Hampi – this word alone is enough to bring to mind pictures of grandeur, vastness, architecture, history and destruction. The magnificant scenes of Hampi were captured in more than 30 paintings by artist Ganesh P Doddamani. The paintings were on display and sale at Chitrakala Parishat last week.
Artist Doddamani with his paintings of Hampi. Pic: Deepa Vaishnavi.
Ganesh Doddamani, a native of Ramdurg Village in Belgaum, hails from a family of artists. He first began painting when he was around 12 years of age and further honed his skill in Shantiniketan, West Bengal. The peace and tranquility there led him to paint his first series of work on Buddha (for a period of seven years!) after passing out of college.
According to Ganesh, the desire to paint Hampi was implanted in his mind during his travel (with his works) to different parts of India this last decade. “In the north, people usually identify Karnataka as the land of Hampi.”, he said.
Speaking passionately about Hampi, he added, “My visit to the Hampi Utsav in 2008 further strengthened the dormant desire in me to paint Hampi from different perspectives. Hampi is such a wonderful place – I want as many people as possible visiting it. I also want to, in my small way, bring Hampi to Bangalore, India and the world. Especially now, as the proposed celebrations at Hampi, which is 500 years old have been put on hold due to the ravages of the floods in Karnataka, I consider these paintings as my dedication to the beauty that Hampi is."
One of Ganesh’s paintings from the Hampi series was up for auction. Proceeds from this auction would be donated to the cause of providing relief to the flood affected victims.
Ganesh signs off the interview with these words, “I would urge as many people as possible to visit Hampi.” ⊕