My passion is still alive, says Lalitha Lajmi

It hasnt been too long a while since artist Lalitha Lajmi returned from hospital warned of a weakened heart But this hasnt stopped the 81yearold from heading to her studiocumgarage everyday to paint for her new show The Masque of Life In a candid chat with Hassan M Kamal Lajmi opens up about her passion and the people who unknowingly inspired the showThough age has weakened her bones artist Lalitha Lajmi seems more resilient and joyful than ever before ldquoThis is one of my biggest works in water colour that I have ever donerdquo says the artist adding ldquoIt was a longheld dream which is finally fulfilledrdquoldquoEvery now and then it comes to me that this might just be mylast show But I donrsquot want to stop The passion is still aliverdquoshe confirms Artist Lalitha Lajmi at her Lokhandwala residence in Andheri PicSatyajit DesaiLife on canvas But The Masque of Life is as much about about her passion as it is about her own life memories and the people who unknowingly inspired her works mdash itrsquos a culmination of her entire life She revisits some of the analogies that she discovered in the 1970s for example the masks and performers as well as people who influenced the artist while growing up So her works depict the grandmother who would take young Lalitha to her unclersquos Sridhar Benegal home in Calcutta every weekend via the tram the joker represents the performers in her family One also sees her exploring the relationship between mother and daughter and men and women An untitled work from Lalitha Lajmirsquos upcoming show The Masque of LifeAnd itrsquos no surprise that the show is opening in the same Jehangir Art Gallery where Lajmi made her debut as an artist in 1961 She says that each painting took her a lot of time because the thought process was very important and while these works might go back to a few old motifs therersquos a definite change in this series ldquoItrsquos very difficult to explain onersquos work and I feel the viewer should look at the work and form his her opinion about it But I think there is definite change in this series as compared to my earlier worksrdquo she sharesGreat comparisons Lajmirsquos works have often been compared to films made by her brother Guru Dutt largely because the melancholia that exists in Duttrsquos films could be seen in her works as well This perception is heightened here with the use of grey and Prussian blue colours giving the works a monochromatic effect of a BampW film But Lajmi says that there was never a direct relation between their works ldquoI donrsquot know what it is mdash it could be because of the way we were brought up since we both grew up in a very creative environment and our thinking as well as careers were influenced by our uncle and his works But yes people do point out that my paintings have the melancholia that exists in his works But itrsquos not intentional and itrsquos not autobiographical either It simply comes out like thatrdquoInspire influence She adds further saying that itrsquos hard to zero in on one particular source as an influence especially since many things can affect onersquos creative process ldquoI think everything in onersquos life makes up for your work Itrsquos not just seeing or reading or watching films you have to observe every thing in your life Any kind of creative work is a very serious profession and offers a serious outlook on the creatorsrsquo life But more than the life what really matters is the expressionrdquo she signs offOn From January 15 to 21 At Jehangir Art Gallery Kala Ghoda Call 22843989