Art is nothing elite or out of reach. It is the reflection of the common person’s perspective through the big canvas. I think art and sculpture are expressions from within, from both the artist and the audience. An artist portrays his talent, his feelings and agenda on the canvas. The audience see the finished product, try to deduce the author’s view, but end up interpreting in their own ways.

In the past 3 months I have been to three exhibitions, two book readings and two movie screenings. Returning to Kolkata has been a change of pace: I was attracted to art simply because I was undergoing burnout. A prolonged work environment of 4 years with no outlet of relief had driven me overboard, and I was looking for some mental respite. Art offered me solace.

A gallery adjoining the Kolkata Film Festival was my first such venture 6 months ago. But that was not the pathbreaker. What really opened my eyes was how vast the people and place of Santiniketan is. They are eager to know how you are as a person, and not how many research papers you published. In a gallery, I was never judged with my skill or degree. I was just there, with everyone thinking me as an equal to them in understanding art. If I could at least tell my own interpretation, then I made it!

So much lived experience I have been through, witnessing the expression of art: be it paintings, sculptures, installations, movies, or art book discussions. Everything has healed me bit by bit. Now I am almost ready to work away in tandem with the demands of my job, without feeling drained out of soul and energy. Art is every bit as rejuvenating as we hear in the cliches. You don’t have to “get” it; you can just see it and feel whatever raw emotions are coursing through your veins. And use that feeling to do better next time. I am paraphrasing Robin Williams in “Dead Poets’ Society” — Beauty, art, and poetry, those are the things we live for. 😊