The idea that man gave the sky, earth, planets, constellations, rivers, mountains, seasons, and other natural features shape in prehistoric times to give earthly objects a spiritual form is one of the widely held theories about the origins of art. For whatever he did not know for sure, he believed to possess an unseen force. Another way to put it is that he didn’t know whose secret was. Every community and culture in the world is based on a unique form of religious sensibility precisely because of this. It began life as a worship of nature and throughout time became connected to the ideas of heaven, hell, the afterlife, and God as the soul. These ideas eventually led to the acceptance and worship of numerous Gods and Goddesses. One could argue that God, who is all-pervasive and unapproachable, took on several forms in response to the demands and experiences of human society and thought. This bore the names of Buddha, Tirthankar, Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma, Ram, Krishna, Ganesh, Durga, Parvati, and Jesus, respectively.
Subject matter-wise, two parallel streams within the popular Indian art heritage can be observed here. Two types of depictions are presented: one features religious themes or symbols, while the other showcases modern life. In this context, the young artist Mohammad Suleman’s exhibition might be described as something special or distinctive. because the vivid illustrations he created of Ganesha, Nandi, and Krishna have a modern aspect. This means that we already know these characters in the form that we are accustomed to viewing them in or that they normally exist in our minds. These holy figures are in front of us in an entirely new shape. Evidently, the artist not only used more creativity in the depiction of these figures, but he also experimented in a novel way with the rhythmicity of the lines and forms.
Speaking of Ganesha, Vinayak, a character from Vishnudharmottara Puran, is the first known portrayal of the god. Where it is said that he is Gajmukh, with a halberd and a modak-pot in his left hand and a prong and akshamala in his right. Conversely, Gajmukh Ganesha in Aparajitprichcha is said to possess the Vyala – Yajnopavit and Mousek chariot, four arms, three eyes, and one broken teeth. Suleman’s drawings show these incarnations of Ganesha. However, Suleman’s own imagination is the only source of the Jugalbandi depiction of Ganesha and Nandi that is shown here. In every drawing, Suleman has depicted this duo of Ganesha and Nandi in a brand-new configuration. It appears to have been quite successful in drawing in and hypnotizing the audience. best regards
-Suman Kumar Singh
Artist, Curator and Art Writer