D Nagaiah (b.1949) is a natural artist from Hyderabad. A self learnt and self cultivated artist, Nagaiah has seen a lot in life. A life lead in honesty, integrity and devotion to duty, Nagaiah has always put service before self. He has always considered himself to have been blessed with the natural bred consciousness of the righteousness. Even in his adopted profession he has led a life of absolute detached involvement. Thus his art is unique. His creations are pure, serene, transparent and absolutely simple like his own self.

This exhibition is a wonderful display of 26 remarkable pieces of absolute devotion of Nagaiah. It requires a great amount of courage and belief to paint the all pervasive Gods and Goddesses of Hindu faith with a unique personal interpretation. Nagaiah just paints these powerful deities in his simple strokes of continuous but curvy lines meandering in absolute abandon to create immaculate forms of the deities replete to the utmost devotion of the humble artist in him. His use of colours is delicate, sensitive and transparent. You don t find any artificial embellishments in his works. You get a feeling that these representations of the artist s impressions of the divine characters almost mirror the soul of the artist which is immersed in absolute devotion and at the same time transparent and uncomplicated. It is just akin to a singer giving a new Raga to an age old devotional song a Raga which is absolutely his own creation and completely original. Nagaiah’s portraits of his most loving divine characters are music to the discerning eyes of the art lover.

Here you will find the image of Rama in the eyes of Nagaiah complete in his Maryada Purushottama avatar but with the artist s interpretation of what true Maryada Purushottama characteristic is about. It is neither about being overbearing nor about being powerful. It is about being simple, easy and honest without being extravagant. Therefore, propounding the very true and honest fact that simple can be beautiful. Similarly, Gods like Krishna, Shiva and Hanuman, all who are depicted in the innocent but fluid lines and translucent colours of Nagaiah. All the paintings of this exhibition appear to be silently telling you as if that true devotion is not only believing in the divine but transcending your faith to such heights of beauty that raises the creativity to the sublime proportions to the likes of Tulsi Das’s Ram Charit Manas, Meera’s Bhajans, Kalidasa’s Meghadootam and Jaideva’s Geeta Govindam. Here you will find the true Bhakth Nagaiah and sublime artist Nagaiah transcending into the canvas of faith, stirring your sensibilities and perception inviting you to undertake a journey towards exploring your own self.

Bigyan Mihir Patnaik