For Baroda-based artist Neelkant Choudhary, every single woman is a devi. “In the times we live in, it is ironic how women are often robbed of the respect because they do not fit into the standards society has fixed for them.
"We call them goddesses on one hand and try to shame and suppress them on the other,” says Chaudhary.
“Through these works, I want to convey the message that not just a goddess but each and every single woman is divine, no matter where she comes from and what her vocation is.”
His show Feminine Divine celebrates the beauty and resilience of feminine energy. In his 25 artworks of mixed media on paper, Choudhary has presented Madhubani art with some experiments of his own using global iconography.
“The innovations l have brought in my paintings are in the treatment of colours, patterns and designs. Traditionally Madhubani is done in flat tones, without any shading or perspective. I have added both these aspects but the fine lines and the bright colours that this art form is known for are not missing either.”
Why tamper with the original then?
“This need to contemporise the traditional was born out of my desire to create something new,” he says, quickly adding, “It is not that I want to change the traditional form of painting. I am just trying to enrich my paintings with the traditional motifs and designs.”
Obsessed with art
Born in Darbhanga, Bihar, Choudhary had a deep love for art, especially Madhubani, since an early age. Even as a child he was so good at it that whenever there was a wedding in the family or neighbourhood, he was asked to decorate the kohbar (the room assigned for undertaking rituals and customs during a Maithil wedding), which he would happily do. He couldn’t turn his passion into a vocation because despite appreciating his son’s art, his doctor father never allowed him to pursue it. “I don’t blame him. Back in 1980s, art was an unconventional choice and came with certain risks,” he says.
So, Choudhary completed his graduation in political science and took up a job. But art never left him.
“Drawing and painting as a hobby kept growing every day. Sometimes all my work would take a backseat. At night, when everyone would go off to sleep, I would light a lantern, gather my paints and brushes, and open my drawing book.” And a day arrived, when his parents, who had initially discouraged him from taking up art, pushed him to participate in art exhibitions. “It was because of them that I started doing exhibitions in Delhi and also willed myself to work as an art teacher,” he says. Choudhary then migrated to Baroda and started working as an art teacher at the Delhi Public School, a position he still holds.
“The famous Madhubani painter Chandrakala encouraged me a lot. She used to be a patient of my father’s and my father once showed her some of my paintings, which she liked very much, and introduced me to the ‘right people’. I shall always remain thankful to her.”
Choudhary had his first show in 1996, at Jawahar Kala Kendra in Jaipur and then at Lalit Kala Akademi in 1999, after which he gallerists started noticing him. “Then Shobha Bhatia of Gallerie Ganesha bought some of my works and there has been no looking back ever since,” he says.