It is not everyday that one, even a practising artist, gets an opportunity to talk art, live art and make art in the company of so many exciting and friendly people. The KHOJ workshop at Modinagar provided just that. I decided to paint on whatever was locally available. A bundle of film posters that was collected by some artist during the previous workshop felt just right. It’s been a while that formally I am concerned about the fragments making the whole. The work consisting of fragments made of layers of film posters looked like a mural when it went up on the designated wall. The printed textile was something that Caetano was already using in his work. It provided the peg to hang the fragments. It can also be seen as a form of collaboration with a fellow artist. The poster image on which the painting was done provided a counter point to the painted imagery and is visible as a ghost image through thin layers of paint in some areas.The smaller watercolours were more intimate and personal in their scale and ambition. It had a calming effect.

The third work consisting of mineral water bottles filled with tea bag stained water titled THE CUTTING EDGE was a product of days of animated discussions on life in art over cups of tea and bottles of mineral water. It is a work that can’t help taking a slightly amused look at the idea of the avant-guard, a Modernist issue that refuses to die even in these post-modern times. The title was a spirited suggestion from Subba, who, I must add here, made life so much more fun with his ready wit, erudition and a vast storage of patience.