Innovation on display as Goa plunges into Ramotsav

On the day of the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha at Ayodhya, Goan artists allowed their devotion to pay obeisance to Lord Ram by creating his portraits across the State with nature playing the perfect canvas for their works of art.

Gomantak Times Digital met some of the more innovative artists who brought divinity in tapestry – from using the beach as a canvas, to introducing a new art concept, to creating magic with over 50,000 dice and perfecting the art of chiseling. And the great outdoors turned into their art gallery.

DICE-Y ART

Pradul Pradip Sanguekar, a resident of Cacora Curchorem, used around 50,024 dice to create a Ram-Hanuman portrait. Sanguekar's endeavour, which was supported by the community, took around six months of meticulous planning.

“We started work on the dice portrait from January 11 onwards and had around 10,000 people participate. Since this was a very challenging art work, we had to make sure there was no mistake. One mistake would lead to a mismatch and the entire project would go wrong,” he says.

And a mistake did occur and once they had to re-assemble around 2,000 dice.

“This portrait will be sent to Shri Ram Janmabhoomi next month which will be a great honour,” says the 24-year-old amateur artist, who had previously made a 35,000 dice portrait of former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.

BLACK MARBLE CARVING

It took Videsh Shinde around 34 days to chisel a picture of Lord Ram on a 1.5 feet high marble piece. “Being a glass sculpture, I wanted to try something different to honour Lord Ram. I want to donate the sculpture to a temple, but I haven’t yet decided which temple,” says Videsh, who hails from Cuncolim.

“To chisel, you need a lot of patience and training. Also, intricate detailing is most important to see that the eyes and folds of clothes are perfect. Creating art like this is like offering Lord Ram the skill I have inherited. It’s my way to say thank you,” he adds.

CREATING ART ON THE BEACH

Artist Sagar Naik Mule and his team had just a few hours on their hands to create a unique art form to celebrate Ramotsav. “It took us 10 hours, a group of friends and a challenge of creating art in soil. We focused on the face of Lord Ram, which was done on Miramar beach using eco-friendly colours.” The artwork is 20 metres long. Sagar could not hold back his excitement as he adds, “Goa is known for its beaches and in a way it is like celebrating maati (soil) which is also the material I use in my art.”

The Kavi artist, who works a lot with natural raw materials like mud, wood and leaves, says, “I felt that the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony gave me an opportunity to showcase my talent.”