Ode to the Valley

Her Kashmir series began in 2000 with a focus on the poetry of Kashmiri poet Agha Shahid Ali whose The Country Without a Post Office is one of the principle texts that she referenced. Excerpts from Salman Rushdie’s Shalimar The Clown too have inspired the series.

“ Kashmir can be a daunting subject because it’s too picturesque and too ‘Bollywoodised’. However,one cannot write something off because it’s beautiful,” says Sheikh,whose works are heavily influenced by the Persian,Turkish and Central Asian tradition of miniature painting. The paintings are beautiful and gem-like but they also display a mature handling of tempera and casein and a restraint with soft reds and earth colours,there are gentle greens and blues touched with metallic gold and translucent silvers. To paint large scrolls,Sheikh has shopped in Mumbai and Delhi for large canvases and treated them with gesso and casein. It is only after this that she began to paint on them with tempera.

“ The other daunting aspect about painting Kashmir is that it is currently torn by violence and strife. This is another extreme and my concern is to undo a few of the stereotypes that pervade the perception of the valley,” says Sheikh who has been painting for over 40 years.

The works capture people in the daily business of life: farming,building or even stopping for a smoke and a chat in the village square. They have a fable-like quality to them with strange and wonderful animals and birds,and trees whose leaves have been rendered like jewels

Many of the works have a central figure,a protagonist who,like a sutradhar,draws attention to certain aspects of the narrative. “This character is born of the folk theatre tradition of Bhand Pathar. It was a dying art but has now has witnessed a revival,” says Sheikh,who has also worked in three theatre productions by painting backdrops and designing props. “My ultimate dream would be to take this show to Kashmir,but for now,Delhi and Mumbai is enough,” she concludes.