Padaav - An art exhibition by emerging young artists of Banaras Hindu University

Generally, many of us don’t have very high hopes when we’re to visit some students’ art exhibition. And the footfall is generally of those who are either friends or relatives of the artists; professors who know the students; a group of students who are roaming around the venue and decide to pay a visit; a few journalists with their cameras, asking some girls to point at a painting so that they can get some cliché pictures for their piece (as if girls are the only ones interested in art). Possibly, everyone, but potential buyers. Buyers who are looking for great works of art at an affordable rate, but are not aware of where to look for them. Don’t worry, the picture isn’t that sad. Read on.

The first thing that caught my attention when I entered the exhibition hall was the energy of the students there. They were extremely happy and excited about exhibiting their art works. The feeling of being able to CREATE something is indeed tremendous.

I never knew that a woodcut art work can be of more than one color. The students like Sachin Gond, Tarang Bharatiya, Kavita, Umesh Kumar, Sandeep K. Verma, and Amaresh exhibited many such works. Words like beautiful or amazing won’t do justice to describe their works. They were much more than that. They touched the soul.

Watercolor medium was also very popular. Usha, Brijesh, Sandeep Kumar, Rohit Gupta, Rishi Raj, exhibited some works that left the audience awestruck.

I particularly found Sadhana’s pen work pretty wonderful. But, it was a place where it was not easy to pick a favorite. Every artwork had something to say about itself. There were installations, scroll painting, stone carving, soft pastel, fibre glass, potteries, photographs, portraits, landscapes and what not.

Let me conclude by simply telling you, that next time, do not even consider missing such an exhibition. Do take a look at the photographs to know, an encounter that you could have treasured.