have you seen a lotus pond in various moods it is unlikely you would have appreciated the beauty of a dying lotus pond or a lotus pond at night captured in huge canvases 78 inches x 192 inches in a mesmerising largely peachypink monochrome with bugs melding with lotus leaves and fading flowers in the former or in stunning colours with the stars bright as fireflies within touching distance in the latter you will be compelled to look at the lotus pond with new eyes after a visit to the mahatma and the lotus pond a ramachandrans exhibition at the durbar hall in ernakulamthe 27day exhibition coinciding with the 150th birth anniversary of mahatma gandhi starts on october 5 it features 91 works oil paintings watercolour drawings and sculptures mostly depicting lotus ponds of the delhibased malayali artist and only the second exhibition of his works in kerala the artwork on gandhi is a personal commitment that started as a government commission during the birth centenary in 1969ramachandran who is in kochi for the opening of his show uses a walking stick and the support of an assistant to move around so it is astounding to see that four of the large lotus pond canvases were created this year in fact all of the works at the show were done over the past four years i paint every day from 10 am because that is all i know to do and my wife gives me food says the padma bhushan awardee pointing to his wife chameli who has the look of one used to the 84yearold artists sense of humourthe lotus pond used to form the backdrop for his works on urvashi and pururavas then he turned his focus on it and it became the highlight over the past four decades not just because it is something beautiful to paint but it is also an ecologically selfcomplete world the animals birds dragonflies the creatures under the water they are all part of this there are layers and more here than meets the eye including with the different seasons says art scholar and curator of the show r siva kumarramachandran says that even as a child he had a keen interest in nature and loved the lily pond near his home when i started studying in rajasthan i visited the 14th century sasbahu temple there is a very beautiful lotus pond i used to sketch there and was surprised when i saw the temple sculptors too had used many variations of the lotus motif on the ceiling and the pillars the lotus pond is not an ordinary image it had many other connotations the lotus image has significance in our religions in hinduism and buddhism and is also an important motif in all asiatic arthow does it feel to be exhibiting in kerala even after 50 years in delhi i never lost touch with my roots i am a part of the cultural evolution of the states