Citygritty — Pune

This is a correspondence course dealing with laws relating to medical matters such as medical termination of pregnancies, organ transplants, labour laws for hospital staff. For doctors, a super-specialisation in medicine is simply not enough. They will have to deal with the long arm of law before that.

Sands of time
Everyone is aware of the sands from the golden beaches. But how many Puneites are aware that the sand from the banks and the bed of the Mula-Mutha river could also turn into a goldmine for an enterprising artist?Nanubhai Mansuria, the sand magician from Upleta, Gujarat, has created paintings with the help of the sand from the river bed.

“I collected sand and stones from the river-bed and crushed them as per my requirement. Artificial colour proved unnecessary, with the naturally brown and dark brown sand giving different shades to my creations,” says Mansuria.

“My life-like art speaks for itself. It needs no elaboration,” adds the artist, who along with colleague Sanjay Vachchani and son Ankit, is displaying his sand creations, which range from galloping horses, imaginative forms of Lord Ganesh and umpteen other varieties, at the Residency Club as part of the ongoing Society Collection.

The sand can withstand the vagaries of weather and the colours in the paintings never fade as they are natural. Lamination is not required and these paintings are washable too. Mansuria uses an amalgam of three chemicals which provides a natural protective cover to his paintings.

“I was inspired by the murals of the Ajanta Caves. For centuries together, the natural colours of the clay and stone used there have survived. I took the cue from them and started collecting coloured sand and stones, and through the years, built a real goldmine,” he says.

Deserts, seashores, the bottom of abandoned wells, foothills of mountains, rugged valleys, granite quarries… have all provided him with material. “I have used wide-ranging techniques like flat work, embossing, three-dimensional effect, shade work and made it a point to create something new every time.” Shifting sands blind one’s eyes but Mansuria’s artistic creations naturally conquer their hearts.