Deputy CM Manish Sisodia Inaugurates Chhatrapati Shivrai Mahotsas at IGNCA

Lokesh Goswami New Delhi :

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (1630-1680) is an epitome for Nation Building. It is only when we look back into the pages of history that we see how farsighted his vision was towards the development of India, had he got more years to live.

A young lad of mere 16 years of age took the oath of ‘Swarajya’ – Independence, and foresaw those things which no common man could see. Swarajya was founded on the basis of freedom from the different sovereignties which ruled India and only invaded territories resulting into mass destruction. Feudalism, Casteism and holding the masses at ransom were common among these sovereigns. To add to the woes of the common people, famine and drought struck Maharashtra just before the birth of Shivaji Maharaj.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s birth marked the beginning of a new era which saw many new avenues opening even the intellectuals of those times hadn’t thought of. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was a pioneer in many aspects of Infrastructure Development, Developing War Tactics, Abolishing the feudal systems, Developing Trade and commerce, Construction and Development of Navy, Use of native Currency, Social Relations and importantly envisaging an Independent India.
Ballads glorify the daring feat of this legendary king, writers and poets laud him with their words, orators narrate his history and artists paint this golden era on their canvas. There is much more to be done, understood, and interpreted.

Dream Turns into Reality! Babasaheb Purandare mentors Deepak Gore:
Maharashtra Bhushan Shivshahir Babasaheb Purandare would often stay at Mr. Kagade’s house during his tours to America. And on the insistence of Mr. Ashok and Avinash Kagade, who literally forced him to visit Mr. Gore’s studio finally agreed to meet him. This meeting at the right time was the turning point for Mr. Deepak Gore whose dream soon became a reality. Mr. Deepak Gore, director at Vazifdar Builders, would often visualise the Shivshahi Era, how would those forts, people, the hills, valleys, the frigates look? Babasaheb agreed to mentor and guide him on this journey. The visits to remote places in the Sahyadris on the insistence and with the guidance of Babasaheb broadened his vision and soon he firmed his belief in his own project. Late Shri. Jahangir Vazifdar and his family also supported Mr. Deepak Gore by wholeheartedly. Hinduhrudaysamrat Shri. Balasaheb Thackrey was so happy with Mr. Deepak Gore’s concept that he gave him an appointment in person, discussed when the project was not even on canvas and motivated Mr. Deepak Gore to do this. He was eager to see this in a big museum. Hon. Shri. Uddhavji Thackrey readily provided some of the aerial view pictures of Raigad for artist reference. Hon. Shri. Raj Thackrey time and again would inquire about the progress of the project.

Mr. Deepak Gore’s prime objective was to paint the ‘Vision of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’ which he found in some words or lines from the book Raja Shivchhatrapati by Babasaheb Purandare. This was then followed by long discussions and inputs from Babasaheb, visits to the places and photographing the structures. Two excellent artists, Shri. Shrikant Chougule and his son Shri. Gautam Chougule, worked for Shri. Jahangir Vazifdar’s studio recreating the replicas for Old Master’s Paintings caught the attention of Shri. Deepak Gore and soon he started giving them single subjects to work on. However, the whole project was not revealed initially. The discussions between Babasaheb and Mr. Gore would be articulated to the artists who would work on plain black and white sketches as the first step. Each and every piece of information that Mr. Gore gave them was grasped with extreme concentration. He would often take them to the Forts, deep valleys just to visualise how it looked 400 years ago. This helped them do the sketches and create those moments. These sketches would then undergo the scrutiny of Babasaheb Purandare and after getting inputs from him, a small sample painting either in watercolour or oil paint would be created. And only after the final nod from Babasaheb, these small samples would be created on a larger canvas. One can just imagine the amount of hard work, persistence and dedication put together to develop 120 Oil paintings and that too for 14 long years!

Artist Shri. Shrikant Chougule recalls, ‘We did not know the magnitude of the project. Had we known it earlier we would have backed out, out of fear. But Mr. Gore knew exactly how to get the work done from us and he gave us the subjects on the Shivshahi Era as well as old masters replicas. This project on Shivaji Maharaj was only revealed to us 4 years ago and we were ourselves surprised that we have worked on a series. We met Babasaheb only last year. He appreciated our efforts; it is great experience learning from him.’

These paintings were exhibited at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai last year in June for 15 days and received tremendous response with over 80000 footfalls. The exhibition was then inaugurated by Honorable Governor of Maharashtra Shri. C. Vidyasagar Rao and Honorable Chief Minister of Maharashtra Shri. Devendra Fadnavis. It was well attended by dignitaries and people at large.

This year, Indira Gandhi National Center for Arts (IGNCA) have organized this Oil Painting Exhibition: Chatrapati Shivrai Mahotsav, Shivaji Maharaj: His Vision, Fort Raigad, Naval Power, Coronation – ‘Shivshahi Era’ in 3D Oil Paintings the exhibition showcasing these 120 paintings will soon be exhibited at the INDIRA GANDHI NATIONAL CENTER OF ARTS (IGNCA), JANPATH, NEW DELHI from the 06th October to 16th October 2017 between 10am to 7pm.

What to see? Life size 3D Oil Paintings and descriptions, poems on Fort Raigad written by Shri. Anil Nalawade, Coronation and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s vision about Infrastructure Development, War Tactics, Trade and Commerce, Navy, Currency and much more..

Our Motto behind this!

Mr. Deepak Gore says, “We want to put these paintings up in a permanent exhibition soon as a National Treasure in a museum or a suitable location accessible to everyone. These paintings will be an Inspiration to Youngsters, Encouragement to Entrepreneurs, and Guidance to Leaders.