Artist paints Kashmir of the yore

Having taken his time to realise his passion for landscapes, a Delhi-based artist has translated images of the 1970s Kashmir from his childhood memories, to paint the turmoiled Valley in its erstwhile days of unmatched beauty and glory.
Zarghar Zahoor's portrayal of Kashmir at sunset, in dominant ochre hues interspersed with shades of crimson, along with other artworks reminiscent of the land's magnificence - be it the sun rays lighting up the valley, or the onset of summer, houses in the old city or a man walking wearing a pheran with a kangdi in his hand - are part of a new exhibition titled, "Chromatic Harmonies".

According to art critic and Zahoor's close friend Uma Nair, the artist, who has served as the dean of the Arts Faculty of Jamia Milia Islamia University, besides being an alumnus of MS University in Baroda, has painted images of the place from his "subconscious memories as and when he was a child".
"There is no image in his mind when he sits to paint, he just starts hoping it will take him somewhere. Everything in Kashmir is an art. All of this forms an integral part of his subconscious memory which somehow finds its way onto the canvas," says Nair.

Zahoor's brush strokes on the canvas merge the earth, water and sky to bring alive the flower flocked hills with faint golden hues of the sun in the backdrop.
"Each work comes with distinct and piquant illumination... and yet no general light falls in any particular direction, approaching the landscape in a spirit of tenderness and humility, he is the poet of ephemeral transience," says Nair.

It is the artist's unique way of playing with colours - misty blue, mushed yellow, with subtle shades of red and brown, that is most striking, often giving the viewer an idea of the various techniques Zahoor uses to make his brisk, firm swipes across the canvas.

"The veiled intangibility of his work fascinates our modern eyes as soon we look upon it, vindicating that the great Romantic painter in Zarghar has turned his works to a pure music of form," says Nair.
The show underway at Lalit Kala Akademi here, is set to continue till January 15.