Saving Maharashtra’s lost treasures

Artist UMESH AWATE is highlighting the urgent need for conservation of forts and other historical structures located in the state through his drawings; MNS chief RAJ THACKERAY buys three of his drawings during a recent exhibition


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Artist Umesh Awate is an elated man. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray bought three of his artworks during a recent exhibition.

“Raj Thackeray attended my show and fell in love with three works from the same collection and immediately purchased them,” says Awate, who has brought heritage forts, temples and hills of Maharashtra to the fore through his collection of drawings titled Ballads in Boulders.

Awate feels these structures are exploited by tourists and some of them have even fallen to oblivion. “I have done extensive sketches of old forts and temples in Raigarh and Rajgarh,” he says.

Awate has been an avid trekker since 10 years. He used to roam around in the hills of the Sahayadri range and was fascinated by the old temples and forts that have braved the ravages of time. He has documented each and every old structure on canvas and sends out a message - do not deface these archeological wonders by scribbling images and words on them, and littering the surroundings.

He says, “For most people in Mumbai, spending vacations mean flying off to foreign lands to appreciate foreign art and architecture. There are so many wonderful places to see in Maharashtra itself, tucked away in mystic corners. We don’t know how to make use of our own resources.”

The temples and forts documented in his drawings are especially located in Raigarh, Rajgarh, Torna, Pratapgarh, some on hills and some on the sea like the fort at Murud Jinjira and Vijay Durga.

Awate says he likes to focus on certain aspects of the structures. “At the Panhala fort in Kolhapur, there is a rare door that you can observe. Though it looks one piece, there are actually three doors that are put together. These three doors were used for different categories of the king’s army, soldiers and elephants. They look colossal and majestic standing together,” he says.

His choice of media, crookwel and ink on canvas seems quite a unique choice for a contemporary artist. Awate justifies, “It is actually quite rare to see artists today using crookwel and ink. Using it to draw is difficult. Sometimes even a small artwork takes up to one month due to the tremendous concentration on details capturing every contour of the hill or every brick on the fortress.”