Meghdoot

By the early 60’s a strong feeling of nationhood was palpable. Visual traditions, classical, folk and popular, influenced the imagination of several artists in Baroda, with K.G Subramanyan as a catalyst. The creative fervor at Baroda instigated experiments with the narrative mode and figuration. Artists such as Gulammohammed Sheikh amongst others delineated a new path.

Born in Surendranagar, Gujrat, G.M Sheikh has worked towards the realization of the manifold scales of time, and progression within the structure and textured fabric of the modern.

Poet and dramatist Kalidasa wrote the classical play Meghdoot in the 5th century using the theme of a cursed lover, employing the clouds as a messenger to convey his emotional state to his beloved who has been separated from him. The painting by Sheikh portrays several narratives with different perspectives on the same pictorial surface. The painting is characterized by a glowing red colour that adds to its luminosity. The story of Kalidasa has been taken to a different level by Sheikh and he describes the life of a community of people from differing perspectives, aerial and eye-level.