Anuradha Thakur, listed as one of the 100 women achievers of the country by the Ministry of women and child development (art and culture category) in 2016, started painting 22 years after she graduated from Arts College in Pune. Even though she graduated in Fine Art, abstract art – the only subject the college offered in 1982 – didn’t appeal to her. The artist from Ahmednagar in Maharashtra is in Hyderabad for a 10-day show titled Serene Ecstacy at Park Hyatt. She explains, “It is not that I dislike abstract art, I just couldn’t make myself work on abstracts. Instead, I started to work with NGOs on art projects for children and this, in turn, took me to various tribal hamlets of India and introduced me to a set of people, their lifestyle and customs that are not seen every day.”
One of her paintings titled ‘Ethnic Serendipity’ finds a place in the Prime Minister’s office. “It is a happy painting of a group of tribal people from Gujarat dancing,” she adds.
