From The Allure of Land series by Manjunath Wali
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Once upon a time, there was an emperor called Pulakeshin who ruled over a kingdom that spanned all of Karnataka and a huge swathe of Andhra Pradesh. Called the Chalukya Empire, his dynasty ushered in a golden era of civilisation, art and culture.
No wonder then, Badami, the capital of this prosperous centre has been the muse for many a creative soul. The late artist JMS Mani made the town immortal with his Badami Series that depicted the landscape and its people in their everyday glory. Now, his disciple Manjunath Wali, a watercolourist, pays homage to Mani with his solo show The Allure of Land.
“I didn’t want the world to forget about Badami or JMS Mani after his passing; he immortalised it with his work. JMS (as he was popularly called) enjoyed capturing the men and women of Badami at work. In the period following his passsing in 2021, I felt the memories of Badami had gone with him too, and that nobody would do a series on the place now,“ says Manjunath.
Manjunath Wali
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
“With The Allure of Land I am presenting sights of the Badami Chalukya Empire. I have long wanted to work on a Badami series of my own — it was a cherished dream even before my Hampi series, but the time was never right to execute it. Now, my main aim was to bring the focus back to Badami so everyone would remember JMS. This show is dedicated to him and his memory,” he adds.
Curated by Shirley Mathew, The Allure of Land is not only a departure from Manjunath’s preferred palette of earth tones, but also from the usual depiction of the temple town nestled in red sand stone.
Manjunath vividly recalls his first trip to Badami in 2006 soon after the completion of his art diploma, when he was enchanted by its sweeping vistas. And like any muse, he is drawn to visit her time after time. “I wanted to present the landscape in a blue palette as I had begun to enjoying working with those shades,” says the Bengaluru-based artist.
Created from memory, emotion, and passion, Manjunath says the glorious panorama seen on the 22 canvases on display may not really exist — it is an artist’s fictional depiction of a place he holds dear and as seen by an artist’s eye. “A lot of the compositions are of my own making,” says the artist, though viewers can catch glimpses of Lake Agastya or the Malaprabha River in almost every painting.
From The Allure of Land series by Manjunath Wali
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Manjunath elaborates how Agastya Lake was created by the rulers of the Chalukya Empire to ensure a steady source of water for the kingdom. “They channelled rainwater so it would replenish the lake. The rulers meticulously planned the layout of this town so apart from the attraction of its cave temples, it would become a hub for culture, art and dance. They did not destroy Nature to accommodate their ideas.”
“You can also see monkeys in my paintings. I added them as Badami was once called Vatapi which was known as a safe haven for monkeys.” The climate of Badami makes it a natural habitat for monkeys to flourish and they are still one of the tourist attractions of the place.
With the use of blue to capture the sky, shadows and silhouette, as well as water and twilight, the artist shows how a primary colour can bloom into a magical, many-splendoured hue.
Allure of the Land by artist Manjunath Wali is on display at MKF Museum of Art, Lavelle Road till February 16. Entry free, closed on Mondays.
From The Allure of Land series by Manjunath Wali
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Published – February 06, 2025 07:30 pm IST
