Simorgh – the benevolent birds 12″/12″

Simorgh – the benevolent birds 12″/12″

The painting titled “Simorgh – the benevolent birds” shows a tree in a stylized manner. The twisted branches and the nightingales lost amidst them are painted with a touch of Persian classical linear and almost graphic style. The inspiration for this painting was a study of a tree and its casted shadows on a street in New Delhi. I scratched into the texture of leaves to reduce the areas at the top of the tree into a dome of net. Later I saturated the branches in vibrant colors with watercolor like drops of ink and opaque oil paint strokes. The porcelain forms of birds mingling under the green dome are a visual metaphor for being caught in a net. The inspiration for this painting is the Persian story “Simurgh.” Some birds set out on a difficult journey to find the perfect bird called Simurgh. Seven birds manage to reach the far-away land only to find that the legendary bird is brought into existence by their own heroic feat. Simurgh means ‘seven birds’ in Persian. This also reminded me of the Indian story of a flock of birds caught in a net. The birds realize that they can lift the net and fly away to safety if they all fly together in one direction. The synchronized effort by the birds sets them free. Similar stories have indirectly influenced my imagery and accordingly I’ve used suitable styles of painting to evoke the atmosphere and subtle symbolism of each story.

Oil Paintings