“I am not in the mind, not intellect, nor ego, nor the reflections of the inner self. Not the ear, nor the tongue, not the nose, nor the eyes. I am not the ether, nor the earth, nor the fire, nor the wind. I am that blissful consciousness I am Shiva I am Shiva.
(Shiva means auspicious, beneficial)
Normally, I don’t like to talk about my work. Neither at a show nor in a brochure.
In my early days, I had a little Shiva murti in the house and I used to offer it flowers. For no reason. I am not a religious person but I come from a traditional Indian family where puja, prarthana and all the festivals are celebrated.
In the last 60 years, I have visited innumerable temples and sculpture sites in the country. I always get very excited and inspired by the free spirit of Shiva. I believe, any artist worth their salt, must see the Ellora Caves. The Monolithic stone carving and scale of it is just mindboggling. I have done thousands of sketches there. Many of my figurations have the charge of Shiva dancing. I am fascinated by the poetic, metaphoric, philosophical and spiritual aspects of rhythm, the Brahma Rekha figurines.
Recently, I did a large mural at the Adani Headquarters. But before I started work on it, I did a lot of drawings, sketches, watercolour and ink drawings to free my hand, to free my thoughts. So, in the two years in Ahmedabad, along with the mural, I also painted on little canvases and boards; some etchings and on terracotta platters (tawdi), series of works on the same theme.
As I drew and painted, the works took the energy of Shiva Shakti. I began to visualise the series on Shiva as Prakruti and Purush. There cannot be any form unless there is Prakruti. It is Ardhanarishwar. I was amazed to see an Ardhanarishwar sculpture even in Egypt! And when somebody read out the various forms of Shiva, to my surprise, they befitted the postures that I had painted.
I never pick a theme to draw or paint. I work and it flows and I follow that journey. I turned 80 on the 2nd of December 2021. I have seen many tough times in my life and now I am tired. Yet I continue my journey”
– Jatin Das
