Friday, June 14, 2013

Mystic

     Although this picture is of a 'Sadhu' or an ascetic I prefer to call it Mystic because there is a veil of mystery surrounding them. Sadhus are ascetics, who have left behind all material attachments and live in caves, forests and temples all over India and Nepal. They are revered for the life style that they adopt to attain Moksha or liberation. They have no material belongings and lead the life of a gypsy. Some sects do not wear any clothes even in sub zero temperatures! The only thing that they use is ash to cover their body to give them warmth (It also gives them a scary look). However, reverence of sadhus is by no means universal in India. Historically and contemporarily, sadhus have often been viewed with a certain degree of suspicion, particularly amongst the urban populations of India. This is because of the rampant use of hash and opium. Also there are many who are actually not ascetics but posing as one to cover up some nefarious activities.
     Anyway found this pic of a sadhu clicked by my friend Debesh Sharma quite interesting and decided to paint it in oils on paper. Hope it portrays the mystery surrounding them.






12 comments:

  1. thank you for the description. I especially appreciate knowing why ash is spread on a person's face! This is a beautiful painting.

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  2. What a fabulous face! I love the textures.
    I always learn something fascinating when I read your posts.

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  3. Asit, you have indeed captured the mystery of the sadhu!!! It is a most intense and compelling portrait.

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  4. Very interesting and visually appealing painting and thanks for the information. I think I knew some of it but not all. The madman saint, I guess he is?

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  5. like your motives very special cultur we do not really
    understand, but we can feel it in thi painting
    wonderful to see your intensity in this painting
    is not easy to show the mystery behind.....admiration....

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  6. I have always loved painting them myself!I like the way you portrayed him, the texture of paint and brush strokes are beautiful.

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  7. Loved your process to arrive at this fantastic result!

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  8. Hi, Asit,
    Lovely. Your work gets more and more sophisticated and full of strong messages. Brilliant. Go on!!
    Best wishes, Sadami

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  9. It does portray the mystery very well. I must admit I would be a little afraid if I bumped into this person somewhere. I wonder how ash can keep a person warm????

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  10. Fantastic post and painting, Asit!!! The texture produced in this piece is SO perfect.

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  11. I enjoyed reading about these ascetics, very interesting and you portrait is perfect . I can imagine the scare if you meet a person like this not knowing what it is all about :-))

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