SUBMITTED Essays Send us your essay

Homecoming with tantra......Mahirwan Mamtani

by Mamtani

Germany-based Indian artist Mahirwan Mamtani’s tantra art works, now exhibited at New Delhi’s Dhoomimal Art Centre, exudes eclecticism.


As a 12-year-old when Mahirwan Mamtani came to Delhi from Sind in Pakistan during Partition, little did he know that loneliness triggered by his rootlessness would find a friend in art, that too in German art. Though years later, Mamtani found a new home in Germany, he still represents India, rather Indian art, at various art festivals across the world, particularly in California and Moscow.
Mamtani’s specialisation is tantra art of the 1960s, an exhibition of which is on at New Delhi’s Dhoomimal Art Centre till this coming Tuesday. His works are an interesting study of the tantra art of the India during that time, blended with his own philosophical take on it. Relates Mamtani about how he got started with it, “Like a good boy, I studied in various schools across Delhi and later applied for a government job for a living. I soon immersed myself in art at Max Mueller Bhavan here and also found a suitable opening in a printing press as an artist.” He continues, “I was an illustrator. I used to do posters too. When I got introduced to Germany’s art master Kandinsky’s works, I was immensely impressed. I took him as my guru and started following his art. I wanted to study German art and so as I applied for the scholarship programme of German Academic Exchange Service 47 years ago. I was chosen for it and Germany became my study centre and home.”
Mamtani’s works trigger interest in Germany for their multilayered meanings. He responds, “I used to closely follow tantra art of the 1960s. I took ‘mandala’ part of the tantra art that literally means a circle. Those days Germany’s art was more into ‘Constructivism’ (drawing from geometrical figures/parts of abstract). I used to combine four circles and called it ‘CentroVision’.”
These four circles for Mamtani meant elements like four walls, four seasons and so on. As the 1980s approached, Mamtani was included in the New Tantra Art Group by a few of the known followers of the art form. This phase changed Mamtani’s art. He relates, “I started making figures/masks out of my circles” which are still his hallmark. “During that period I experimented with wood, wood cut, masks, and videos. And my abstract circles started showing human emotions. For me now they mean human being’s nature of wearing masks all the time.” Taking this into consideration, Mamtani’s journey then began at abstract and has halted at the figurative. His artistic journey has triggered interest in the U.S., Australia and also in the museums in Germany. He owes it to his Indian roots, “I remain connected to my homeland through my frequent visits. It helps me sustain my creativity. In Germany those who understand my art appreciate it and those who don’t say, ‘This must be an Indian art’,” he concludes, laughing.

RANA SIDDIQUI ZAMAN
Art Critic
The Hindu

  back to top | submit an essay | read other art essays

Copyright 2003-2009 © The Saatchi Gallery : London Contemporary Art Gallery : Site map