Mumbai: Chintan Upadhyay in Thane Jail is set to auction his paintings

Artist Chintan Upadhyay innocent until proven guilty and incarcerated in Thane Central Jail since December 2015 for allegedly conspiring the murder of his estranged wife Hema Upadhyay and her lawyer Harsh Bhambani is set to exhibit and auction about 100 of his paintings during Diwali this yearThe money collected will be used for the prison welfare fund A senior prison officer told midday that Upadhyays paintings are in demand and the auction will help garner necessary funds for the welfare of inmates In December 2017 one of Upadhyays paintings was picked up by film producer Kiran Rao for 45 lakh during an exhibition held at a BKC schoolAlso ReadTrained by Chintan Upadhyay 9 inmates to exhibit their works for the first time at Breach CandyChintan Upadhyay who has been in jail since 2015 wears innocence on his tee in this self portraitHe has invested his own hardearned money in making these paintings the official said about the Delhibased artist who in a promising career had shown works across the world and was a recipient of the Charles Wallace Foundation AwardThe case so farHema and Chintan Upadhyay were fighting a bitter divorce for five years from 20102015 and a related case over a property dispute On December 11 2015 Hema and Bhambani were found dead in a drain in Kandivli Four peoplemdashPradeep Rajbhar Shivkumar Rajbhar Vijay Rajbhar and Azad Rajbharmdashwere arrested while their leader Vidyadhar Rajbhar a smalltime fabricator who worked with several artists including both Hema and Chintan is still abscondingAlso ReadHema Upadhyay murder Chintan wants judge to visit crime sceneUpadhyays painting titled Freedom featuring a jailed zebra hangs at the office in Byculla prison PicBipin KokatePradeep Rajbhar had confessed that he had met Chintan in Chembur three evenings before the murders to plot the murder But he later retracted the statement alleging that he was pressurised by the police It was alleged that Upadhyay had commissioned the murders since he knew Vidyadhar and Hema was lured to the site of the crime a warehouse with the promise of information that would prove embarassing to UpadhyaySince then several bail pleas have been declined most recently by the Supreme Court in February 2019 Over the last three years Upadhyay has held a few exhibitions of the works he created in jail One of his paintings Freedom of a jailed zebra with a bleeding hoof currently hangs in a meeting room in the administrative office of Byculla jail His upcoming Diwali exhibition includes several paintings that use allegorical references to talk about current affairsCrossing The Border shows a Rohingya couple with a baby crossing a river in one half and in the other half uses the same shades to create an abstract In the artists note he says Violence is not only physical but abstract too with the fear of unknown Another work Dangerous Play shows a babirusa pig deer encircled by a pack of dogs a reference to mob lynching About this Upadhyay says This painting is about the growing sense of fear and powerArt for allMeanwhile the state prison has written a letter to the Maharashtra government with the request of adding art and fine art to the jail manual so that raw materials can be provided to the inmates without any NGO interventionWe have written to the government to include art and fine art as activities to be taken along with the existing ones for the purpose of correction and rehabilitation said Deepak Pandey inspectorgeneral prisons Maharashtra Once the government gives its nod this will be taken up at all 60 jails across Maharashtra The works will be evaluated by a committee comprising the regional DIG and the concerned superintendent of the jail Eventually we hope to hold the exhibition annually in Mumbai and PuneAlso ReadHema UpadhyayHarish Bhambhani murder Chintan Upadhyay files discharge applicationUntil now the state prison department had to collaborate with nonprofits whod fund the raw materials for inmates who wished to take up painting and sculpture The inmates are paid for any work assigned to them in the prison Pandey said that it is a lengthy procedure from evaluation of an inmates work to paying himher If art and fine art are included in the jail manual we will have a free hand in evaluating and exhibiting their work he saidPaintings made by the artist over the last few years which will be a part of the upcoming Diwali exhibition and auctionMumbai artist Bose Krishnamachari a friend of Upadhyays and someone who has worked with inmates at Delhis Tihar jail said Art practices at jails give the inmates a great opportunity to enjoy relatively relaxing moments Aesthetic awareness and creative practice will make them better human beings Ultimately we are all striving for a better and peaceful world and art healsA marketplace for allMaharashtra is also set to start a jail corporation which will help state prisons sell the products made by the inmates The prison department is zeroingin on locations to open brickandmortar shops The officer added these showrooms will sell furniture handicrafts and food items and will also be available on ecommerce sitesAccording to jail officials the prison industry in Maharashtra is the largest in the country and is situated across 10 districts Thane Nagpur Yerawada Nashik Kolhapur Solapur Amravati Dhule Sangli and Satara More than 2100 convicts work nine hours a day Female convicts specialise in paper jewellery incense sticks zari work and stitchingSeveral convicts also contribute in industries such as Kolhapurs iron foundry and leading footwear companies About 120130 kg of bread is sent daily to Thane Mental Hospital for patients and staff baked by Thane jail inmates A jail official said In 2017 during a Diwali exhibition we raked in 1 lakh a day by selling sarees bedsheets pillow covers jewellery and baked products The revenue of the prison industry in Maharashtra has been increasing each year It was 27crore in 201718Rs 45 lakhThe sale price of a Chintan Upadhyay painting in 2015Catch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates