Serenity motivates artist Gautam Patole

For someone who has lived with noise and in cramped spaces of Andheri for a long time, the peaceful and serene atmosphere of Panvel is a god gift. That is the same feeling for artist Gautam Patole who has been residing in Panvel for about two years now.

“Living in Andheri was extremely frightening, with all its busy traffic and crowded streets. But, Panvel is the extreme opposite with its quietness and open spaces. And it is doing great on the development front with shopping outlets that give you everything under one roof, well-planned infrastructure and excellent road connectivity. If I take my vehicle, I can reach Karjat in 40 minutes or Pune in a matter of two-and-a-half hours,” said Patole.

Navi Mumbai, he feels, is blessed with quite a few pen spaces unlike Mumbai. Central Park in Kharghar and the Kharghar Valley golf course are his favourites. Another reason for his love towards Navi Mumbai is that the city is not in a perpetual rush. He said, “It has a relaxed aura to it.

Whenever I go to the railway station, I do not see people running or pushing each other to catch a train which is a usual scene in any railway station in Mumbai.”

Patole recollects travelling to his art gallery in Walkeshwar from Andheri that used to take two hours of his morning.

“Now, I am at ease as it is a mere 40 minute drive from my residence in Panvel to my gallery as I take the Sion-Panvel highway. Even though the city is new, it is well-connected to all the major places via road,” Patole said.

And, one will hardly find people in this city engaging in brawls or diatribes for minor issues. “Fights and verbal attacks in local trains are commonplace in Mumbai, but it is quite different here.

Also, each and every community is very active. During Onam, I had the opportunity of seeing a very big floral design (Pookalam) that was created by a few Malayalee women at Panvel station,” he said with glee.

Having the experience of working with newspapers and magazines as a photojournalist, Patole is now a charcoal and ceramic artist with his gallery, Art Desh, located in Walkeshwar.

It is his opinion that more and more venues should come up and enable budding artists to display their work at reasonable costs. “Any kind of art adds colour to a society. But, there is a lot that can be done in Navi Mumbai to promote artists and photographers.

There are a lot of artists but very few galleries. It is high time government agencies took note of this,” said Patole. In other words, it should be realised that promotion of art is a common goal, of the artists and the governing bodies.

In the lap of nature
Navi Mumbai, he feels, is blessed with quite a few pen spaces unlike Mumbai. Central park in Kharghar and the Kharghar valley golf course are his favourites. Another reason for his love towards Navi Mumbai is that the city is not in a perpetual rush

Having the experience of working with newspapers and magazines as a photojournalist, Patole is now a charcoal and ceramic artist with his gallery, Art Desh, whixh is located in Walkeshwar

Fights and verbal attacks in local trains are commonplace in Mumbai, but it is different here. Also, each and every community is very active. On the occasion of Onam, I saw a floral design made by Malayalee ladies.