Kashmiri Khosa, an artist with great imagination

New Delhi, Oct. 24 (ANI): With twelve solo exhibitions to his credit, reputed artist Kashmiri Khosa has been working as a professional painter in New Delhi since 1962.

Khosa, who originally hails from Kashmir, inherited his painting skills from his father, Pandit Somnath Khosa, also a well-known artist.

Having used ink, pencil, oils and acrylics, Khosa has been part of major national and international shows in India and has been honoured with the President of India's silver plaque in 1974 and a National Award in 1981.

Khosa admitted to having his fair share of ups and downs before making it big on the national scene.

"Paintings didn't fetch a substantial amount of money in those days. I've reached here after a long period of struggle. In the beginning, I worked for advertising, drew pamphlets, postures and novel covers and simultaneously did my paintings. My first painting was sold for just Rs. 100, which I spent in celebration with my friends. After that, apart from doing commercials, I kept on participating in exhibitions in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and all across the country. Gradually, my paintings started getting sold," he said.

Khosa became a painter while assisting his father in his realistic works from his childhood. His splendid work today can be found in major public and private collections in India and other countries. Unlike his father's realistic paintings, Khosa's art is figurative abstract with meta-physical themes.

"In the beginning, you struggle and you have to do all kinds of things. When you are working in a city like Delhi, then it is a mixture of emotions. Sometimes you are happy and on other days you feel gloomy. Then comes the stage of self actualization and you are satisfied with your work. This is the time you grow mentally, thoughts and ideas to get matured, which eventually gets reflected in your paintings," he said.

Khosa's paintings have been auctioned by Osian's auction house in India and many other charity organizations, including Help Age India.

For more than fifteen years, he has been trying to understand the ancient Indian texts/Upanishads and trying to transform its thought and wisdom into the modern visual language of art.

"When I was young, I used to look for materialistic work. I then turned to spiritualism and built a studio in Himachal and studied the Vedas and the Upanishads, and now, I transfer the wisdom and ancient thoughts of the Vedas to my paintings," he said.

Khosa's successful journey is an inspiration for the people struggling to carve out a niche for themselves.