Art work on display at Bhanja Kala Mandap in Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, April 24: The legendary compilation of love poems based on Radha-Krishna romance, Gita Govinda, came alive on the canvas today at an art exhibition at Bhanja Kala Mandap. The exhibition was organised by the Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi to mark the birth anniversary of the iconic Odia poet Jayadev, who penned Gita Govinda.

An ensemble of early 19th century art works depicting the poetic reflections of Gita Govinda through colourful images were displayed at the exhibition.

Each painting had above it, a couplet from the poetry in Hindi and Odia, followed by an explanation in English. Below it was the artistic interpretation of the passage.

In one of the art work, two gopis (Radha’s friends) are seen discussing the pain of separation that their friend is suffering from.

In another work, one sees Radha imagining Krishna with another woman and getting decked up with ornaments to prove her beauty. Many other romantic images of the love struck couple of Radha and Krishna were displayed in the works.

All these paintings were created with patterns that are seen in ancient palm leaf works from Odisha.

“These works are from a collection of preserved paintings from Odisha at the National Museum in New Delhi. We thought there could be no better way of paying tribute to the celebrated poet Jayadev on his birth anniversary,” said Rabi Narayan Rath, secretary of the akademi.

Many young artists were drawn to the exhibition as it displayed a rare collection of traditional paintings.

“There is much to learn from these paintings, which seem to convey exactly what the thoughts of the poet wished to. Moreover, the beauty of these paintings is that the colours used are natural and still they look bright and fresh,” said Sabyasachi Mishra, a visitor.

Apart from this ancient collection, there were also paintings displayed on the theme of Jayadev and Geeta Govinda, created by young painters of the state.

“We had organised an art camp for the last two days and the works created there were also exhibited at this event. All the paintings were dedicated to poet Jayadev,” said Durga Prasad Das, eminent artist and president of the Akademi.