OJASVI MOHANTY

Form follows Fun

Art + Cricket is a self-initiated project using cricket stumps and enamel paint. I still can't believe it hadn't dawned upon me earlier that stumps are in fact larger than life pencils and pencils, miniature stumps.

Model & muse: Gulo

The Boss & The Rabbi

The ethos of rock has always been a certain level of authenticity and a vibrant form of expression. Expression, protest, rant that is written about or known of often finds larger audiences and acceptability through music. When Rabbi Shergill sung Bilqis I was reminded of Springsteen's 41 Shots inspired by the police shooting of Amadou Diallo, a 23-year-old Guinean immigrant in New York City who was shot dead by four New York City Police Department plain-clothed officers. The four officers fired a total of 41 shots because they thought Diallo matched the description of a serial rapist.

Rabbi's song touches upon the negligence in Indian governance to take a stand on issues concerning basic human rights, corruption and failing to protect its own citizens who stand up for it. It's a song written in honour of these martyrs who stood up for their beliefs and must be remembered –

Bilqis Yakub Rasool survived the Gujarat riots 2002 in which her entire family was massacred and she was gang raped. She continues to pursue justice for herself and her family.

Satyendra Kumar Dubey was a project director at the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). He was murdered in Gaya, Bihar after fighting corruption in the Golden Quadrilateral highway construction project.

Shanmugam Manjunath was a marketing manager for the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) who was murdered for sealing a corrupt petrol station in UP.

Navleen Kumar, who worked for the land rights of tribals in Nallasopara, outskirts of Mumbai was stabbed to death on the terrace of her flat for fighting against builders and land mafia who had been usurping tribal land by terror, force and fraud over the last 20-25 years. On the 19th of June 2002, she was stabbed 19 times.

Pietas

There have been a lot of Pietas, but the one by Michelangelo at St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City; the only work he ever signed or rather engraved on has always been my favourite, comparable in beauty only to the Shelley Monument at Oxford by Edward Onslow Ford.

Pietas, in essence are wont to convey a sense of desolate grief; what they also bring with them is the craftsmanship of the artist. The two elements together draw the viewer into a void to share the pain of the subject, mournful yet at a consoling peace like an unknown weeping maiden on a river bed. The sorrow of the maiden touches you as much as the serenity of the rives soothes you. Compared here the Pieta at Vatican and the monument to Mary and Percy Shelley* by Henry Weekes, Mary Shelley and Virgin Mary bemoan the dead inciting their pain whereas the bodies rest in absolute calm, almost a beautiful silence held together, trapped by the whiteness of the marble. Would one enjoy these works of art more if one was solely an observer, detached to the subject – weren't religious or did not love poetry?

(* The Weekes' statue is depicted here by an engraving by Goerge Stodart)
Image: Shelley monument courtesy Virtual Archive

The Best Resolution Ever

It's that time of the year when people make resolutions that they never adhere to. Daniel Eatock offers one which all of us better follow.

MASS Produced

Of lethargy

& mass

Of loss

& voice

Of throngs

& woes

Of duplicity

& decadence

Standardised,

Systemised

No spill

Neither a splatter

Slick redundancy

in bulk;

There won't be a frame

there will never be a pedestal

There won't ever be any cracks

there will never be dust

It will always be new

As good as new or better

KakaRoach: An Ode

A self-initiated poster done with Gulo originally for the college canteen at MSU. Not that there were a lot of roaches around, but we did see some lurking around suspiciously. Kaka is a widely used form of address in Gujarat for uncle / elderly male stranger.

+ Click on image to enlarge.

The Legend of Pacmoon

When the night is dark
and the stars shine bright
Somewhere in the cloudless southern sky
emerges the ravenous Lunatic

Unguarded he went
without Inkey, Pinky, Blinky or Clyde
The poor stars thought he was on their side
but alas

He gobbles up all the lights
that are within its sight
The bloody scourge ends at about noon
thus was born the legend of Pacmoon