Watch out for Agacharya’s new series

Painting village women has been his forte, but for the first time the veteran artist is coming up with a new series where men in the village too find a place beside women in his paintings.

Mundane daily activities spring to life in his works. The flatly spread colour, bereft of any complexity give his works a distinct touch. Agacharya has made a mark for himself among Telangana artists and his rural women and bangle seller series have been lapped up by one and all.

Today, Agacharya is working on a new series where rural men too find a place in his paintings. “Many asked me why do men not feature in my work and I started contemplating. After long hours of pondering, I decided I must bring them on canvas,” says Agacharya.

The 66 year old artist lives in Hyderabad but his heart is still in Karimnagar, for it is the rural milieu that provided him the meat for his work all through his life. Born in Gattubuthkur in Karimnagar he grew up watching women go through daily chores. He has been painting women in different moods.

He completed 30 paintings of couples and the theme naturally is the rural backdrop. How does he capture the essence of rural life living in Maduranagar in Hyderabad, we ask him? Pat comes the reply “I spent more than 40 years in Karimnagar and all the images are etched in my mind.”

He took up full time paining only in 2006 after retiring as a drawing master from a government school, Agacharya has fully immersed himself. He paints for 7-8 hours a day. Previously he used to do illustrations for vernacular newspapers.

The new series presents the true predicament of everyday life in the hinterland. Accepting the human condition with equanimity and paying quiet tribute to the vibrant life or rural Telangana.