Gandhiji's Dandi March inspires artists
In the last six decades, Mahatma Gandhi has influenced generations of Indian artists who have creatively expressed his contribution to India's Independence and the philosophy of non-violence - and now they will celebrate the famed Dandi March.
"The three primary influences that are steering contemporary reality art in the country are urbanisation, political resistance and violence. As a political icon, Mahatma Gandhi has a direct relation with all the three topics," Anubhav Nath, who has curated a new art show on Gandhi along with Johny M.L., said.
The show, "Freedom to March: Rediscovering Gandhi through Dandi", a series of artistic interpretations of Mahatma Gandhi's Dandi salt march by 24 leading contemporary artists, will capture the spirit behind the historic journey 80 years ago.
It will be held at Lalit Kala Akademi in Delhi from Nov 12 to 18.
The artists include Atul Dodiya, A. Ramachandran, Alok Bal, Arunkumar H G, Hindol Brahmbhatt, Jagannath Panda, K G Subramanyan, K M Madhusudhan, K S Radhakrishnan, Manjunath Kamath, Murali Cheroot, Prasad Raghavan, T V Santosh, Sumedh Rajendran and Vikcy Roy.
"Gandhi will not be translated in imagery; but aspects of his persona, contribution to India, philosophy and the fact of what Gandhi is all about will be interpreted by the artists. The works will resonate with what the artists thought on their way to Dandi and how it relates to contemporary India," Nath said.
On March 12, 1930 Mahatma Gandhi left his Sabarmati retreat in Ahmedabad for Dandi, also in Gujarat, on a non-violent campaign to protest the British salt tax.
Gandhi refuted the British salt law by making and picking up salt himself. This simple act turned out to be one of the biggest symbolic acts in Indian political history, which triggered a wider civil disobedience movement.
Text: IANS
Image: Gigi Scaria's sculpture, 'Who Deviated First' which is an interpretation of Mahatma Gandhi's salt march. (Photographs copyright IANS)
