Lalit Gupta
In our traditional social set up ‘marriage’ is considered as fulfillment of an essential passage of life for a young lady. In her post-marital life she glides into conventional role of a home maker as wife or bahu or along her household duties also takes up a regular job and contributes to the family kitty. But all this depends on progressive or conservative outlook and sweet will of her husband and in-laws and family values.
In either case, after marriage when ‘role playing’ gradually becomes one’s second nature, it is mostly observed that young ladies after getting involved into new responsibilities, put out of their mind their real talent and calling of heart which had once enthused and motivated them as possible future vocation.
Therefore, alongside successfully living the conventional roles as a home maker, it really takes a high degree of commitment and dedication on part of any talented member of the fairer sex to keep on pursuing the subject which is close to her heart.
Reecha Gupta, the daughter of soil, a successful home maker, wife and a mother, has emerged as a shining example of such perseverance towards her talent of painting. Her steadfast resolve to paint has stood her in good stead as for the high quality of her works today she is considered as one of Jammu’s talented freelance creative painters.
It was in recognition to her creative talent that the State Award- 2012 for best painting was presented to her recently in a glittering function. Not stranger to honours, she has already received Indian Academy of Fine Arts, Amritsar Award in 1993, State Award-1992 and Student Award in 1990.
Born in 1971, in family of Late Prof Suresh Kumar Gupta and Sneh Lata Gupta, she graduated in Fine Arts with painting as specialization and won gold medal from Jammu University for professional excellence. Her marriage to a business man Ashwani Sharma proved a kind of hiatus for her professional practice of painting as her duties as a home maker and later as a mother temporarily made her to put passion for creative painting at the backburner.
But it was due to encouragement and day to day accommodation by her encouraging life partner Ashwani Gupta that she was able to return to painting with enthusiasm and zeal. She not only worked on regular basis in studio but also kept in touch with new ideas with visits to the Fine Arts Department of Institute of Music & Fine Arts, meeting with artists, attending artist camps and workshops.
Slowly she created a sizeable body of works which she exhibited in one-person exhibitions, group shows and official State and national level exhibitions. Other than solo-shows at Jammu in Kala Kendra-2008 and Chamber Bhavan-2006, she has participated in more than twenty two group shows, number of workshops and artist camps both in and outside the State.
One who paints in a semi-abstract style, Reecha Gupta’s recent series of paintings are symbolic in nature. Inspired from the old palm leaf manuscripts of Agasthya Muni’s in which he has done some future predictions for the benefit of human beings about thousand years ago. In her creative compositions, she incorporates folios from manuscripts along with five elements – earth, air, water, fire and sky with colors that are traditionally associated with these elements. The use of old scriptures and shalokas is to reiterate the traditional world view of a pure environment that emanates positive vibrations. The use of Peepal leaves, again has a symbolic value as the tree is considered as a symbol of Lord Vishnu and it is believed that worship of Peepal tree is a remedy to mitigate the ill effect of malefic effects of certain planets. To further the spiritual quality of her works, Reecha uses the sacred thread ‘Moli’, as she believes that though Moli is a very thin thread but it is deep faith with which we put it on our wrist that makes it strong and powerful; a kind of talisman to safeguarding us from all evils.
What distinguishes Reecha Gupta from her ilk is the undaunting spirit to continually explore new possibilities in both form and content in paining as well as other media. Her participation in the Terracotta sculpture workshop held in last March was such an instance where she exhibited her mature handling of clay as a creative medium. For her clay sculptures are but an extension of quest to render the abstract and intangible quality of spirituality in tangible world of images.
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