sid's mechanics: July 2013

SHREE KRISHNA with SAKHIS- a rendezvous of the supreme soul with merry-making soulful danseuses

what better love can the world experience than the love among the divine manifestation of the almighty as lord Krishna and the love of the milkmaids of vrindavan? the supreme soul sings and dances and plays his divine flute, hypnotizing the hard working rural ladies to sing and dance to his amorous, yet efficiently elegant and subtle tunes...the cows, the birds, the cowherds and the milkmaids...no one had respite, and none wanted it either. the following pictures depict my version of the ethereal play, rendered still, yet blissful, on a chart paper, drawn as usual, with a pattachitra (palm leaf painting) style of indigenous art :)

1. THE FULL PAINTING. THE LAST TWO FIGURINES DEPICT TWO GOPIS WHO ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THE OTHER TWO PICTURES THAT FOLLOW. THEIR NAMES ARE NANDINI AND ROHINI.

2. THE FIRST HALF OF THE GOPIS, MAGNIFIED, SHOWING RADHIKA (RADHA), LALITA, VISHAKHA AND SUMATI.

3. THE SECOND HALF MAGNIFIED, SHOWING THE GOPIS (MILKMAIDS) NAMED SUMATI, VICHITRA, GAURI, SARASWATI, SULABHA, AND SUMITRA.

a grayscale pattachitra

the black yellow and white divine trinity ruling the state of odisha, India, have a special place in the hearts of a pattachitra artist, whether a professional, or a protege or an amateur... this post here is dedicated to my version of shree jagannath, lord balbhadra and devi shubhadra, drawn on a chart paper, but with a pattachitra style :)

LORD BALBHADRA/BALRAM & LORD JAGANNATH

LORD JAGANNATH AND DEVI SHUBHADRA

THE DIVINE SIBLING TRIO

THE RULING DEITIES IN GRAYSCALE ON A CHARTPAPER

ten avatars of vishnu-a rendition of traditional pattachitra style of art on a chart paper

the first part. each of the avatars are described in subsequent photos.

the middle part of the representation

It took me about a month to complete this. but every detail the work contains required tenuous concentration and i must say, it is not for the fickle :) the first picture shows from left to right, the avatars of fish (Matsya avatar), turtle (Kurma/Kachhap avatar), boar (Varaha avatar) and the Lion-man (Narsingh avatar) incarnations of lord vishnu. the fourth avatar is depicted with prahlad kneeling at his feet, and hiranyakashipu dead at the hands of the divine avatar.

the next picture shows from bottom to top, the next four avatars of lord vishnu, namely the dwarf (Vaman avatar), the Parshuram Avatar (which reveals the hunter gatherer and aggressive warrior persona), the shriRam avatar (showing the subtler and utopian and pedantic characters of humanity), while the last one shows balarama avatar, the agricultural herdsman brother of the great lord Krishna (krishna is not considered as an avatar, instead as the supreme godhead who takes avatars, i.e, equated with the stature and identity of vishnu himself).

the last picture again shows the lord balaram avatar, as a continuation from the second picture, but adds to it the avatars of lord jagannath (also called as baudh avatar, and sometimes equated with gautama buddha, and both of them are considered as the one and the same as well as the nionth avatar of the lord) and the last and tenth avatar, lord Kalki (yet to come on the earth). the detailed single pictures follow :)