05/01/2016
An ocean of happiness, excitement, creativity and harmony. That was Chitra Santhe 2016. Organized by the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath on January 3 on Kumara Park Road and the Parishath premises in Bangalore, more than four lakh people participated in it, and everyone went home rejuvenated and happy.
"The excitement and the happiness I witnessed among artists and connoisseurs of art at the Chitra Santhe has rekindled the artist in me. All I can say is that this is a unique experience, and next year I will exhibit my art here", said Surya, a resident of Bangalore.
This year, it was the 13th edition and it perhaps broke all previous records in terms of drawing such huge numbers. In the past also many like Surya have taken inspiration from artists at the Santhe and come back the following year to exhibit their own pieces of art.
The atmosphere was so electrifying that every person who went there felt happy for one reason or the other. At the Santhe, you could see people of all ages, colour, class, creed and religion. It was soothing to watch people admiring pieces of art on display, talk to artists, and buy paintings. The crowd was huge and there was not an inch of empty space on the entire stretch the entire day.
Pranab Mukherjee, a resident of Kolkata, was overawed by the crowd that thronged the Santhe. He has been attending the Santhe for the past seven years. According to him, art exhibitions in Kolkata do not attract such a huge crowd.
The Parishath organizes the art fair on the first Sunday in January every year. People like Surya and Pranab make it a point to spend the whole day there talking to artists and looking at the exhibits as every second spent at the fair fills them with positive energy.
Yes it is difficult to believe, but at the Santhe a huge congregation of people celebrates life in all its colours through art created by artists from far and near. It is a platform for artists to sell their art directly to interested buyers. The price begins at Rs. 50 and goes up to a few lakhs.
To add to the joy are artists who specialize in making portraits. Several children were seen posing for artists to sketch their portraits. Each portrait is ready in 20 minutes flat and all that they charge is Rs. 200!
In one place a placard said: Get a cartoon drawn and take a painting free! Many artists were glad that they got takers for their art. For instance, a young artist from Sirsi called Vinay said he had brought 10 paintings and he sold all of them. And he carried home painting material from the Santhe to make more pieces of creative art so that he can participate in the Santhe next year.
Of course all artists were not so lucky. As the day drew to a close there were many calling out to people to buy art at reduced prices at the flash sale. With the setting of the sun darkness enveloped the place and portrait artists were forced to shut shop, and other artists packed the unsold items and prepared to go home.
The event was so well organized that the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath should be lauded for its efforts to take art closer to the common man.
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