THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Her eyes betrayed no emotions. Her pale face lacked the exuberance of a teenager. Putting on a knowing demeanour she hid her unruly emotions in an adult’s exterior. CD Jain, who adeptly fashioned a dull turquoise skin for her in his painting, recalls his brief encounter with that 16-year-old sex worker in an NGO in Karnataka.
“She was HIV positive. The only one in that rescue home. Her story was shocking. She was sold to a brothel by her own parents for Rs 20,000. For two years she served ten customers per day. Later, when she was rescued and send back to her home. There her mother tried to sell her again,” says Jain, maybe the only artist in India, who has been constantly painting the deplorable state of destitute children for the past 18 years. On the rich red-green-brown backdrop her small figurine stands tall. The helplessness exuding from her will stay with you for years to come.
The distinctly decadent Indian society is being brought into limelight and being narrowly scrutinised in this gifted artist’s works. Denouncing pedophilia, child labour, molestation, poverty and abuse, Jain is going out of his way to portray children’s dilemmas through his art. His exhibition ‘Right Here, Right Now’ at Russian Cultural Centre, hence, becomes a unique experience for the city’s art aficionados.
“I have travelled extensively in India especially South India. It was on one such travel that it occurred to me that I should use my skill for children. In Tamil Nadu, I came across a young girl who sold flowers for a living. A man was staring at her with keen interest. Later, I came to know that there are many children being used for sex in that particular area. I went back to the hotel with a disturbed mind,” says Jain, who has been channeling his art for the betterment of children, since then.
Jain delineates the plight of children in bold strokes of charcoal and pastels without losing the essence of the issue. In his version he makes sure to take it several notches up. These black and white renditions will easily strike you for their sheer poignancy. Whether it is the sadness lurking beneath the poor households or the convalescence of a mother and her child, Jain’s oeuvres emerge winners for their meaningful illustration.
“See my intention is to make people aware of these situations. If a pedophile visits this exhibition he cannot return without a disturbed conscience and hopefully he’ll never repeat his actions. Man himself is his biggest nemesis. So this is just a reminder to that,” says Jain.
Placing few destitute children on the backdrop of a cross he says children are divine and god-like. So let them be. In the benign series which follows, the children are in happier circumstances, where a ravishing flora and fauna adorns the canvas with their vibrant colours.
Even then, the sadness does not seem to dwindle. His take on the child labourers in a match factory tugs at your heartstrings a little.
“When the tsunami hit Tamil Nadu shores I have worked with organisations such as UNICEF. I have been taking classes for kids and B Ed teacher trainees since then. My way of teaching is a complete departure from what has been accepted in schools. I compel them to have an out-of-the-box thought process,” says Jain.
Defying norms, this man of substance, has been frequenting NGOs, schools, brothels and murky streets in search of tormented children and to lessen their ordeals in his own little ways. Jain’s unique teaching method has been grabbing eyeballs across India. It has garnered him global recognition in a short time span.
Why children one may wonder and in a newfound passion Jain would say, “Remember our childhoods? Those were the best days of our lives. But for millions of children out there it is not so. I just want to change their situations to happier ones.”
The exhibition which was inaugurated by Albert Joseph, an old teacher of Jain, will conclude on November 16.