• Suneet Chopra             • Prof. Yogesh Atal Website Designed & Developed by Fifth Quarter Infomedia Pvt. Ltd.   A well-established and much respected name in the world of Indian Contemporary Art, CHARAN SHARMA was born into a family of artists in a small township in Mewar, Rajasthan. He has attained glorious heights as a painter of unusual themes – dumps of pebbles, dilapidated Havelis of yore that housed Rajput nobility, puppets and toys, and now images of Buddha and the monks.   Only recently he had two exhibitions of his magnificent paintings on Buddha, titled Enlightenment. With huge and lively paintings of Buddha and his followers, the halls were transformed into a monastery. Visitors were drawn into the realm of calm and transported to the "other world" away from the hustle and bustle of the boisterous urban milieu. Charan's Buddha is not a Xerox of the previously done countless pieces of the most venerated sage. Against the backdrop of Charan's earlier voyages and sojourns, Buddha found a new location for his abode. Charan has internalized the Buddhist message and reproduced his Buddha in a new ambience.   UPASTHITI is a further step to give the visitor the feeling of Being There. The focus of the new paintings has slightly shifted from the Master to the present day followers. Devoted to the great preacher, the monks in their saffron robes are mostly seen as retreating to the life of renunciation. Showing their backs to "here and now" the monks demonstrate the want-free satiation of being there, feeling Upasthiti  of the great sage in the surroundings. Words fail to convey the moment of such realization so eloquently portrayed through the powerful brush of the artist.   For a painter of the caliber and genius of Charan Sharma, there cannot be any other way of paying obeisance to the great master – Lord Buddha.    Charan has distinguished himself through his unique style of expression, combining tradition with modernity, and preserving his ingenuity. Each of his paintings has a distinct signature, an originality that cannot be plagiarized. His eyes capture the beauty that lay unattended and his brush transforms it into a divine rhapsody.   Buddha's sermon, Charaivaiti Charaivaiti (keep going keep going), has become a powerful inspiration for Charan at this turn of his ever-rising career.    Telegraphic in his verbal communication, Charan is most vocal through his brush. That is why Buddha in his meditative mood, and his silent monks in peaceful march, so effectively communicate their message through Charan's paintings.   His paintings of Buddha register the presence –Upasthiti – of the great sage. Visiting the paintings gives the viewer the feeling of Being there. 1 November 2007 Professor Yogesh Atal Ph. D., D. Sc. (Hons.) [Former] UNESCO's Principal Director of Social Sciences