Dancing on canvas

In the world of art, M.V. Ramana Reddy is an experimentalist who is not afraid to take risks. Way back in 1991 and 1995, he had conducted photo installations with photographs of Hyderabad and Munich and even an underwater installation in Germany. On Wednesday afternoon, he set out to attempt a piece of art perhaps never been done before in Hyderabad.

Ramana organised a live action painting wherein “potharajus” danced on a 18x8 canvas. The idea was conceived four days ago when Ramana Reddy decided to work with “potharajus”. “Bonalu is a festival that unites communities like no other festival does. My idea was to focus on the festivities and even address a social issue. Potharajus, even though they might appear aggressive, are protectors of women.

As an artist I was intrigued by their personality and the goodness they represent,” he said. But like the idea, which was conceived at the last moment, weather threatened to thwart Ramana’s experiment as it started to pour unexpectedly. “It was supposed to be an outdoor event,” said Ramana, unfazed as he pointed at the canvas that was spread outside the building at State Art Gallery, Madhapur. “We’ll just have to move the show indoors,” he said.

Fortunately, the rain subsided within an hour and for the next half an hour, the performers and Reddy were caught in a colourful performance — armed with plates of kumkum and turmeric, Reddy canvassed the orange canvas that had a silhouette of three “potharajus” on it. On cue, the performers started dancing as soon as the colours were spread to the sounds of beating drums.

When the act was done, Ramana peeled the tape from around the silhouette to reveal an art work wherein three “potharjus” could be seen dancing within a sea of colours. “Many in the city might not be open to such an approach to art due to their conventional preference. But I always try to find new approaches to art... I like to be part of such new experiments,” he said.