WAYANAD:He is deaf and dumb. But that wouldn’t stop Amal Badusha from exploring the peaks of the Himalayas in search of truth and enlightenment!
The 40-year old is now bracing up to hold the second leg of his spiritual pursuit high up in the mountains seeking the mystic beauty of yoga.
A trained sculptor-cum-painter, Amal’s tryst with yoga has changed his life and fired up his spiritual leanings. Though he was born in a Muslim family near Sulthan Batheri in Wayanad, religion and doctrine never blocked his way. The son of environmentalist and Wayanad Prakruti Samrakshana Samithy president N Badusha, Amal became famous in carving the statues of gods and goddesses in stone and wood. But this doesn’t mean he chose the path of a Hindu saint, despite his knowledge in the scriptures.
Communicating through gestures and motions at his house near Batheri, Amal told Express he doesn’t believe in any religion.
“I’m just a human being and leading a life for the cause of nature and my medium of communication is yoga. Since I was born into a world of silence, I could easily embrace the life of a mystic yogi from a very young age,” he said.He says his acquaintance with environmentalist Sunderlal Bahuguna led him to the charming peaks of the Himalayas.“Sunderlal Bahuguna used to visit my house in my childhood while he arrived in Wayanad as part of green campaigns. Since then, I was very much fascinated by his way of life and approach,” he said. Amal left for the Himalayas a couple of years ago. After wandering for days, he found the hermitage of Sunderlal Bahuguna.
“Visiting the Himalayas doesn’t mean I’m attracted to the tales and fables on the Himalayas. But it provides me a peaceful ambience to delve into the depths of meditation and gives me insights to experiment with the world of art,” he said.
Asked why Hindu gods were mostly depicted in art works, he said: “Though it is a challenging work, it provides instant money to an artist as there are a lot of takers for the art works of Hindu Gods compared to works on nature.”A recipient of various awards, including the Hyderabad National Arts and Sculptor Master Award and the Bhopal Bharat Bhavan Biennial of Contemporary Indian Art Award, Amal works on all media for his creations. He has proven his sculptural and painting skills on stone, cement, metal, wood, roots, clay, murals, pulp, pottery and ceramic.
Training from various art academies like the College of Fine Arts, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Bengaluru; Image College of Arts, New Delhi; KJP Prabhu Artisan’s Training Institute, Delhi College of Arts, New Delhi; Central Village Pottery Institute, Belgaum, and the National Institute of Fine Arts, New Delhi, helped shape his career.
Amal never uses cellphones once he sets off on a journey, and neither he nor his family members have any idea about when he would come back.
“But we are sure he would reach home safely when the family longs to meet him,” said Badusha, his father.
During his voyages, Kashi and Haridwar are among his stopovers. Interested in the ancient religions and the scriptures, Amal leads a life nearly akin to a Sadhu as he never eats non-vegetarian food and is usually seen clad in saffron mundus or khadi shirts or kurtas.