Haloi and behold

"You are a part and parcel of nature; you can never separate yourself from it," says ace painter Ganesh Haloi.

Haloi and behold

"You are a part and parcel of nature; you can never separate yourself from it," says ace painter Ganesh Haloi. The septuagenarian was in the city to open his show at Jehangir Art Gallery on an evening when Mumbai came to a standstill because of the downpour. "Yes, the rains in the city are inspiring. Maybe when I go back to Kolkata, I'll put them on canvas," says Haloi. Regarded as the master of abstract renderings of landscapes, Haloi talks to CS about what connects him to nature:

WHO: Ganesh Haloi
WHAT: Talking about abstract art
WHERE: Jehangir Art Gallery

Pic/ Santosh Nagwekar

Nature's call
I was born on the banks of the Brahmaputra river in Jamalpur, Mymensingh, then East Pakistan and now Bangladesh. Since childhood I was taken up by nature; it's a part of me. Whenever I'd feel anxious, I'd sit by the river or stand under a tree and instantly I'd feel all my anxiety vanishing. It is an awe inspiring subject which never tires me out ufffd no sunrise or sunset is ever the same to me.

Between the lines
So when you see my paintings, you'll see vertical, horizontal lines, a triangle or a circle. A circle can represent an apple or the sun; triangles are mountains; waves are a river flowing, while trees are the vertical lines and so on. I paint by memory, as I like to bring to fore what is invisible. Reading between the lines is what interests me. A round shape can be a healthy apple or a dark patch in it could mean it's going bad. So you see something and then react to it accordingly.

Travel memoirs
I don't travel much, but whenever I do, everything gets stored in my memory and then one fine day it just comes out on the canvas. Like I once went to Rajasthan and then later painted the dessert land with my own interpretation on it. I like to paint with gouache (powder) colours on Nepali or Rajasthani paper. Since I mostly paint landscapes, I tend to work with a lot of green, ochre, red and blue colours.

People these days categorise their art as contemporary, which encompasses paintings, photography, sculptures, singing, etc. To me, art is like a river, it flows constantly and sweeps many things in its flow. But only the residue of pure art remains. My favourite artists were Rabindranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose and others who lived in Shantiniketan. I draw great inspirations from their works.