The Wizard of Master Strokes

With a masters in psychology, Gadnis is a practicing psychologist, but painting happened suddenly. 8220;One fine day I just got up and started painting. I8217;m self-taught. And I8217;ve been working consistently for the last 10 years to make 1000 paintings. I8217;m into reading, writing, travelling, meditation,8221; he says. Gadnis has portrayed spiritual themes since he began painting.8220;I8217;ve believed in Shiva since I was five and my painting reflects this. See, I don8217;t want to paint Madhuri Dixit, nor do I take clothes off goddesses, and I don8217;t like horses! My painting has given me immense peace. I8217;m not just satisfied with life 8211; I8217;m ecstatic, in a state of bliss,8221; he says, tongue firmly in cheek. 8220;Painting is a tapasya for me, I am neither the doer, nor the creator 8211; only a medium.8221;

His exhibition of Ganeshas was specially designed for Pune, 8220;because it8217;s the Land of Ganesha. However, it is a sad truth that Ganesha has been so heavily commercialised that it has almost become a point of trade.8221; Gadnis criticises Tilak8217;s short-sightedness in pulling Ganesh from the sacred sanctum, Gabhara, and placing him on the street. 8220;How could he do this?8221; he speculates. His paintings on Ganesha are flamboyant in flaming red. 8220;Red is the colour of passion, of love and eroticism. But I paint in other colours too, depending on the theme.8221;

Gadnis8217;s appearance and his paintings on spiritual themes has acquired him the title of a tantrik artist. 8220;I8217;m happy 8211; I mean there are people who don8217;t even get a line. God has been kind enough to grant me recognition by gifting me the skill of painting. I8217;ve been labelled a tantrik artist by the media, they have also called me the prince of the art world. I8217;ve studied tantrikism, but it8217;s not about sitting in a graveyard and chanting or doing anything obnoxious. It8217;s a ritualistic method of increasing your own energy levels for your own benefit. For my spiritual art, I8217;ve read books in the original Sanskrit 8211; I have a collection of 3,000 books,8221; he clarifies.

And is his dress code, an unusual one to say the least, a part of image-building? 8220;No. When I started painting, I decided to wear khadi. And very soon, I8217;ll be entering the state of sanyas,8221; he says, making a surprise admission. Gadnis enters the realm of sanyas on January 1, 2000. 8220;The Mahayagna will start at midnight on December 31 and go on till noon the next day.8221;

The event will take place in Goa, where Gadnis has founded a Gurukul, propagating the guru-shishya parampara. 8220;It8217;s an open air place with rooms for the guru and students. The Mahadev idol is huge and the temple is open and spacious, no locked doors 8211; I8217;m against keeping the temple doors locked, it8217;s awful,8221; he laments. 8220;It8217;s not a commune or anything, it8217;s open to anybody who wants to come and spend time there,8221; he concludes with a smile.

From Germany, with love Gerd Heidenreich, a German writer, was in Max Mueller Bhavan MMBlast week to conduct a seminar for German language teachers. MMB also arranged a reading by the author of his latest book, Abschied von Newton Farewell to Newton on Saturday evening. The book is a fantasy set in Nepal and talks of an easterner who can fly hence the title of the book, suggesting a deviation from the norms of gravity.

A Q amp; A session with the contemporary writer, who has five novels, 12 plays, three books of poetry and three essays to his credit:
A writer8217;s imagery reflects the society around him. How far is this true?
I don8217;t write social or political novels, but the figures in the book certainly reflect this. My latest book is a fairy tale, on magic, but also acts as a satire on what is happening around. And the readers understand this connection well.

Guenter Grass has won the Nobel Prize for literature. Will it give German literature a global recognition?
I am a bit sceptical about this. German literature has not been widely translated, either in the USA or UK, neither in France of Italy. I doubt if there has any real effect on publishers, who have to popularise German literature. The reason for this is two-fold 8211; a historical. Between 1933 and 1945, Germany switched itself off from the cultural movement. A chasm they8217;re still coping with. b In the 60s and 80s, German literature lost it8217;s narrative talent. However, younger authors today do realise that story-telling is an art, narration has to be made interesting.

What are the issues your writing deals with?
Initially my novels and poems dwelt on the massacres of World War II, it weighed on my soul, I used to wonder 8211; how could this have happened. In my recent novels, I have questioned the indiscriminate destruction of the planet, the sheer consumerist mentality which I see around me.

Is it necessary for a writer to have an ideology?
No, it8217;s not necessary to have an ideology, it8217;s necessary to have fantasy!