Earlier, he had also exhibited a special series on ‘horses’ at the famous Jehangir Art Gallery in Mumbai. They have attained a heritage status in a place like Kolkata, which is approximately 320 years old itself, so they certainly are iconic. It should remain an integral part of our daily lives,” says Mandal.They are slow and steady but they never compete to win the race. Authorities contemplate gradually phasing them out like the hand-pulled rickshaws, especially on Kolkata roads.” He adds, “It’s interesting to note how it snakes its way through a traffic-congested street on a continuous motion. A very few cities like Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Nasik, Kanpur, Patna (famous for its erstwhile horse-drawn tram cars) and Delhi can boast of having had this electric mode of transport. In his next exhibition, he intends to explore the tram theme further. Irrespective of the weather conditions or the time of the day I am travelling in, trams have never failed to catch my fancy.Originally from Shyam Sundari village of Manik Wholesale PS sheets Factory Chak post office in the Maldah district of West Bengal, Mandal is currently living in Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh.” Mandal was initially attracted to some rural vignettes and transmitted the same in his works. But I don’t want this over-a-century-old carrier to be wiped out for good. “In my next project, I’d like to paint a composition wherein countless trams will be queued up to rest in a row. “Due to their pace, trams are often considered to be outdated. On his preoccupation with trams, Mandal says, “I always find them interesting. He had previously worked here as an art teacher for four years, and now works as a freelance artist, holding regular exhibitions of his paintings around the year.Now the focus has discernibly shifted towards city-life and its salient features. No matter what, tramcars will always remain special to a certain set of Indian cities.
The current project sees him having clicked pictures of trams running in several zones of the cityscape and then projecting his own imaginary streaks blended into 50 percent of the collection. A complete series on his “simple, innocent school-life spent in the earthy settings” and a separate “dream” series had become strong motifs of his artistic displays at one time. However, they face the threat of extinction in the contemporary world. The colour palette gets profusely unleashed upon the canvas. They are slow and steady but they never compete to win the race. What happens if one fine day, all of them just refuse to move and turn into an immobile, historic asset forever ” he asks, raising a potent question. Dyed in both acrylic shades and oil chromes, the tram series is an eye catcher. Retracing his childhood memories, he recalls having conjured up a collage on paper rockets, darts and boats that we all have made as kids. Keeping with this theme, artist Purnendu Mandal presents a kaleidoscopic view of Kolkata Through Trams — a solo show of his paintings at the culture capital’s Chemould Art Gallery, curated by Kolkata Art House. It has an old world feel to it like the yesteryear double-decker buses.. He owns a studio inside a three-room rented flat with one room completely dedicated to his art. Trams may be a considered tardy in today’s age, yet they consistently recreate that element of nostalgia from the good old 60s-70s era
rylcotrama