OFFERINGS TO THE SEA

My installations are my creations in partnership with the sea. The sea has always been my friend, my teacher ever since I was a little boy. The receding waves tickled my soles, and leaping waves made my mind burst out into numerous ideas. The playfulness of the waves and the mysteries of its depths nourished my thoughts. The greatest freedom that I have ever felt is when I go naked for a swim in the sea on a starry night. The sea embraces me and I feel one with the whole universe! The vastness of the sea permeates into my whole being. The greatest light effects are presented by great sunsets. The sunlight playing on the heart of the sea, creating dazzling ripples of ultimate caress. The seashore is the venue for the divine romance of the land and the sea. The sea is the greatest poet writing its poetry on the sand endlessly and as Tagore puts it, "Wiping it off over and over again". As a little boy I built many sand castles and collected treasures of shells and pebbles. My installations originate in those activities. Every time I do an installation on the beach my bonds with the sea are reconfirmed, consolidated. The ocean has always been my theme in my paintings and sculptures. But it did not stop there. The sea dissolved the walls of my studio and the borders of my canvas. The sand, the shells and the pebbles became my medium. My installations are ephemeral like the writing of the sea on the sand. The temporary nature of the installations gives them a playful character, a certain spontaneity. The installations present a continuous change, especially the ones with sand and light. Like the continuous change that I observe in the sea itself. The change in its colour, its tides. The installation with mussel shells has a wonderful dynamism. You walk around it and it changes colours like a silk carpet. I am fascinated when I watch the constant change in my sand and light installations as the evening gets darker. The brownish shadows turn blue and as it gets completely dark one sees floating objects in a dark space. My installations continue to surprise me. I learnt to create installations on the seashore. Unknowingly like a Dronacharya, the sea has been my Guru. I offer my installations to the sea as a 'Gurudakshina'.