‘Peepal & Me’ exhibition attracts art enthusiasts in Oman

 A unique solo exhibition ‘Peepal & Me’ by renowned artist Sandesh Rangnekar was inaugurated by Nailesh K. Khimji on April 5 at Majlis Art Café, City Seasons Hotel, Al Khuwair. The exhibition will continue till April 18. The inauguration ceremony attracted the leading businessmen including Kanak G. Khimji and Anil M. Khimji, prominent diplomats including H.E. Manabile Shogole, South Africa’s ambassador to Oman, and senior corporate executives, artists and art lovers. The exhibition displays Sandesh’s paintings on a very unique medium, peepal leaves. In addition, he has also showcased his squid bone carvings and, oil andwatercolour paintings.

Painting on peepal leaves requires patience and precision. An ancient art of India, artists who paint on peepal leaves are not easy to come by these days. Sandesh is passionate about the art form and intends to keep the traditional art alive. 

Inspired by his father, Sadashiv Rangnekar who was a fine artist himself, Sandesh graduated from the reputed Raheja School of Arts, Mumbai. While he dabbled in the arts as a youngster he moved on from his passion to pursue a career in commercial arts working in the advertising and publishing fields. But life took a full circle when he rediscovered his passion for fine arts when he moved to Oman eight years ago.

Oman and its picturesque as well as serene environs inspired Sandesh to pick up a paint brush after 15 years. “I see art and beauty in every aspect of life and nature. I rediscovered my passion for art in Oman,” says Sandesh.

Peepal leaf painting is a unique art – the canvas being the distinctive element. Sandesh’s lifelike water colour renderings are done on dry peepal leaves. The leaves have a beautiful shape as they taper to a needle point. Peepal leaves have been used for writing before the invention of paper. It is one of the oldest forms of art which shows the ingeniousness and patience of the artist. Only a few artists practice this art worldwide.

Sandesh’s interest in art took shape in his childhood whenhe watched his father, an acclaimed Indian artist, create paintings in his studio. Although he was keen to try his hand at painting, he was not able to muster up the courage to ask him for access to his art tools. After a while he could barely control his interest, he began creating art when his father stepped out of his studio. But soon people discovered his talent and he was encouraged to pursue his passion.

Yet another talent that Sandesh has is squid bone carving. It was during a visit to a beach in Oman that led him to this virtuosity. “One day while walking on a beach I came across a squid bone. I took it home, cleaned it, observed it for a while and decided to carve His Majesty’s portrait on it. The squid bones’ milky white appearance and soft flowing lines are simply irresistible. They are soft, fragile and challenging to work on – yet it is so intriguing”, says Sandesh.

Sharing his experience further, he said, “It was an interesting but a daunting task for me as though the bone, with multiple layers, had a very interesting texture, I had never worked on this kind of a material. I don’t use any special tools for the etching. Instead, I use very simple tools such as crochet needles to watch-making tools or anything I feel could get me the desired result. I’ve etched a wide variety of visuals including major forts, people, landscapes and historical landmarks that are considered as icons of traditional and modern Oman.”

Sandesh is perhaps the only squid bone artist in the Sultanate. In fact, squid bone carving is globally considered as one of the rarer forms of traditional art and craft practiced by a few tribes in the primitive era. He also creates art, using a series of medium that include water colurs, acrylics and oil paints.

One of his key accomplishments is a set of 12 paintings of His Majesty. Every water colour depiction is a stroke of genius celebrating the life of His Majesty – starting from his early years until the present day. “All of the paintings we have seen of His Majesty so far have been of his recent days; not too many people have seen his earlier portraits and I wanted to break this mould and create something different. These portraits, all done in water colours, are different shades of His Majesty,” says Sandesh.

“For the last two years I’ve been working on painting every single frame of Oman’s serene beauty and unique culture that has passed through my eyes. I’ve already finished dozens of paintings so far but Oman is so rich in tradition, culture and natural beauty that the more I do I realize that a lot more is still left to be covered,” says Sandesh.

Source: Timesofoman