Lanterns become Jaipur artists’ monsoon muse

An annual event, Rang Malhar, was recently hosted in the city to appease rain god and welcome monsoon. Around 80 artists of different age groups came together to participate in the event and display their creativity. Every year, a product is selected as the canvas to be painted; this year, lanterns turned into a muse for these artists.

Artists carried out a small procession too

Vidyasagar Upadhyay, an artist and the organiser of the event, said, “This year, we chose lanterns as the theme for the fest. Some artists gave a new lease of life to old lanterns by adding a colourful paint to them. In the past, we have painted cars, bicycles, hats and umbrellas.”

While some used acrylic colours, others chose oil paints to display their creative side. Manish Sharma, an artist who painted Lord Jagannath’s chariot on an old lantern, said, “During this time of the year, Jagannath Rath Yatra celebrations are in full swing, so I decided to recreate the Rath Yatra.”

Women artists posing with their lanterns at Jantar Mantar

Sheela Purohit not only painted her lantern but also created a figurine of Lord Indra with papier-mâché and placed it inside the lantern. “That’s the best way to please Lord Indra and invite him to bless us with his showers and blessings.” After painting the lanterns at a day-long workshop, the artists also carried out a rally in the old Jaleb Chowk crossing the historic Jantar Mantar observatory.