My Pitara series draws inspiration from Dutch Still Life from the Golden Age, and offers a gateway to understanding the underlying meanings and symbolism of our age. 

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This series of hyper-realistic oil paintings speakes the language of Dutch Stilleven, yet expresses ideas that are purely Indian. This fusion of European realism with Indian symbolism, is also a deference to Raja Ravi Varma's lasting influence on my artistic journey.

 

These paintings tells the tale of an India lived across multiple timelines. An India where tradition is a live agent in contemporary culture - defining the way we live, our customs, our festivals, our food and celebrations. 

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The objects depicted here are traditional, yet an integral part of contemporary Indian life. The brass lamp, the lemon-chili nazar boncuk, red vermilion and sarees, mangoes, masala tea and spices - all continue to remain ubiquitous in any Indian city. For, the ingrained cultural meanings they hold for every Indian define what it is to be 'Indian'.

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​My Pitara series is my Indian treasure trove that holds the capacity to preserve these otherwise commonplace objects and to immortalize an aesthetic and a way of life that is iconically Indian.

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