(IBNS): Known variously as Kashi, Banaras and Varanasi, this city on the River Ganga, is a timeless attraction. Now enjoy the city and its aura through the works of artist Mamta Malhotra in an exhibition titled ‘Kashi Yatra’, which is being held from November 15 to 21 at Mumbai’s Jehangir Art Gallery.
Author Mark Twain had once famously said, “Benaras is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together.”
On one hand, it is considered the spiritual heart of India, with preceptors making this city their home or workplace at various times, including Ved Vyas, Buddha, Ramanand, Tulsidas, Kabir, Ravi Das, Guru Tegh Bahadur, Guru Govind Singh and Guru Nanak, to name a few.
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On the other hand, it is the city which is a seat of Indian culture and the performing arts.
Through the ages, the city has been interpreted variously, tomes have been written about it, it has been a source of diverse cultural expressions from paintings to cinemas.
Malhotra’s works capture how Kashi maintains the fine balance between its natural landscape, physical being and its spiritual atmosphere.
As Professor Sanjeev Chandra, of the University of Toronto, puts it, “Every great city needs an artist to chronicle its wonders, to capture the spirit of a city, to reveal its hidden corners and acquaint us with its inhabitants. Mamta Malhotra is the best guide to Benaras that one can wish for, for her paintings portray as never before the faces of the people in its streets, the soaring rooflines of its ancient temples, and the beauties of the Ganga ghats.”
Mumbai born Malhotra has lived and worked in Varanasi, Toronto and San Francisco; thus dividing her time between the cities of the old and the new worlds, she developed a unique perception of design.
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‘The juxtaposition and contrast of the urban fabric, a rich culture, a timeless way of life that was rooted in nature, have inspired her to paint cityscapes highlighting the ephemeral beauty and fragility of Varanasi, while evoking the intense vitality of an ancient and vibrant lifestyle,’ explains the introductory note to her works.
Says Professor Chandra, “Every canvas is infused with vibrant colours and whirl of life that have drawn pilgrims to Benaras for millennia. Mamta Malhotra’s art gives us a glimpse into the soul of a city that has been hallowed ground since humanity first walked on this land.”
About the artist
Born in Mumbai, Mamta Malhotra, lived in Kashmir, Poona, Gangtok and Bhutan during her younger days. Summer family vacations were always accompanied by oil paints and easels and included painting the beautiful landscape with her father, an avid painter. She earned a degree in Architecture from the Chandigarh College of Architecture, graduating with a silver medal. Next, in Delhi, she painted and learnt sculpture with Rameshwar Broota, Shobha Broota and Pradip Saxena, at the Triveni Kala Sangam. She has lived and worked in Varanasi, Toronto and San Francisco; and has designed residences, art galleries, art residencies, boutiques, and numerous interior and landscape design projects.
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Malhotra has received an honours certificate from the Royal Drawing Society in London. Her artwork has been featured in a New York Times bestseller coffee table book, the HarperCollins catalogue and Architecture Week magazine. In India, her work has been mentioned in Inside Outside, Design Today, Society, Better Interiors, Femina, Spice Route, Navuthan, etc. She has done a residency, painting at the pottery workshop in Jingdezhen. Her critically acclaimed works has been exhibited at the Visual Arts Gallery, a solo show at the Open Palm Court Gallery at the Habitat Centre, at the Triveni Kala Sangam annual exhibition, at the Art Laureate gallery, Lado Sarai, the Trump Tower, New Rochelle, US, etc.
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