You hail from a remote village in the state of Maharashtra. How difficult it was for you to take up painting in the earlier stages of your career?
I was interested in painting from my childhood. Then painting was a sheer hobby, and the idea of taking up painting as a full-time vocation never really struck me. I come from a very humble background wherein pursuing art as a career was not no easy. However, painting...

You hail from a remote village in the state of Maharashtra. How difficult it was for you to take up painting in the earlier stages of your career?
I was interested in painting from my childhood. Then painting was a sheer hobby, and the idea of taking up painting as a full-time vocation never really struck me. I come from a very humble background wherein pursuing art as a career was not no easy. However, painting was always my first love, which perhaps made determined enough to stick to it despite all adversities.

When I joined a college in Sholapur in Maharashtra, some of my teachers advised me to turn to art full-time. I then instinctively decided to come to Pune, and joined Abhinav College of Art for a foundation course in art. This perhaps was the turning point in my career as an artist.

So, things changed for the better there on..
Yes, indeed! I joined Sir J. J. School of Art, Mumbai in 1976-77. Those were the formative years, and thankfully, I had an opportunity to interact with several leading artists during those years, Husain, Gaitonde, Raza, Padamsee, and Barve, to name a few. Their thoughts and their works were encouraging. They would elaborate upon critical concepts of art, and would inspire me to develop my own style of work. In 1984, I had my first solo show at Jehangir Art gallery. Critics as well art lovers appreciated my works then.

Since then I had had over several shows. I took part in the inaugural show of Gallery Tao in January 2000 along with artists like S H Raza, Prabhakar Kolte, Sujata Bajaj, and Anant Nikam. Another interesting show that I participated in was a traveling show that comprised forty-four Pune-based artists who had come together to offer a tribute to Maqbool Fida Husain on his 88th birthday. What brought us together for the show was our admiration of the creative mettle and spirit of Husain. In fact, many of the artist presented Husain himself in their works. Inspired by the artist's pet themes and characters, I had incorporated them in my work titled “Satyamev Jayate”.

You have largely done abstracts. Why do you opt for abstraction?
Interestingly, when I started my career as a painter, I did portraiture and figurative work as well. Slowly, I turned to abstraction. And in the last 15-20 years, I have only done abstracts. I choose abstracts for the mystic element involved in them, and the subtle sense of expression and the intriguing relationship that I can establish with the space on canvas through abstracts. I have largely done untitled works, because the meaning of my works is too vast, I believe, to be captured in a few words. Rather, I want the viewers to perceive my work on their own.

What do you attribute the mysticism in your paintings to?
The quest for eternal truth has always been the singular force behind my works. I look to discover the ultimate, the divine force that drives us. It is invisible yet omnipresent in our lives. I try to give expression to it through my work. The forces – repelling and attracting – between the heaven and the earth, the cosmic energies, the spirituality forms the core of my work. I try to convey these ideas to viewers through my work. I enjoy the process of creativity and leave everything else to the discretion of the viewer.

You have also done paintings on the aftermath of tsunami in the recent times...
There are moments in the life of an individual or the society as a whole when your belief in the God is shaken. My paintings stand for the positive feelings in life. Even when I painted works on the aftermath of tsunami, the message was that of hope. I as an artist believe in goodness, humanity and human values. When these values deteriorate, I feel pained. The pain also reflects in my work, but ultimately, I always feel there is always hope.

Does your upcoming series convey the same message of hope?
My next series of work goes a step further in the sense that it urges mankind to not to be passive. Apart from hope, awakening is also vital. If there is no awakening and urge to change bitter things, hopelessness would result. So, there has to be a belief that things can change. One should not be indifferent about oneself and life around. Every moment has to be lived and to be enjoyed. My next series of work tries to rekindle this spirit of awakening.