A painter creates an image of Lord Jagannath at an art camp in Puri. Picture by Sarat Patra

Bhubaneswar, June 21: Painters from across the state assembled at a three-day camp in Puri to wish speedy recovery to the ailing deities of Jagannath temple through their art.

The art camp that concluded on Thursday was held at the Youth Hostel in Puri. It was organised by Creative Artists’ Group of Cuttack and Suvadra Art Gallery of Bhubaneswar.

Expressing their devotion and love for Lord Jagannath, the 20 participating artists created images on the theme Mo Manara Jagannath meaning the Jagannath in my heart. While Pratibha Das outlined an image of the deity’s charisma in the shades of black and blue that have been used to describe Jagannath in ancient scriptures, Fakir Mallick visualised legends and anecdotes associated with the Lord. The tales of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Bhakta Salabega, counted among the most revered devotees, were also depicted with brush strokes on the canvas at the camp.

“The Lord is out of sight now as he is unwell and being treated secretly. The devotees are bereft of his darshan as the patti dian or the representative paintings of the Lord are being worshipped in the sanctum. Hence, we tried to delve into our hearts and portray the images of Jagannath that come to our minds,” said Sashikant Rout, one of the participating veteran artists.

“We hope the deities get well soon. Our paintings are our way of saying ‘get well soon’ to the deities,” said Prabodh Kumar Sahoo, another painter.

The paintings made by the artists during the three days were exhibited on the last day at the Youth Hostel. They will be displayed at the Sarada Bali near the Gundicha temple throughout the nine days between rath yatra and bahuda, said organiser Rabi Rath.

“Devotees who wish to collect them may buy them there. If the proceedings lead to a good amount we are all planning to contribute them to the temple funds. Or we may request the temple administration to accept the remaining paintings as our token of love,” said Rath.