Two classical artistes explore the connect between stage and canvas

Rama Sundar Ranganathan and Himanshu Srivastava at their ‘Sangam’ show
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

On a nippy November evening, visitors stepping into India Habitat Centre, Delhi’s art and culture hub for a painting exhibition got to listen to the rhythmic notes of Indian classical music.

Quite fitting, for Hindustani vocalist Rama Sundar Ranganathan and Bharatanatyam dancer Himanshu Srivastava had come together for the three-day exhibition Sangam, held at the Open Palm Court gallery. The gallery had 35 works on display, giving equal attention to both their artistic journeys. Rama, a disciple of Pt. Tejpal Singh and Shanti Sharma, belongs to the Indore gharana. Himanshu too has been expressing his creative ideas through both dance and painting. 

“We may specialise in different art forms but wanted to present our works as a single unit,” said Rama. “It’s two sides of the same coin, like yin and yang or purusha and prakriti, the two aspects of our being.”

Rama’s work titled ‘Amirkhani’, a tribute to Ustad Amir Khan
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Himanshu agreed, “They say, an artiste always has a muse. For us, it was another art form that was flourishing parallelly within us.”

Rama’s SaptaSwara, a series of oil-on-canvas attempts to interpret ragas. “In my works, you may see an animal or a musical instrument. For a musician, a note is as good as the deity. When you meditate on it, you don’t need to pray. The bhava is nirgun (based on the belief of a formless deity),” she said. 

While most pieces are dear to Rama, there is an artwork titled ‘Amirkhani’ that has a story behind it. While most tanpuras have four strings, the one used by Ustad Amir Khan, the founder of the Indore Gharana, had six strings. “The sound was so beautiful and it was very special to him and his gharana. My guru. Pt. Tejpal, also gifted me a six-string tanpura two years ago on Basant Panchami. It’s the core of my music.” 

On the other hand, Himanshu’s works are saguna — they possess attributes or qualities. Mythological entities and figures are seen in his lines, shedding light on a different understanding of the metaphysical self. 

“Both my grandfather and father were Sanskrit scholars. They would narrate  the beauty of Indian culture through mythological tales. My grandfather would narrate stories, while my father would tell me the exact meaning behind them,” recalled Himanshu, who also holds a doctorate for his thesis connecting Indian painting and dance. 

From Himanshu’s Radha-Krishna series
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Himanshu’s art unleashes the rebel within him. There are no boundaries — be it in the themes he has picked or the materials chosen. 

One of his works, The Messenger River, part of the Radha-Krishna series, uses sand, acrylic and Plaster of Paris to depict the river that acts as a ‘messenger’ between Krishna and the gopi. 

Another series is dedicated to Andal, the saint-poet from South India who has intrigued Himanshu for a long time. Her faith and devotion of Vishnu  led her to merge with the divine at a tender age. “This is a sangam of a very different level. She would string a garland for the lord every day, wear it, and then send it to the lord, through her father,” he explained. 

Rama and Himanshu had captured many more narratives – from celestial bodies to iconography, and Hindu gods. Their way of visualising melody and movement.