India
“ Dances of the Soul"
Text
Olga Slobodkina-von Bromssen
When
I met the Indian artist Koushal Choudhry at his art exhibition
at the Imperial Tailoring Company showroom, I was surprised
by the similarities in our understanding of life. "What
I want to express is the human soul," says Choudhry.
"The energy and depth required to see God is my basic
theme in art and in my view of spirituality. My paintings
are not two-dimensional. You can see the depth. You concentrate
your eye and it becomes a form of meditation."The display
starts with two paintings called 'Rebirth-I' and 'Rebirth
–II.' In 'Rebirth-I', energetic movement
rises up and comes down to the bright white spot, which is
new life. The blue color is a symbol of the universe or cosmic
power, the white is the color of purity or the symbol of the
Soul. In 'Rebirth-II', the soul achieves enlightenment in
whirlwind movement, but consciously chooses to come down to
partake of a new birth in the world to help, support and guide
people on their path of humanity. The golden color represents
divine souls."Since my childhood people have been talking
to me about karma and other spiritual matters, but I did not
feel they really understood what it was. In my paintings I
want to express the depth of these notions.
"As
Choudhry walks with me to look at his paintings, we come to
one called 'Why the Rebirth?' The artist gives a simple answer.
People come back to earth because of their attachments and
emotional feelings, their unfulfilled desires or because they
haven't learned their life-lesson. Others come back because
they have become teachers. The painting, 'Why the Rebirth?'
is about the sign of infinity where the left part represents
the earth while the right part is freedom, or a liberation
of the soul. It is a single whole, but earthly attachments
pull the soul back to earth while an enlightened soul can
choose for itself.Koushal Choudhry started painting at 11
years old. His mother was a painter, so all the painting materials
were near at hand. He was the best artist at his school, and
his ambition was to serve the nation. From that early age
he felt he had something inside him from God. Since his father
was in the military, Choudhry wanted to join the army as an
engineer. He admired Leonardo da Vinci (who was also a military
man and an engineer) and wanted to be like him. So his first
degree was in civil engineering and architecture and in 1991
he graduated from Bangalore University with honors. Then his
younger brother was in a serious accident and remained in
a coma for four years. Choudhry re-taught his brother about
the world by painting for him every day.
"I
used to be very nervous and even angry," says Choudhry.
Those difficult times changed his character and strengthened
his talent. His desire to become an artist ripened. He took
one year of sculpture at the Indian Institute of Craft and
Design in Jaipur, after which he started creating things out
of papier-mache. He established a workshop of artists and
developed a business selling the works of art all over the
world. The income from this business eventually enabled him
to paint full time, which he has been doing since 1999. Choudhry's
spiritual art has taken the form of spherical whirling movements.
The medium is acrylic paint on canvas. But what lies behind
it is spiritual philosophy. The work 'His Master's Fight',
where one can see two brightly-colored roosters whirling in
a circle bound to each other as if in a centrifuge, symbolizes
politics, which involves not only the politicians themselves,
but what it affects – a whole way of life.
At the exhibition there are paintings called 'Ghoomer-III'
and 'Ghoomer-IV'. Ghoomer is the name of a dance. These works
are all about whirling, which is a dance form of meditation.
"These dancers have energy. When they're whirling they
become almost invisible, like Gods. But one can feel their
presence," says Choudhry. Another painting along these
lines is 'Fire of the Stomach'. It shows a dervish dancing
in the whirl of his own energy. Some paintings are purely
representational, such as 'Morning: Ganga Temple'. The work
shows a hermit living in the Himalayas. The hermit Bharat
was a human being, grandson of the hermit Rishi. His name
was Kanva. That is where Maha Bharata, or the origin of India,
began.
The highlight of the exhibition is
'Shiva Nataraja'. The dancing Shiva symbolizes the eternal
dance of the Universe – tandava. This form
of Shiva is called Nataraja or Master of Dance (natadance,
raj –master). In his graceful and beautiful
movement he maintains the Universe with his never-ending dance.
In his upper right hand, Shiva holds a two-sided drum or damaru.
In his left hand, the fire Agni, symbol of purification and
renewal of the world. His second right hand is bent at the
elbow and its gesturing hand symbolizes approval. The second
left hand signifies power and force and points to the conquered
demon of ignorance. These gestures (mudras) are also called
abhaya and dandhasta (fearlessness and hope) and indicate
the possibility of leaving the circle of constant rebirth.Since
1991 Choudhry has had eleven solo shows and participated in
a dozen group exhibitions. He is the winner of many prestigious
Indian awards such as Best Artist of the Month, Mumbai 2007
and Rajasthan Sate Merit Award, Jaipur, 2003. The artist's
latest solo show was exhibited with great success at the Russian
Parliament in October of 2007.
