Dateline Rishikesh: Since February, 2023 award winning artist Hari Darshan Sankhya has made the ghats of Rishikesh his home. The young artist from Mirzapur near Varanasi, was born with an artistic touch into a family that made jewellery. His passion for brushwork led him to post-graduate in Fine Arts from Banaras Hindu University.
It was here in his alma mater that Hari Darshan polished his basic techniques and philosophy of art while being an active theatre artist. Today his paintings find audience at museums and institutions in India and abroad.
I find the artist clocking hours as he creates a series of 108 paintings based on Garhwal Himalaya peaks, ancient temples and the hill state’s tradition and culture. His series of paintings include – Kedarnath, Rudranath, Madmaheshwar, Kalpnath, Tungnath, Omkareshwar, Jageshwar, Baijnath, Mahasu Devta Temple, Gopinath, Ardh Nareshwar, Badri Vishal, Adi Badri, Bhavishya Badri, Old Badri, Kashi Vishwanath, Raghunathji, Narasimha Temple, Koteshwar, Vitasini Devi, Dhari Devi, Gaura Devi, Kalimath, Pandukeshwar, Bharat Temple. Apart from these, themes such as Om Parvat, Shivling, Trishul, Nanda Devi, Neelkanth, Kharch Kund, Kamet, Thalyasagar, Adi Kailash, Hathi Parvat, Dev Doli of Garhwal, Pandava Nritya will also come alive on his canvas.
As a true student of art he educates me, “Garhwal Himalaya have been of special importance in terms of painting. The Garhwal miniature painting style that flourished in the latter half of the 17th century has special significance. Many beautiful paintings made in this style can be seen in Dera Guru Ram Rai in Dehradun.” He further adds, “Maula Ram has been the leading painter of this style. Apart from this, the beautiful natural scenery and culture of Garhwal has attracted worldwide painters of the world.”
How else would I have known that in the 18th-19th century, many famous painters like Thomas Daniel, William Simpson, George Francis White, William Prinsep and Nicholas Roerich created beautiful paintings of this region. Every artist brought about their original and unique style including Indian artists, Yamini Prakash and Ratin Mitra who created a series of sketches on ancient temples of Garhwal in the last decade of the 20th century.
Taking this tradition forward, Hari Darshan has already completed 48 paintings and aims to complete his assignment by end of June this year. So why did he choose the Garhwal Himalaya? His answer, “The Garhwal region is a unique blend of spiritual traditions and natural splendour. I am trying to blend in cosmic harmony, rhythm and flow of the universe from a spiritual perspective in my work as I put acrylic and oil to canvas.”
I leave the artist to his work. Working with his palette and canvas he skilfully applies strokes to yet another masterpiece, lost to the world.
