Peeping into a master artist's mind

G. R. Santosh’s subtle semi-abstract treatment of superb snow-clad houses and the bewildering backwaters on the beautiful banks of river Jhelum revealed his precise visual perception. Although starting out with landscapes, he gradually switched to cubism and sort of cubist landscapes.

Though influenced by the style, one could still sense the inherent emotional attachment he had for his state and its haunting, albeit inspiring past, resulting in a refreshing human touch to his work. The scenic and socially fragile, picturesque yet strife-torn Kashmir valley harbored a latent streak of mysticism wherein Buddhist and Hindu tantric cults coexisted along with serene Sufi mysticism.

Such diverse influences shaped his creative faculties over time. The intertwined philosophies proved to be a significant influence on his development as an artist. He was deeply moved in particular, by a visit to the holy Amarnath caves in the mid 1960’s. The artist even took a break from painting to research the traits of Kashmir Shaivism (a sect of Shiva followers) and Tantra (mysticism). Inspired by the twin philosophies, he combined the masculine male and fabulous female features to create fascinating near-abstract forms, subtly infused with both sexual and spiritual energies.

Driven by a deep rooted and enigmatic esoteric worldview, which hinged on the primordial Purusha-Prakriti concept of cosmic creation, his oeuvre – soaked in the simultaneously soothing and teeming thought of tantra – came to be known as the Neo-Tantric school or form of painting.

In his wonderful work, the peculiar pictorial elements - mostly ubiquitous geometrical shapes like a circle, a straight line, a triangle, a plain pentagon or simply a six pointed star and polygon – suggested a deeper synergy and confluence of energy. A superb colorist, G. R. Santosh infused his compositions with intricate patterns done in watercolor, oil and later acrylic – mostly in translucent shades like red, black & white.