Latest news with #RazaSmriti
News18
22-07-2025
- General
- News18
Artists find inspiration in S H Raza to turn scrap into sculptures
Agency: PTI Last Updated: Mandla (MP), Jul 22 (PTI) All creation begins from a dot, a 'bindu", a philosophy that is reflected in artist S H Raza's most famous artworks and has now become an inspiration for sculptor Narendra Kumar Dewangan who works with scrap metal to create sculptures. 'When you put a tack to connect two metal parts it is a point only that starts the creation of something new. So in a way, all our works are inspired by Raza," Dewangan told PTI as he welded another piece of metal to his work, titled 'Environment Balancer". The metallic sculpture, made with scrap of cars, bikes, and construction material, is one of the four being made here as part of Raza Smriti, a five-day multidisciplinary art camp organised by the Raza Foundation. Raza, who died on July 23, 2016, was born in Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh in 1922. After spending his initial years in Mandla, he moved to different parts of the state with his father, a deputy forest ranger. Dewangan, a sculptor from Chhattisgarh, has created a city of metal that has at its centre a large tree to physically balance the tilted sculpture. 'I am showing a city that is both inside and outside the earth and there is a tree at the centre of it to balance it out. The tree is a symbol of how to balance the environment and at the same time how to find a way to coexist with nature," he said. Another artist from Chhattisgarh, Jeetendra Sahu, has also looked to nature for inspiration. His vision has come to reality in the shape of MP's state bird Dudhraj, or Indian paradise flycatcher. With the petrol tank of a bike as the bird's body and metal sheets for its long tail, the sculpture is a tribute to the state that is known for its natural beauty and the many forest reserves. 'I like to do realistic works more. I saw Dudhraj here and found it to be too attractive, so I felt that with this I can represent the whole state," Sahu said. To match the bird's form, Sahu has used rebars, chain sprockets, paddings, chains, and different types of gears. Speaking about the sculptors finding their expression through scrap material, Ashok Vajpeyi, poet and managing trustee of the Raza Foundation, said the objective of the camp is to introduce local artists to new ways of creating art. 'They have all collected these pieces which are picked up from shops here and they have been given the freedom to imagine what they would like to do so there are different kinds of things all of them are doing," Vajpeyi said. 'And what is interesting is in a manner of speaking the function of art is gathering up what is also broken down. The things here are broken down and not useful in the conventional sense but they can still be used in creating art, so there is this excitement of imagination getting embodied in material which never had been used for that purpose and was not intended to be used for that purpose," he added. Amit Kumar Sinha, a sculptor from Jabalpur, has followed the inspiration of J Swaminathan and Raza in his work, combining elements of both the stalwarts – bindu from Raza, bird and mountain from Swaminathan. 'Swaminathan worked a lot with Gond artists to promote their art. And even though Raza spent very little time here, as he was settled in France, his journey of art in India is internationally renowned," he said. He added that since every art starts from a dot, the five circles in his work represent five dots. The five-day event, which started on July 19, will come to an end on Wednesday. The completed sculptures will be placed at the Raza Art Gallery in Mandla. PTI MAH BK BK view comments First Published: July 22, 2025, 18:30 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
News18
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- News18
Art camp organised in Mandla to observe SH Razas 9th death anniversary
Mandla (MP), Jul 22 (PTI) From children as young as four to senior artists in their nineties, curious minds and art enthusiasts have come together at the Raza Art Gallery to explore their inner selves and express creativity through paint and clay. Working their imaginations on paper or on umbrellas, and browsing the internet for inspiration, the group of around 300 people across age and gender is observing the 9th death anniversary of modernist master Sayed Haider Raza. Raza, who was born in Mandla, died on July 23 in 2016. The Raza Foundation has organised a multidisciplinary art camp, 'Raza Smriti', to commemorate the artist's lifelong association with art. Shailja Kumari, 33, busy painting flowers on an umbrella, said that it was only some years ago that she heard of 'Raza sahab" and that he was a native of Mandla. 'It is a matter of pride for us that such an international artist was born among us. The only thing I could understand from listening to people is that art can be anything you want it to be, it does not have to look perfect," Kumari told PTI. The mother of two is among the many who have come to attend the art workshop as part of Raza Smriti. The workshop, led by artists Ashish Kacchwaha, Garima Tamrakar, Ashok Sonwani, and Bheekham Prajapati, takes participants on a journey of self discovery through paintings on umbrellas, paper, and flowerpots — artworks that they are encouraged to take home. 'The foundation is trying to create an art culture where we are all invited, all age groups and it's open to all city members. They come and they experience art. Many of them are experiencing art for the first time, so the whole idea is to be so free that you can create anything and we are there to guide them," Tamrakar said. The event, which started on July 19, has also hosted a sculpture camp, where artists are creating art works using scrap material, and a 'Gond Pradhan' art workshop that invited Gond artists of the region to create art. 'Raza, besides being a painter, was also deeply interested in the arts, particularly in poetry, dance and music. So we have structured the whole celebration here with a dual purpose, one is to bring forth items which relate to visual arts, poetry, music and dance and on the other hand, we also want the younger people from this area to get interested," Ashok Vajpeyi, poet and managing trustee of the Raza Foundation, said. At the 'Scrap to Sculpture' camp, artists from Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh have used scrap material from bikes, cars, and construction sites to create artworks that respond to the creative philosophy of Raza. If Narendra Kumar Dewangan's 'Environment Balancer" reflects the continuity of life and finding a balance between nature and human obstructions, Amit Kumar Sinha's works pays tribute to J Swaminathan and Raza. 'My work is a collaboration of J Swaminathan and SH Raza because their name in the art world is known globally, and Swaminathan worked a lot with Gond artists to promote their art. How he took Jangarh Singh Shyam to Bharat Bhavan and then to Japan. Even though Raza spent very little time here, as he was settled in France, still his journey of art in India is internationally renowned," Sinha said. The group of sculptors have used petrol tanks, square pipes, rebars, chain sprockets, chains, gears, spark plugs, and metal sheets to create their works. 'The function of art is gathering up what is also broken down. The things here are broken down and not useful in the conventional sense but they can still be used in creating art, so there is this excitement of imagination getting embodied in material which never had been used for that purpose and was not intended to be used for that purpose," Vajpeyi said. The five-day event also saw poetry readings, discussions, theatre, dance and music performances. On Monday, Odissi dancer Arunima Ghosh and Bharatanatyam exponent Aarohi Munshi presented a collaborative performance based on 'Swasti", one of Raza's last works. The event also saw participation of noted Hindi poets, including Prabhat Ranjan, Joshna Banerjee, Arun Kamal, Ashutosh Dubey, Vyomesh Shukla, Anil Tripathi, Ajit Kumar Rai, Arun Hota, Anil Tripathi, Pawan Karan, and Sangeeta Gundecha. On Wednesday, Suryakant Tripathi Nirala's iconic poem 'Ram Ki Shakti Pooja" will be staged here at RD College, directed by Vyomesh Shukla. PTI MAH MG MG view comments First Published: July 22, 2025, 13:15 IST News agency-feeds Art camp organised in Mandla to observe SH Razas 9th death anniversary Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
