Renowned artist Sidharth has come a long way. In Chandigarh for an exhibition, he goes down memory lane

The universe works in strange ways, and artist Sidharth trusts it absolutely. The pandemic shut him in too, like most of others, but he takes it as a blessing. A blessing not just for creators and artists around the world, but the world in general. For one, it made everyone pause and think; second, it gave a breather to re-attune to reality. It’s the clear sky, pure water, chirping birds and animals sauntering in urban spaces that did their bit to infuse new life into his works; alongside, he finished a book – a travelogue on Ganga.

In Chandigarh, on Tuesday to inaugurate a display of art pieces at Pracheen Kala Kendra Gallery, Sidharth says, “I was born to a father singing Gurbani and Rangan Wali Mayi. My mother would make natural colours and she would not see, but hear when they got ready,” Interestingly, this artist born in village Bassian, near Raikot, Ludhiana, makes his own pigments. Time spent at Dharamshala and later at Sobha Singh Art Gallery, Andretta, attuned him to Western art as much as Tibetan meditation and Thangka paintings. Time in Sweden made him jump into the Biblical world where he lived a Catholic-Christian life as Dorji Sidharth. “My style is Thangka and influence, Indian as well as Buddhist.”

Global touch

“I was poorest of the poor students with two shirts and one pant,” says the artist. It was at Garhi Art Studio that he started to find fame, and fortune followed. From working in a farm at Chandigarh as a chowkidar to his works at Sotheby’s auction, he has walked quite a distance but still remains unassuming.

Meanwhile, he is all-praise for Ankita Gupta’s works on display. Daughter of artist Raj Kishore Gupta, she has painted Phulkari, Gond, Himachal, Warli and African art, and preserved it through epoxy technique. “India has a knack of losing its treasures; this girl beautifully preserves the different forms!”

(The exhibition is on at Pracheen Kala Kendra till December 25)

—Mona