This photograph reminds me of my probationary days at Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy of Indian Administration, Mussoorie in 1976. Preparations were being made for Janam Ashtami celebration in which Director's daughter was to act as Radha and famous classical Kathak dancer, Shovana Narayan, a member of Indian Audit and Accounts Services was to perform as Krishna. The administration had selected some Probationery mostly IAS & IFS for painting a huge background for the stage showing Yamuna in spate. The Krishna's father was to carry the new born baby accross it. Probably they had never acted on stage nor painted big screens. So they were content with doing work like school children with tiny brushes and oil paints. One of the clerks who had collected names for painting, Mr Sham Lal, saw me walking in Charleville Campus though I belonged to Savoy Campus. He enquired from me as to why I had not joined the painters. I replied, "No one asked me to."
He quickly approached the wife of the Director and started praising me as if he had known me well. In fact he was trying to flatter her. So she asked, "Well why don't you join them?"
"Madam for such a huge canvas we don't paint like this with small brushes."
"Then what do you want."
I was perplexed. I had myself not painted the stage background on a huge canvas before but had acted on stage and seen some large canvases painted as background."
Without much thought I told her that the work can be done with water soluble distemper colours and big brushes called Korchis. Since Janamashtami was after just one day, she was also concerned about the slow progress and therefore asked Sham Lal to procure whatever I wanted. I told him to get 2 packets of sky blue 🔵 and 2 packets of dark blue besides a packet of white and 3-4 Kochis. He returned with all things but reported that the dark blue colour is not found in the distemper. I got flustered and didn't know what to do. They say, "Necessity is the mother of invention." Suddenly it flashed in my mind that Neel Blue is a dark colour used by women and is very dark, so I got 4 packets of the same as they are small. I mixed the Neel with blue distemper to make it dark 🌑. Though it did the trick but I remembered that this Neel is used to bleech clothes, what happens when canvas dries? Helpless as I was, I took the chance.
In the meantime, I had got the canvas set at an angle against the wall of the women's hostel, where this work was being done and got 4 room heaters installed behind it to dry the water in the paint fast which worked well. The Probationers who were working quietly left the work leaving me alone. They thought that I was a maverick.
I painted fast with my large brushes and big strokes and painted the river Yamuna in the bottom portion of the huge canvas. Thereafter I turned to the sky.
An IRS probationer Parvathi Krishnamurthy came out of one of the rooms and saw me painting the canvas. She appreciated it and went back into the room and prepared a cup of coffee. She invited me to have the coffee. It was very cold outside so the coffee was refreshing. I felt rejuvenated, thanked her and was back to my work.
After one hour I was surprised to see the River Yamuna in spate on the canvas before me with currents leaping to touch the feet of basket of Krishna and an overcast sky which could burst into thunder and rain anytime in future. Believe me I didn't think the painting was done by me.
I reported to the Director 's wife who was in charge, and requested her to see if it was okay. She approved it without a second thought. I requested her to get the heaters removed once the paint had dried up, which was done.
The day after the programme was organised. My painting formed the background of the large stage. I was seated in the audience watching Vasudev carrying Lord Krishna through the River Yamuna with currents of 🌊 🌊 trying to touch Krishna's feet. Fortunately, the Neel didn't have any bleaching effect. On the contrary the shade of dark blue heightened the currents in river and the clouds in the sky. I took a heavy sigh of relief.
