;

some made of velvet and gold embroidery, some were beaded and yet some others

that would have been handcrafted from beautifully hand-printed colourful Indian fabric.

Here is a beautiful example of the batua.

I have been doing quite a bit of shopping in this winter-sale season and

I think she is going shopping too, all made up and

carrying her little fashion statement with her!!

She is wearing the 'Taant' or Bengali handloom saree in the traditional style of drape

with a puff-sleeved blouse to go with it. The black and white checkered floor is also quite a significant design element in the old 'Banedi' Bengali houses.

This painting is not up for sale but I will make prints available at the shop soon.

Annapurna Maa

Title: Annapurna Goddess feeding Shiva

Size: 25 cm x 40 cm

Medium: Acrylic paints

Mount: Pre-stretched gallery wrapped canvas

(Commissioned piece)

Anna means 'food' in Sanskrit, and purna means 'filled completely'.

Annapurna is a Hindu goddess of food and nourishment.

Maa Annapurna is traditionally depicted as below,

giving out rice to Lord Shiva who is shown with a alms bowl.

Read the mythological backdrop to this rendition here.

Here is the calender-art style depiction of baby Shiva

Archana, who had commissioned the ''Lalita Sundari'' painting,

wanted me to render this one for her sister, who is named after the Goddess.

She wanted this composition to be along the lines of the 'Lalita Sundari',

therefore, Lord Shiva as a baby on the Goddess's lap, she feeding her.

Click to see the sketch that we had before I started the painting.

***These are some beautiful snaps of Archana with my paintings,

this was when she had moved to her new apartment***

Here are some close-ups for details:

The rice-grain hangings from the wall behind have a little story.

I remember this one time, I was probably in school then

and we were in our ancestral home near Kolkata.

Our gardener Insaan had come back to join work after a holiday in his village.

He brought with him this beautiful one-of-a-kind wall hanging for us

that his mother had hand-crafted from rice-grains.....my inspiration for the design.

It still hangs in my mom's kitchen in that house, and Insaan,

still lives in that house and tends to our rose-garden there.

This will be my last painting of 2009.

As an artist and entrepreneur, it has been a very interesting year for me, full of surprises.

...Quite a bit of learning, evolving as an artist, understanding the medium better.....

what is precious is the interaction I have had with you all.

For all the lovely emails that I received,

all the paintings and prints that you have collected,

all the support and love....and approval ....thank you !

I hope that the next year will be even more interesting for us and for Deezden,

here is wishing you all, my friends, a great 2010!!

Commissioned artwork

Title: ''Maa-meye'' (Mother-daughter in Bengali)

Size: 30 cm x 50 cm
Medium: Acrylic on pre-stretched gallery wrapped canvas

Finished with a mix of matte and brilliant acrylic varnish.

The text in Bengali says:
''মধুর আমার মায়ের হাসি চাঁদের মুখে ঝরে''
(Madhur amar mayer hashi chander mukhe jhore)
(Transliteration: My mother's smile, sweet like honey,

drips from her face as radiant the moon)

I have used brilliant varnish only on the text and the jewels so that

the rest of the painting has this matt effect, letting these elements stand out .

This was the photo that was sent to me from the Collector, Arnab,

of his beautiful wife Sunita and their lovely daughter, the reference for my composition.

This is how my mom used to tie my hair when I was a little girl,

with a generous dose of warmed coconut oil (which is considered to be the age-old-Indian-secret-potion to long-healthy-shiny hair)!!!

The hair-do is called a ''kala-binuni'' (binuni in Bengali means plait)

and very popular even today (more in towns and villages)

for little girls in many parts of Bengal.

I thought this goes beautifully with our folk theme.

Arnab had a suggestion and asked me,

during the conceptualization of this portrait, the possibility of adding

a "....half-open red lotus with stem in the mother's hand...''

as ''....the symbol of love, protection, purity & fertility/eternity...."

The parrot in the background was also something he had proposed initially.

Both, I was happy to add.

Bengali elements in this portrait:

White saree with a red border worn in the traditional drape

(a bunch of household keys were tied in a knot at the end of the saree

behind the left-shoulder), the bangles,

the red 'bindi', the style of the blouse with lace border,

text taken from a very popular Bengali poem,

the hair-accessories seen from behind the mom's chignon and of course the little girl's hair-do,

the ''Tiya'' or parrot on a bird-perch is also a favourite Bengali household pet.

''Parrots''

I am sure most of you will be surprised / confused and wondering! This is, indeed, the same painting that I posted under ''work in progress'' some days back.I had not been able to finish this for quite some time, the events in Mumbai kept us glued to the news channels. What has happened is shocking, scary and sad. Today's post is not about what happened in Mumbai. This is a follow up on where I left with this painting.

As I sat down to work on it, I realised that I did not quite like the way it had turned out. So I changed it, changed it some more et voila! here I am. The canvas measures 40cm x 40 cm and  it is about an inch thick.