Glory to Maharashtra

acrylic on canvas , 500mmX400mm
2004

Though this was done in 2004, against the backdrop described below, the situation, all over India for farmers has gone worse since then.
Before this painting,
there was a severe draught in part of India for the last 4 years.No rains.[Maharashtra is the name of one such region.]

Water management has been disastrous and many small farmers totally dependent only on rains for farming sought huge loans from banks.[Huge amounts for them, a few hundred dollars, really].As there was no chance of their repaying the loans, many committed suicides over the last few months.Ironically, the central Indian minister for Agriculture is from the the same region.[He continues to be the same person till date.]

The main picture tries to depict this.

The horn is a cultural symbol. People from that region, in the historic times would blow the horn to declare victory.Or mark festivals.

The lettering under the main picture is in my language.It reads -

'190 farmers commit suicides' - dated 1st Aug 2004. Taken from a newspaper headline.

The insignia on the right is three lions - official seal of the Indian government. The lettering under the insignia reads - Minister for Agriculture, Government of India.

The title is from a historic ballad celebrating Maharashtra.

feed-back welcome

thanks

C K Purandare
www.art-non-deco.com