Art based on Hindustani music

An appreciation of Vidya Sunder’s art in relation to Hindustaani music

Creativity is like a flower to a human being.Without it humans cannot exist.Even the most unimaginative person have his/her dreams ,the natural flowers of his/her mind.Each of us are an assortment of Raagaas in a definite order/rhythm just as our proteins (building blocks of body)are an assortment of aminoacids in a definite order.The order in the cosmos and in the human body and in the sampoornaraagaas of Classical music are in the same rhythmic patterns.With that are made multitudes of raagaas,lifes, and human beings …..

The creativity of Vidya Sunder is in her varna (in paint) corresponding to the varnaas in music and is an experiment in visualization of music.Her visualization has a touch of romanticism and originality in it.Look at that Bageshri.She has used all the colours of the cosmic Vaishnavamandala except that of east ,the golden yellow of dawn.Because it is a viraha mood and in Tamil the bhaava is that of Mullaithinai.The white moon with a blue around and reddish periphery merging with it is the fastmoving agni of passionate longing for the beloved and the veera of a decisive mind in achieving the reunion.The small green jasmine entwined with a shrub having bunches of blossoms show the mood of the expectant woman in a vipralambhasringhaara. .The white is peaceful and soumya and both the moon and the flowers share that quality.The mood and time(night)are corresponding to the raaga as traditionally described.The eternal waiting for the dawn….

Behag is also a meditative love.But in contrast the moon and the waterlily are in the ecstacy of their union,totally merged in a romantic dhyaana .The parijatha flowers waft in the wind as swaraas drift from the lovers heart .A soft fragrant touch of the flower gives a platonic touch to love.But one wonders.Are they only the flowers/swaraas?Arent they the stars from a bygone past /a previous janmaas memoirs ?The suggestion is given by a few white dots above the moon and above the tree .The way of leaving a gap for the onlooker to have their own romantic imagination makes any art distinctive.Vidya has that quality in her.

Megh Malhar is another symbol of her creativity.People think to sing a raaga in only the appropriate time prescribed is good.But the timing is given to give us an idea of the mood and bhaava.The artist who can create the effect of a bhaava/time even when the external factor(season/time)is not there is the really creative artist.One has to bring the effect of a rainy season in other seasons too .Look at that Konna (Suryamukhi in North India)drenched in a torrential rain.We know it is a tree that flowers in hot season-April /May in South India.But it is shown in a monsoon rain.Didnt Tansens disciple sing Megh Mallhar when he was in a fiery experiment with Deepak ? To decrease heat/Tapas is the lifegiving rains of Malhar.This shows the power of music in making its effects felt even without any other external object .
Finally the colours of orange red( saffron )to give the fiery Tapas /dhyana mood of Marva.And a tiny soft succulent plant which is used by small children to wipe their slates clean is seen in the picture,as if we are children in front of the supreme truth.Even that tinytot is lost in dhyana ,melting in the sublime bliss .Is it wiping away the letters from a previous Janma or the samsaaradukha of this janma to enter into a new musical nirvana? One wonders.
Vidya is a young promising artist with a flare for colours and a natural creative mind .May God bless her creative endeavours to meet with due recognition.

Dr Suvarna Nalapat