Mesmerizing Dussehra art exhibition in Mysore

By Nithin Sridhar

Mysuru: A mesmerizing exhibition of arts and crafts was organized in the city's Suchitra Gallery, located at Kalamandir as part of the ongoing Dasara (also known as Dussehra) celebrations. The Dasara art exhibition was attended and praised by the locals who visited the gallery.

The exhibition, which has been organized by the 'Lalita Kale Mattu Karakushala Upasamiti'- The Dasara sub-committee for Arts and Crafts, is showcasing more than 150 exhibits prepared by both amateurs as well as senior artists from across Karnataka.

Speaking to NewsGram, Mr. V. A. Deshpande, Former Dean of CAVA (Chamarajendra Academy of Visual Arts) and Former Secretary of Lalita Kale sub-committee, said that this is the fourth edition of the exhibition and exhibits from eight categories have been included.

The eight categories include: Traditional paintings like Mysore style and Tanjore Style paintings, Contemporary paintings, Traditional sculptures, Contemporary sculptures, Posters, Graphic prints, Crafts, and Photographs. The exhibition, which was inaugurated on October 14 is attracting an average of 150 visitors per day.

Traditional category paintings included beautiful paintings of Narasimha, Lakshmi-Narayana, and Goddess Lalita. Posters on the themes of female foeticide, drunken driving, etc. were also exhibited.

Other beautiful exhibits under painting categories included a beautiful painting of Buddha, a painting of a sculpture of a dancing goddess, a painting of a woman covered in scarf sitting in front of the mirror, and a painting titled 'Aase' (desire) that depicted a Ugra goddess at the front and a small girl at the background.

In the category of Sculptures, a sculpture that depicted a water pot with a tap won the prize for combing elements of old and the new. A sculpture titled 'Kutumba' (family), and another depicting a couple in a romantic kiss were beautifully made.

Among the crafts that were exhibited, dolls of Krishna and Gopis performing Raas Lila were eye-catching. Another well-made craft was the icon of Lord Ganapati.

Apart from the exhibition, a 2-day camp of senior artists on October 16-17 has been organized in the gallery by the Dasara sub-committee. Deshpande said that the artists in the camp are painting on the theme of farmer suicides.

Siddharame Gowda, an artist from Salgundi, near Mysore, who is participating in the camp, told NewsGram that through his painting, he will be portraying how farmers are the very basis of our society and how if farmers continue to die, the whole society itself will be uprooted.

When asked about what other activities the sub-committee has planned this year, Deshpande shared that the funds allotted to the committee this year are only around 7 lakhs, which is much less than previous years. Dasara celebration as a whole has been scaled down this year following the drought and farmer suicides across the state.

He added that the committee has organized two other activities on October 18, Sunday: A spot painting competition for children and felicitation of five senior artists. The exhibition will end on October 21.