Chapter-5

KRISHNA IN THE CONTEMPORARY

PAINTINGS OF HARYANA ARTISTS

191

Lord Krishna has created His own niche in the realm of art and

culture. He is represented mostly in the form of visuals as wall-paintings,

sculptures, miniature paintings and folk images. Apart from this, He has also

been a Hero in Indian literature, folk songs and dances. Several festivals are

also dedicated to him. Lord Krishna encouraged numerous folk artists,

sculptors and masons of Haryana. He has been considered from the

standpoint of religion as well as art history, the two academic disciplines

that have been the most concerned with representations of Krishna in the

Indian tradition.

The northern gateway of India, i.e. Haryana, was so influenced by

Krishna that the state even dedicated a museum to him. This museum,

known as Sri Krishna Museum, is situated at Kurukshetra, Haryana. Its

objective is to bring about a moral and cultural resurgence among the people

through the ideas and ideals of Lord Krishna. The museum collections

revolve around Krishna in varied or diverse facets, apart from the

Mahabharata episodes.

Lord Krishna has influenced the artists in such a way that they have

been painting the theme of Krishna and His various facets and aspects right

from the very beginning. He is omnipresent in all forms of art, be it

traditional, folk or contemporary. There are scores of artists who have

chosen this theme for once or twice, while some of them have even chosen

192

this theme forever. There are artists from all over the country who have

worked on this theme or are still working. A few of them come from

Haryana. These include artists who are permanent residents of Haryana, as

well as those who have migrated from some other place or from Haryana to

some other place.

Some such artists include:

• Viren Tanwar1

• S.K. Khushwah2 – Anunita

• Kanhai School of Paintings – Kanhai Chitrakar, Krishn

Kanhai and Govind Kanhai3

• R.M.S. Malik4 - Manoj Malik5 and Rachna Malik6

• Bhoop Singh Gulia7

• Shakti Singh Ahlawat8

• Ram Viranjan9

• Karamwati10

Viren Tanwar: He was born and brought up in Hisar, Haryana. He

explains his art as a personal alchemy of elements gleaned from his rural

background. He had a special interest in drawing right from his school days.

He found a drawing tutor for himself and thus got his basic concepts cleared.

193

This distinguished artist created a number of paintings dedicated to

Lord Krishna. Initially, the underlying idea behind taking Lord Krishna as a

character in his paintings and prints was that he was working on Indian

Mythology and had also heard much about the Tantric and decorative art.

Moreover, he saw some senior artists painting on various Gods and

Goddesses. As a result, he was drawn towards painting on religious themes;

hence he painted Lord Krishna.

At a very young age, Viren used to make toys with clay. Some of the

toys made by him unknowingly depicted the forms of Krishna. It reflects

that Krishna was present somewhere in his subconscious mind. During his

study period also, he created Krishna forms. In 1970s, he illustrated some

sketches on Lord Krishna. One of his prints depicting Krishna in relief

work was selected by AIFACS, Delhi in 1983. (Pl.131) This bichromatic print

evokes a feeling of relaxation and serenity. Krishna is showing lying down

on to his left side, while playing the flute. A morpankh has also been shown

over his head. A Kadamb tree on his back looks as if it is there to shelter

Krishna. The concept of making a robust form of Krishna here indicates

happiness and prosperity. Three other paintings are based on the theme of

Murli-Manohar. (Pl.132) (Pl.133) Although all three paintings are created in

square shape displaying a similar theme, yet the poses and styles of the

paintings are different. Morpankh, flute, lotus flower and decorative patterns

are the main motifs used in these paintings.

194

In 1980s, an Indian national living in Los Angeles invited the artist to

embellish his house he was building for himself with a totally Indian decor.

He did that, but in addition, painted a large mural (18’x12’) on one of the

walls of the living room, which depicted the life and loves of Lord Krishna.

Two other paintings of this artist present Krishna as involved in Maharaas.

(Pl.134) (Pl.135) The intermingled forms of Radha and Krishna have been

created. They are in a sitting pose and Radha is shown behind the Lord;

these harmonious forms are playing the divine flute together. Radha and

Krishna are sitting under a banana tree on a Kadamb leaf carpet in the

former Maharaas painting. Banana tree being a symbol of purity and

prosperity, seems to be enchanted by the sweet sound of flute.

Another painting of this artist dedicated to Krishna is a miniature-

style painting. The painting depicts Radha waiting for Krishna and her wait

is eternal. (Pl.136) In this painting, Radha is shown sitting on a rock with a

white lotus flower in her hand. She is extracting pearls out of the flower.

Rhythm has been achieved in her hairstyle due to a parandi tied with her

long hair. Parandi gives the painting a touch of Punjabi culture. Krishna is

visible on the backside of the painting, holding an uprooted Kadamb tree.

Two white lotuses are tied to his garment. The background of the painting

reveals two mountains, a few blossoming white lotuses and decorative

motifs; there is nothing artificial in the painting. Enhancing all the natural

195

forms and showing the intense relationship of Radha – Krishna is the basic

concept of this painting.

The art shows where Tanwar exhibited his Krishna-themed paintings

were Harmony art show of his contemporary works in 2007 and Aura art

show in Mumbai in 2008. In all his collection of Krishna paintings, he

added a content of nature as he is of the view that the form of Krishna is so

intermingled with nature that a symbolic representation of nature

automatically flows in. The Kadamb and banana trees, lotus flowers, grassy

carpets and decorative designs are composed in the background. Lord

Krishna’s complexion taken by him is either green or blue and in most of

the paintings, the colour of his dress is yellow (as pitamber). Morpankh and

flute are the ubiquitous features of his paintings, except his miniature-style

paintings on Krishna. Expression of Maharaas can be easily seen in the

amalgamated forms of Radha and Krishna.

S.K. Khushwah: He was born and brought up in Yamunanagar, but

later shifted to Kurukshetra. This eminent artist was influenced by Lord

Krishna from a very young age as his father was a follower of Krishna. So

great was his father’s devotion towards Krishna that he learnt all 18

adhyayas of Bhagwad Gita despite being illiterate. His devout father also

used to sing songs in Krishna’s praise.

196

The artist comments that the colour sense was also gifted to him

indirectly by his father as he was a bangle-seller and the colourful bangles

left a deep impression in the artist’s mind. As a child, he used to mould and

convert the broken bangles into some artistic shapes. Thus, he also learnt

sort of clay-modeling from his father.

The artist experienced a strong bent of mind towards Krishna when

he shifted to Kurukshetra. Everyone was at that time searching for

Krishna’s images in Kurukshetra, as it was a garh of Krishna. He maintains

that Prof Kulbhushan Sahni of Saharanpur encouraged him to paint on

Krishna. Another factor behind his penchant for Krishna was the presence

of beautiful wall-paintings of Krishna in Haryana. On seeing the wall-

paintings reflecting Lord Krishna in Kurukshetra town, Pundri, Jyotisar and

Krishna Museum, he was all the more inclined to work on Lord Krishna.

The art works he created on Lord Krishna include a replica of a wall-

painting derived from Pabnava; the theme of which is Maharaas-leela.(Pl.137)

This romantic episode of Radha-Krishna was strongly liked by the artist. He

recreated that painting in his own technique by using mixed media – water,

oxide, earthern colours and fevicol. This painting was executed in 2003 on a

ply board of 6' × 10'; during a workshop at Brahm Sarovar on Gita Jayanti

Samaroh.

197

The painting is now in the collection of Krishna Museum,

Kurukshetra. It presents 17 gopikas encircling Radha and Krishna, where

Krishna is playing the flute and Radha is playing the sarangi. Eternal love

in a rhythmic form seems to be flowing in the painting. While the forms of

Radha and Krishna are inseparable, all other gopikas are also shown

standing hands in hand; it seems as if this chain would never be broken.

Another painting created by the artist in 2004 reflects a war scene of

Mahabharata. Here, Arjuna is shown eager to pick up his bow and arrows

and kill the enemies. A mural painting showing Krishna’s padmachinha was

made by the artist in 1986; the concept behind making this painting was that

the artist himself wanted to worship Krishna’s feet, thereby taking His

blessings.

Another replica was made by him based on Radha-Krishna

togetherness in 2007. The theme remained the same but the artist here

innovated his own technique; he used wax polish and spoon to apply it so

that the effect of mural could be achieved. Here Radha and Krishna are

holding each-other’s hands. The episode of Putna Vadh has also been

depicted by this artist. Along with these paintings, he also created a wooden

sculpture indicating a flute and the Bhagwad Gita in it.

In all works done by this artist on Krishna, the feel of romance was

highlighted. He also gives importance to sticking with the deep roots as he

198

feels life pours in through them, this is the reason that he is trying to keep

the previous works that are present in form of wall-paintings alive. He never

wants the cultural heritage to vanish. The artist is still carrying on with the

Krishna series. He asserted that his mind had been saturated with the

romance of Krishna and so he could never leave painting on this theme.

The art tradition of S.K. Khushwah was carried forward by his

daughter Anunita. (Pl.138) The artwork she created on Lord Krishna includes

the replica of a wall-painting derived from Pabnava; which displays

Krishna in his baal-roopa. Just by having a glimpse of this painting, one

can easily observe the mischievous nature of Krishna during his childhood.

He is running away from his mother while trying to eat butter, and Yashoda,

on the other hand, is chasing him. This painting highlights the relationship

of mother and child; it defines how a child teases his mother and still the

concern of the mother remains unending. The painting is in the collection of

Krishna Museum, Kurukshetra.

Kanhai Chitrakar: The previous generation of this artist was

residing in Mahendragarh, Haryana, but they preferred to settle in Vridavan,

the holy town of Krishna. This artist particularly felt the call of Krishna’s

flute to get settled on the bank of River Yamuna. He created his own

distinctive style of gold paintings, which later came to be known as Kanhai

School of Paintings. Kanhai is known for his realistic as well as abstract

199

Krishna paintings. He believes that to paint Krishna is to worship Krishna.

He had his initial training under the great master of that time, Sh. Nanalal

Jani, who adorned the court of Maharaja Chakradhar Singh of Rajgarh.

Kanhai has captured the divine essence of Krishna with his perfect

command over the brush. He opened his art studio at Vrindavan around

1956-57 to continue his sadhna.

Kanhai Chitrakar has passed on this art tradition to his two sons –

Krishn Kanhai and Govind Kanhai. The family is ceaselessly creating a

tangible form of spiritual exaltation. They wish to continue doing so by the

grace of Almighty.

Krishn Kanhai observes that the feeling of rasa, saundarya and

bhava which is considered as one of the major concerns of any art work is

very much alive in the form of Lord Krishna. His paintings have

been inspired by epic writings like Srimad Bhagwata, Geet Govinda and

several Braj-bhasha compositions penned by saint-poets like Surdas, Bihari

and Raskhan etc. He became a master of the traditional art of gold paintings

under the guidance of his illustrious father. However, he did not remain

confined to the tradition he inherited but contributed to it significantly by

introducing several innovations, making the canvases more aesthetically

appealing, visually attractive and spiritually rich during his journey as an

artist, which started in 1977.

200

Govind Kanhai, on the other hand, is considered an excellent artist

known for his figure work and ‘bhav darshan’. He is specifically trained in

embossing and gem-setting techniques. His paintings are emotionally rich,

lyrical and visually pleasing, owing to their superb colour combinations. His

artistic career started in 1981.

They now have a number of paintings displaying themes like Radha-

Krishna, Murli-Manohar, Krishna-Balrama, Krishna as makhan-chor, baal-

gopalak, bal-roopa, Raas-Leela and Maharaas. One of the paintings created

by Krishn Kanhai and Govind Kanhai represents Krishna as Murli-

Manohar.(Pl.139) In this realistic painting, Krishna is sitting on the bank of a

river and playing the flute. His eyes are closed, giving the impression of His

inward journey while producing divine music. It is a night scene as the

moon and its shadow on the river water are visible. A peacock has been

intermingled with the form of Krishna. Decency has been shown in creating

this painting. A big crown over the head of Krishna, His ornaments and

garments, crown of peacock, grass, and tree - everything has been minutely

created.

R.M.S. Malik: This artist, belonging to Rohtak, had a few of his

collections based on Lord Krishna. He experimented with so many themes

and aspects and Krishna was one of them. He was inclined towards Lord

Krishna because he wanted to have divine presence in his paintings. In two

201

of his paintings, he has shown Krishna as Parthsarthi, the reason for the

same was that the place to which he belonged was in close proximity to

Kurukshetra, where the Lord is actually believed to be Parthsarthi. Krishna

is very clearly and realistically depicted in these paintings; on the back is

shown Surya Dev who is believed to be the ultimate source of energy for

everyone. The round wheels of the chariot beautifully create an impression

of movement.

In another painting (Pl.140), he depicted Krishna’s padmachinha with a

lotus flower, which symbolizes the form of charan-kamal that signifies that

the divine feet are as pious, pure and tender as lotus. In Hindu mythology,

lotus is also considered to be a sign of prosperity as the Goddess of wealth,

Mahalaxmi, is seated on it. On the feet, Swastika and other sacred Hindu

symbols are also visible.

One of his other paintings represents Radha dressed up as Krishna,

wearing His garments and playing the flute. (Pl.141) This painting relates to

the incident when Radha asked Krishna that the feelings of a girl could

never be understood by Him as He was a boy. Accepting the challenge,

Krishna agreed to become Radha and asked her to be Krishna for a day.

The painting presents Radha standing in the form of Krishna, a boy

enjoying freedom and playing the flute without any fear. The bird seen in

202

the painting is also astonished whether the person standing in front of its

eyes is Radha or Krishna.

Malik’s art tradition was followed by two of his children; Manoj

Malik and Rachna Malik. They have also taken up the theme of Krishna in

their paintings. Based on this concept, Manoj Maik’s painting titled

Parthsarthi (Pl.142) shows Krishna preaching Arjuna in the battlefield of

Mahabharata in Kurukshetra. Arjuna is shown as a sincere and obedient

disciple who will follow all the sayings of his Guru. Arjuna was motivated

to have a detached attitude while fighting as in the battlefield, nobody is

anyone’s relative; this was the gist of the Gita sermon as delivered by Lord

Krishna. The artist of this painting has made it quite realistic with muted

colour tone. The halo behind Lord Krishna symbolizes his knowledge,

which is being imparted to Arjuna.

The artist gives more importance to work and knowledge as

compared to other emotions and feelings; therefore among so many concepts

and leelas of Krishna, he prefers to take the form of Krishna as Parthsarthi.

He says he himself has very closely experienced the phase of learning,

experimenting and gaining knowledge from his elders; and so the concept of

Krishna imparting and Arjuna gaining knowledge has a great relevance in

his life.

203

Rachna, on the other hand, has painted Krishna with Radha in

abstract form with a very different technique. (Pl.143) The theme she has taken

is narrating the romantic phase of life by creating amalgamated forms of

Radha and Krishna. Here, Krishna is playing the flute and Radha is

standing close to him, listening to the enchanting music as flown in the air.

The fusion of the forms depicts their togetherness. The technique which the

artist chooses is quite haphazard; the forms are not easily visible at the very

first sight and the viewer has to concentrate to find them. The concept of

putting this technique and to make the painting as abstract and not so

realistic belongs to the artist. She explains that not everyone but only those

who understand the feeling of love, romance and happiness can feel the

warmth of this painting.

Bhoop Singh Gulia: The paintings of this noted artist are flavored

with rural life and countryside landscapes. He enjoys simplicity and silence

in his paintings. Most of the paintings as created by this thoughtful artist

reflect the state that can be achieved after long hours of meditation and

concentration. One such painting created by him was based on the theme of

Lord Krishna. (Pl.144) In this painting, he made a shadowy landscape in

which the ups and downs in the lives of the inhabitants of Braj area have

been shown symbolically through the hilly terrain. In the foreground of the

painting, there is a representation of Krishna in sculptural form. The view of

204

artist regarding this is that the actual Krishna has been merged in the land in

such a way that all his preachings and deeds are vanishing gradually.

So, the artist wishes to carve out the real Krishna in the form of love

in this materialistic world. The belongings of Krishna like the flute, rosary

and morpankh are shown lying scattered on the ground, which indicates that

the people’s faith in Krishna is deteriorating with the passage of time and

the artist is keen to evoke spiritual feelings in the hearts of contemporary

people again. The painting was created on canvas in 2007 and its colour

scheme is earthy, that is, shades of blue, brown and green have been used.

The artist maintains that he experimented with this theme as it was need of

the day and the people should realize it is the divine power and not

materialism that is controlling the whole universe.

Shakti Singh Ahlawat: He belongs to village Balambha in Rohtak

district. The village once used to have as many as 13 chaupals. One chaupal

also contained wall-paintings; the form of Lord Krishna as gopalak was

found there. Shakti’s idea to make paintings on Krishna thus stems from his

traditional heritage, which remains deeply engrained in his subconscious

mind. Basically being a rural lad, this artist was influenced by the rural

context of Lord Krishna, and so he painted on his life.

This artist, famous for his portraits, has two of his paintings dedicated

to Lord Krishna - both of them were of the abstract kind. In the first

205

painting (Pl.145), He is indicated as Murli- Manohar with Radha and a cow

sitting beside them. Krishna is sitting cross-legged and seems to be in a

relaxed mood, composing a sweet tune with his flute. Krishna is shown

wearing a janaeu, which is worn by the Brahamins in Hindu religion; the

condition is that the person who is wearing it has to follow all the rituals

related to it. The artist perceives Krishna to be a profound follower of Hindu

religion as he has shown Him wearing a janaeu.

Radha and Krishna are shown to be incomplete without each other as

Radha’s odhni is not limited to Radha only, but it has become an

inseparable part of Krishna as well. Both of them are enjoying the divine

music, away from the worries of the world. Radha and Krishna, along with

the cow, appear to have been lost in ecstasy. A yellow diamond mark on the

forehead of the cow in this painting symbolizes prosperity, for which

Kamdhenu is known. It is believed to fulfill all one’s desires and bring

affluence. The colours used in the painting are flat green, grey, blue, white

and yellow ochre; and they have been balanced in a pleasing and

harmonious manner.

The second painting of this artist shows Lord Krishna with Radha.

(Pl.146) The feel of ecstasy and entertainment can be seen in this painting also.

Krishna, and behind him, Radha, are shown in a standing position. Their

eyes have been shown closed, which indicates the high levels of meditation

206

they have achieved through the charismatic tune of the flute as composed by

Lord Krishna. In this painting, pastel shades, including green, blue, red and

yellow have been used; the colours in the painting indicate night scene. The

concept of the artist of making these paintings is to delineate the true form

of love and legend of Radha and Krishna. Similarly, the artist himself wants

to remain engrossed with his own work and life.

Ram Viranjan: He is presently based in Kurukshetra. His

experiments on various themes and techniques are numerous. He created

three paintings based on the theme of Lord Krishna. One of his paintings is

in the collection of Krishna Museum, Kurukshetra. This painting is a folk-

art form called Madhubani Painting. The term originates from a village

named Madhubani in Bihar, where this art was originally practiced by

females. It served as a tool of creative expression for everyday lives and

happenings. Originally, this kind of painting was done on freshly plastered

mud walls of houses, but in contemporary times, it is done on cloth, hand-

made paper and canvas as well.

The vital theme of the Madhubani paintings comprises Hindu Gods

and Goddesses. The main theme is supported by the traditional geometric

patterns. Some of the main attributes of all Madhubani paintings are double-

line borders, ornate floral patterns, abstract-like figures of deities, bold use

of colours and bulging eyes and a jolting nose of the faces of the figures. As

207

per the belief that Gods visit each house in the morning, the artwork

primarily donned the walls and doors, intending to please the Gods.

This painting, created on a paper during a workshop, displays

Krishna playing the flute and gopikas surrounding Him. (Pl.147) This

decorative painting highlights the form of Krishna in the middle of the

design; the flute that he is playing is so flexible that it is shown bent. The

morpankh over his head and designs in his dress are elaborated. Krishna is

encircled by six images; starting with uppermost left side, the image is of

Radha, who is dressed as a bride as if she is waiting for her beloved Krishna

to come and woo her. The next image is of a cow, which symbolizes Lord

Krishna as a gopalak.

The images of a Guru and Surya are also there in the painting; both of

them being symbols of knowledge and light. Another image is of fish

swimming in the water and the last one is of a peacock that increases the

beauty of Lord Krishna, being placed on his head in his crown. All these art

forms seem to enjoy the sweet music being played by Krishna on his flute.

Karamwati: Karamwati does folk painting based on Krishna in her

house at village Prithla, district Faridabad. She, like almost all womenfolk

of her village, creates a form of Luxmi-Narayana, also considered as Radha-

Krishna, on a wall with the help of geru. The event on which it is created is

a festival of Haryana- Devothni Gyas. This day falls eleven days after

208

Diwali and four days prior to Ganga-Snan (Puranmasi). The motive of

celebrating this festival by creating folk painting is to wake up the Devatas

as they are on rest prior to this time and after this, the marriages are going to

begin. The image of Narayana made at that time has to be washed away

before Sankrant as according to people’s perception, both the forms shall

never meet as they share the relationship of brother and sister. This art

tradition of folk painting and belief related to it was adopted by Karamwati

right after her marriage, that was solemnized nearly 42 years ago. She

believes that so much importance is given to Krishna at their village as

Prithla is so near to the Braj area.

Adorned with figures of peacocks in purely folk style and other folk

motifs as semi circles and triangles etc are made the forms of Naryana.11 It

is made in the angan near chulha and exactly beneath this, a diya is lighted

on the floor. The main characters, Radha and Krishna, are formed in the

centre. (Pl.148)

The images of Krishna were omnipresent in almost all villages of

Haryana in the form of wall-paintings, sculptures as kept at several places in

the state and in some museums, miniature paintings and folk images. The

total number was much higher than the images as found in the contemporary

paintings of Haryana artists. The reason for the same as directed by Rajesh

Purohit, Deputy Director, Kurukshetra Museum, is the impact of Arya

209

Samaj on the people of Haryana that prevailed in the 19th Century. The

people following this sect shun the concept of idol-worship, therefore the

number of idols declined. Moreover, after Independence, secularism was

given more importance than the religious themes. This was not only the

situation with the art forms, but it was similar for literature also. It became a

sort of social pattern at that time.

It was only in the folk art forms and folk songs where the religions

were still alive. No one was able to suppress the inner feelings of the people

and that carved out their way in the form of folk art. Film-maker B. R.

Chopra’s serials ‘Mahabharata’ and ‘Krishna’ rekindled the flame of

people’s love for Krishna and other religious figures once again.

210

REFERENCES

1. Tanwar, V. Personal interview, Chandigarh, June 25, 2008. 2. Khushwah, S. K. Personal interview, Kurukshetra, June 22, 2008. 3. Chitrakar, K., Kanhai, K. & Kahai, G. Personal interview,

Vrindavan, Mathura, July 25, 2008. 4. Malik, R. M. S. Personal interview, Rohtak, June 3, 2009. 5. Malik, M., Personal interview, Rohtak, June 3, 2009. 6. Malik, R. Personal interview, Rohtak, June 3, 2009. 7. Gulia. B. S. Personal interview, Rohtak, July 19, 2008. 8. Ahlawat, S. S. Personal interview, Rohtak, July 19, 2008. 9. Viranjan, R. Personal interview, Kurukshetra, June 20, 2008. 10. Karamwati, Personal interview, Prithla, District Faridabad, June 6,

2010. 11. Gulia, B. S. (2008). The traditions of northern India (p. 24).

Gurgaon: Shubhi Publications.