Excelsior Correspondent
This is the success story of a man who with dint of his hard work, passion, vision and creative acumen has risen from a humble background to a person of importance and respectability in the society. K K Gandhi started his life as a refrigeration and air conditioning apparent in business and continued with it upto year 2004.
He was not destined for a career where one feels humiliated many a time by the unreasonable clients. So, one fine morning in a fit of despair and frustration, he snatched a piece of paper and tried his painting skills which had endured during his school times. To his surprise, he found out that whatever he has created on the paper received tremedous appreciations from his friends and people around.
Gandhi had a lot of fascination and passion towards Jammu’s heritage sites. The first painting he put on his canvas was of ‘Amar Mahal Museum’ from a different and wide perspective. After that he continued to paint many more heritage sites- Mubarak Mandi, Krimchi Temple, Purmandal, Rani K Talab Nandni, Old Bowlis, Old Forts and Manwal temples, Vaishnodevi Bhavan etc.
Gandhi has immense love for nature and he always felt that grandeur and virgin beauty of the nature inspired him and inviting him day in and day out. Besides nature, ethnic traditions and nomadic life became his strong subjects of creativity. These creations have virtual freshness, literally and emotionally. His works spread ‘positivity’ in the Art world by avoiding negative issues of the Art world.
In his early career, he started painting on huge convasses. The reason behind painting huge canvases was his love for nature. He paints what lures his eyes. He paints his canvases with deodar trees covered in mist, herds of lambs, horses, chirping of birds and nomads, large meadows and every season by giving variety to his work.
Gandhi is a ceaseless campaigner of art camps in his state, making Herculean efforts to organize art camps of prominent artists pan-India, at select spots throughout the State. Started since 2007, this scheme has paid handsome dividends. In these gatherings, Gandhi makes it a point to follow the principles of spreading positivity in a practical way.’I even dance while painting, pat my own back, and make it know that art potential lies in every nook and corner”, he says.
A committed artist who feels that artists cannot divorce themselves from their civic commitments, he also volunteered to beautify the underpass below a crucial flyover in the city of Jammu. As a social activity to be undertaken alongside public participation, he took over the entire wall under the flyover and on this ‘canvas’ has painted giant deodars on of the size ‘10×20’, while a crowd of spectators provided a ready audience of critics and well wishers as the work progressed.’
So far as painting portraits is concerned, he has lot many to his credit. To mention some of them are the portrait of current Governor of J&K, N N Vohra, Dr Karan Singh, (Retd), Lt Gen Dhar along with his family, world renowned Diamond Jewellery Designer and Art Curator Vandhana Bhargava with her family and many more VVIPs personalities of the country.
In such short span of art life, Gandhi the most occupied artist of the country and abroad has attained fame of making live on the spot paintings for which he has been repeatedly invited by the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. He has to his credit Painting of heritage sites of Mubarak Mandi, a unique wonder of Red Siddar tree in Kashmir valley which is a unique tree in whole of Asia.
Gandhi has the distinction of being invited to showcase his work at Bahrain, Oman, London, Dubai, and many other countries. Recently, he participated in an international event at Sweden as a sole artist from Northern India. He was honoured by inviting him exclusively for sojourn in the higher reaches of valley of flowers, Hemkund Sahib and Badrinath Shrine to experience the enchanting nature of Uttrakhand and he painted the same on his canvas.
Presently Gandhi’s art works are adoring the walls of prominent galleries of Delhi, Jaipur, Bombay, Bangalore Gandhi’s painting became proud part of collections of Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, Dr Karan Singh, Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitely, Former Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, former Chief Minister of J&K State, His Holiness Dalai Lama and such other personalities.
It is pertinent to mention here that Mr Gandhi has done 18 Solo Shows in India and nearing 100 Group Shows in India and Abroad and around 40 National and International Art Camps/workshops.
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