Art for a healthy rural India

Show your humane side and head to a special art auction by the Rotary Club of Shivaji Park, this Sunday. Its proceeds will go towards funding the Hospital on Wheels project that hopes to make rural India healthier with better facilities and equipment

Art for a healthy rural India

In a heartwarming gesture where art meets a cause,u00a0fifty four artists have come together and donated their works for an art auction to raise funds and help a large number of people get medical aid instantly in rural India, through a project envisioned by the Rotary Club of Shivaji Park.

An artwork by artist Raj More

The idea behind the project, titled Hospital on Wheels is to have a convoy of vehicles with diagnostic equipments and operating tools manned by qualified doctors, nurses, technicians, and ward boys that can go to all the primary health care centers in smaller towns and rural areas and convert them to functional hospitals for a duration of three to six days.

During this period, doctors will conduct all surgeries and procedures (like ophthalmic surgery, minor access surgery, etc) possible with the equipment present, thereby making health care more accessible to those living in these areas.

All for a cause

“All Rotary Clubs hold medical camps, but we wanted something more organised and systematic that can help people a greater deal. Hence, we came up with the idea of a hospital on wheels. Raising funds through an art auction seemed like a different thing to do and something that would start this initiative on a high note,” explains Satish Hattiangadi, President, Rotary Club of Mumbai, Shivaji Park. The project will aim at covering Maharashtra, starting with places such as Wada and Jawhar in Thane district, and moving on to the rest of the state.

A painting donated by artist Brinda Miller for the auction

Works by leading artists such as Brinda Miller, Ajay De, Seema Kohli, Sunil Padwal, Yashwant Deshmukh, Shijo Jacob and many other names will be up for grabs.

“The eclectic selection while showcasing prevalent trends in contemporary Indian art is truly the artists’ compassionate response to a cause and the inspired efforts of the Rotary Club of Mumbai, Shivaji Park. Most artists in this auction are well established and command impressive prices. Undoubtedly, their works feature in major collections. Despite knowing how art is stretched today on a precious frame measured on a scale and valued on a grid, they have magnanimously responded to the cause,” maintains Niyatee Shinde, the curator of the collection that will be on display.

Shinde adds that every genre is present in this collection — from pure conceptual abstract to the charmingly realistic, thereby offering the bidders the unique opportunity to collect whatever they respond too. “Another very critical feature of this collection is the pricing. All works are priced not just reasonably but also affordably so that the precincts of the auction allow for a concerted rise in the bidding process. This would ultimately collect more into the coffers of the Hospital on Wheels fund,” she shares.