Homemaker Shakuntala Jain has worked on her hobby for painting with such earnestness over the last 20 years that it has come to be an alternative identity for her. Every year, as Ganesh Charuthi approaches, Jain sets up an exhibition of her oil and acrylic paintings of the god. “Ganesha is the one god whom you can adapt to several painting styles, media and themes without losing the sanctity that surrounds him. He is also the one we invoke to make an auspicious start for just about anything and you see Ganesha being used a motif everywhere,” says 48-year-old Jain.
Her 35-piece series Lord Ganesha in Many Moods on show at Kalaradhana Art Gallery, which incidentally is housed inside her residential premises, shows Ganesha in many moods and situations. “You can see him meditating or playing several musical instruments or even being the saviour. I have created traditional and modern interpretations of Ganesha,” says Jain. For her biggest work a 6ft by 4ft frame, Jain, a self-taught artist, used cloth and hands to paint. “I can sketch Ganesha in seconds,” she says.
When not preparing for the festival, Jain often paints the Buddha and other figurines.
Shakuntala Jain’s Lord Ganesha in Many Moods is on at Kalaradhana Art Gallery, Jayanagar 4th block from September 5 to 9.