Visitors' comments

With the material progress of the society, social and economic disparity is also growing. Rift between ‘have-s’ and ‘have-nots’ is increasing. This is a depiction of such phenomena. People live under known or unknown fear everywhere. This is not just an exhibition of paintings, this is a revelation. – Pramod Gujrathi

All the paintings in the exhibition are very eloquent. I had a wordless dialogue with them, enjoyed it and sometimes it had a sting too. I don’t know much about colours but I liked all the paintings. As each painting has human values behind it, this can be called an exhibition of humanism too. – Ramesh Vyavahare

I feel stunned, and shudder after seeing this exhibition. This exhibition shows that the gap between two sections of the society is increasing. Man is exploiting man. Your paintings tell us that it is so not only here in India but all over the world. This exhibition is a statement of our exploitation, our agonies. We expect answers after this, we expect solutions, liberation, revolutionary outbursts. Your project is very emotional, thoughtful, artistic, challenging and related to Picasso’s revolutionary movement. It is very heartening and gives rise to hope about aware artists in the society. - P

This was an informal session of education on how to see the paintings – as the booklet came in handy – when it was difficult to understand the paintings. Until today I saw only rivers, jungles, flowers, a house in a village as subjects of paintings. Therefore it needed a bit of an effort to see this exhibition.
Whatever great talk of economic progress, the foundations on which this progress is based upon is always the exploited, ignorant, illiterate labour class. The stability and security of the upper class are dependent upon this class staying at the bottom. The social structure is complementary to this arrangement. – Sachin Sonawane

Until today I was under the impression that I do not understand anything about paintings. But I saw your paintings today. They talk to me. They talk about human suffocation, human helplessness. You have excellent work on international issues. You have also shown the true colours of those who claim to speak on behalf of the poor. Any age, any circumstance your paintings talk on behalf of the exploited, the marginalised. You give voice to their agonies. Today the world is heading fast towards destruction. Your paintings protest against this. At the same time you take side of the most oppressed of the social group – women.
The paintings really attempt to awaken the human instincts in a hedonist, faceless civilisation. Many many thanks for this endeavour. - SM

It is very difficult and a bit audacious too to make a general statement on such an exceptional exhibition after viewing so many meaningful and rich paintings. Still, all the paintings speak of a disciplined approach, a social commitment. The vivid manifestation of the struggle of common man to make a living in the face of monstrous forces is benumbing and thought-provoking.
Very artistic paintings and yet they protest very effectively against ‘art-ism’. Sheer originality in colour combinations and presentation of most of the paintings…. Original, yet close to people’s emotions, rich in content and eloquent.
The booklet describing the paintings is very useful. It makes unfamiliar environment in some of the paintings quite familiar. Simply great. – Nishikant Thakar

In this age and culture of blatant consumerism, insensitivity and extreme self-centeredness someone comes up and uses freedom of expression so exquisitely. His paintings tell the essence of so many scriptures. Let not the effort of this extremely talented man go waste, let not the society be so thick-skinned and hardened as usual to ignore him.
Let us respect the fact that this Mahadev digested the hemlock of human atrocities and is offering us this distilled wisdom in an encapsulated form as a gift… Ye people, look inside, treat his messages with due reverence….
It is man who turns into monster and defames humanity…but even against the tides of evil good always prevailed..
Purandare, you are sharp, sentimental…may you live a hundred years…may you taste the sweetness in life too…your art is for the sake of life…not for hedonism…best regards. - Milind Pawar

Never in my long life have I been so deeply disturbed by the stark reality! These paintings have caused me so much pain – I suppose this is ‘Real ART’. Thank you. God bless you. - Shakuntala Patade

I feel an intangible uneasiness on seeing the exhibition. Normally we get to know about the misery in the world only through newspapers or TV… A whole life, a whole meal can turn bitter seeing such experiences… On witnessing agonies consuming people in your art I was reminded of G A Kulkarni’s stories.
As to the paintings – very proper colours and symbolism are superb. - Sandeep Gogate

Expression of discontent! That is really all art is supposed to be doing! Thank you for keeping discontent alive! – SV

Looking beyond oneself, seeing through the society…what ails the society ails us too but mostly people ignore this gnawing feeling. You select precisely that as the subject of your paintings. This makes you a bigger man…a very effective style of painting. – Anil Yadnyopaveet

It is definitely an exhibition which produces a deep dissatisfaction with the state of human society. The artist has a superb imagination and the ability to portray it in paintings. - Uday Chouhan

Content, emotion in the painting are very effective. We can not avoid reality around us just by saying it is ‘good’ or ‘bad’.
These paintings are not just a visual experience, they compel you to think. - Mahananda

Paintings have social content. This is a rare phenomenon. Hero of the paintings is the marginalised human and the environment.
My salute to the ability to capture and portray the soul of the marginalised! – Suresh Tilekar

We read about pain, see it on TV – it felt like experiencing it first hand on seeing this exhibition. I feel desolate. This is the success of the artist. Thought-provoking exhibition. – Savani Gajendragadkar

This is the first time I have seen such an art exhibition depicting social issues. I am amazed at the thought behind these issues which can be communicated through art! The artist, I must say, seems to be very conscious and knowledgeable about social issues and he has a mind blowing way of making the viewers feel his thoughts as well as make the viewers think ardently about these issues. – S Kulkarni

Until now, to me, painting was a medium supposed to express beauty, joy and mostly pleasant feelings. But with this exhibition, after a very long time, I found that paintings express very deep thought. I was quite disturbed while viewing the paintings, when I understood the background behind them.
The paintings are very strong, very real, par excellence! Another thing I liked is – they not only convey thoughts but are full of aesthetic values.
The idea of providing a text to explain their background, analysis and comments of other viewers on them is superb. Not many exhibitions have this facility.
I liked ‘the solitary reaper’ the best, ‘off to work’, ‘[man], swan and a machine’ are some others I liked too.
Thank you very much for this experience! – Ketaki Thatte

I feel ashamed of my material well-being on seeing this exhibition. - Swati Surangalikar

Thought behind ‘not-so-‘beautiful’ paintings is beautiful indeed! Creative urge to make this world better, and people who have this urge make the world worth living. We should make it more meaningful. - Amaranath

Here, there or beyond, there is some discrepancy on a question. It gnaws us. You show it through paintings. Congratualtions. – Nandu Pol

Purandare Sir, meaning of the paintings and the background were very clear because of the booklet you have provided. Paintings are superb. I am an art student and feel inspired by your work. Now I feel very enthusiastic about painting. Thank you, Sir! - Devashri Jahagirdar

You have opted for ‘art for the sake of life’. You show the real life very ruthlessly and pave your own path - I like this approach. Nobody is neutral. Everybody takes some side. You have taken our side. You are ours. You are an artist for the exploited.
Hail Bhim, Red salute. – D Rajan, Kabeer Kala Manch

The protest, being rebel is the main motive! The colour-scheme and the portrayal are very interesting. The comments, the statements rather, are very strong. They provoke a mind…to think …and to act…at least not to be dumb!
Continue rebelling! Regards – Artist Sanjay Kulkarni

Concept of collective misery is still unknown to us. We keep on caressing our own individual aches and pains or comment on others’ miseries, sigh too once in a while. But it is really admirable to convey misery of one group of people to some other group of people – and that too through the medium of paintings!
Some of the paintings are very touching – America in Statue of Liberty painting or the painting – ‘conversation’. On the backdrop of endless sea, it can only be a dog who can be the closest friend – can’t imagine any other animal or even a human-being there. Sincere thanks for showing this work in Pune – Neeta Shaha

This is a marvelous presentation of an altogether different type of art. The booklet you have provided is very necessary to understand the paintings properly. The booklet tells us your thought-process behind the painting. A lot of paintings convey very rich meaning. E.g. ‘hospital’, ‘prison’, ‘the second exodus’, ‘[man], swan and a machine’, ‘fortress europe’, ‘11th Sept’, ‘Big Ben’, ‘humiliation’, ‘all we have doing is to create walls’…
Though I do not understand anything about painting, your paintings made me think. My heartiest best wishes to you in this venture. – Amod Panse

To translate imagination into tangible form is a great feat of Purandare’s knowledge. I feel this is a god-given natural talent- that he can paint so authentically about the issues in various lands without visiting the sites of the events - this is sheer magic. It is in order that his art is appreciated. I pray to god - may his natural talent flourish by the day. – G N Barve

This is the first impression on seeing the paintings just once –
1. Straight, unadulterated, raw impact of the paintings
2. The referential point of many paintings is outside the referential frame of the viewer. And the connection is metaphorical, therefore it gives rise to sharp political satire.
3. The whole presentation is unpretentious. Plus it has an urgency about it, that too with forceful simplicity.
These are the positive aspects. More viewings will show more aspects.
Other points –
Though you have selected ‘painting’, a visual medium, the topics, the content are on the boundary of language-visual. Probably the experience of the paintings can also be decoded straight into words. This gives rise to a question if visual medium needs to be just visual and whether its ability to transcend the logic of words is lost in some of the paintings. Is it possible that content of the painting can be so one-to-one? Even allowing for the political motivation, position and urgency for evoking response behind the painting, these doubts linger. I’d like to know your reaction on these.
- Vaibhav Asnave
This is a text-image combination. At times I resort to both the media to deliver the message unambiguously. I have no compunctions for the sanctity of ‘visual-for-the sake-of visual’ – C K Purandare

I liked the colour combinations, meaning of paintings. It makes one restless. It would not have been possible to get to see depiction of global inquality, misery, poverty. Congratulations to Purandare for this novel form of art.
- Kamalakar Deshpande

The paintings make everyone think. Heartiest congratulations to the artist. - Reshma Barve

Each painting awakens some memory from the past or the present. - G

Each painting is grounded in reality. That makes one aware of the truth behind events. - R G Bhosale

As the paintings have past and present events in the world as the background, they are very appealing. - PDP

A good exhibition after a long time. I liked ‘the drop-outs’ and the ‘Big Ben’. Though eye goes out of the picture for ‘drop-outs’. Many paintings have influence of expressionism. - Mahesh Nirantare

I like all the pictures in this exhibition. They tell us the reality in the world. I liked the Iraq paintings the best. – Poonam Jagtap

All the paintings are beautiful. Each tells us about different events, feelings. Each painting has a different background, particularly pain, despair in human life. – Saujanya Jadhav

Excellent art work. Esp. ‘solitary reaper’, ‘captive freedom’, ‘transience’ and ‘conversation’. – Manjiri

New subjects of paintings – based in reality, arising out of reality – that is why they appeal more. – Shyamala Kulkarni

Simply great! Expressive and touching. Good titles – creating walls is so common, and even when we demolish them…the rubble us used to build new ones. - M

I like ‘Nandigram’ the best. This situation prevails in the whole of India. Such conflicts can arise every where more frequently. Common man/peasant has to rise up and protest. Beautiful exhibition, thank you. – Suresh Godbole

The presentation is impressive, topics like ‘prison’ are fantastic. - Niranjan Bhome

Paintings are authentic with respect to the subjects chosen. - PG

It is difficult to give a reaction in words to what all you say in pictorial language. But the portrayal of inequality, inhuman tendencies, exploitation – all this definitely touched my inner being. – Bharat Navale

I have no eye for paintings, therefore the booklet you have given really helped in understanding the paintings. I liked ‘walls’ the best. - Prasad Phatak

All the paintings are potent with meaning. Viewer also needs to be that sensitive to understand the meaning. The ancient words – ‘ha hant hant…[man], swan and a machine’ ring true even today in the age of environmentalism.
Teachers of English literature should use your painting while teaching Wordsworth’s ‘Solitary Reaper’ to students!
You have shown the common man’s indifference to social misery, pain, injustice.
Please continue in you venture and hope human rights get due respect in the world soon enough.- Gangadhar Ramchandra Kelkar

The theme of the exhibition is global humanism. That is why the paintings touch everybody. They make us think on an emotional level. - Vijay Ranavare

An altogether different subject. It really is a moving experience. - Mangal Tapadia

Very beautiful paintings. Each has a solid theme. Some paintings are difficult to understand but overall it is very good. – Kumar Deshpande

You are making a valiant effort of documenting all the burning issues in the world. We really feel the urgency of the problems. This is really what society expects from an artist. Congratulations. – Nandakumar Pisal

Beautiful paintings, they talk to us, tell us about reality. Great handling of social issues through painting. All the best to the artist for this future. - Abhijit Galange

Colour-scheme and the continuous undercurrent in the paintings touch the heart. The depiction of the victims of injustice is very touching. We expect you continue to create such work. – Girish Tajve

Without a single word these paintings say a lot. Very beautiful and very different paintings. Lovely colours too. – Parikrama Shaha

The paintings being symbolic I liked the issues treated.
The ones I really liked are ‘death in a village’ and most particularly ‘one day all masks will desert you’. Thank you soo much. - Rashmi Ghule

You have the skill of showing human emotions through painting. Each painting makes one think about the event it depicts. – R

Painting or emotion? Excellent handling of issues through painting. ‘All we have been doing is to create walls’ is my most favourite piece. – Amit

I read about Purandare’s exhibition in newspapers and was curious. Each painting says something. Style of painting, composition, colour combinations are very good. Like the subjects of the paintings particularly Big Ben. Lay-out of the exhbition is quite well-done. All the best for the future painting career. - Vivek Naralkar

Paintings are so effective that there is no need for words. Best thing I liked is paintings do not have frames. – Prasanna Dhandarphale

I am too young to give a reaction to the paintings. But your paintings have definitely helped me to form reactions. Your paintings are so different from usual paintings, yet they are very close. Same feelings have come to visit a-new. – Y

Your painting has the power to transform the innermost feelings of everybody to canvas. Explicit statements in the paintings touch the bottom of the heart. I really liked all the pictures. Just a suggestion – if each painting were framed, it might have looked better. – Sanjay Rokade

I like the total approach of holding this exhibition in such an interactive way. I don’t remember this approach in any other exhibition in India before. The very concept of bringing social issues on paper in painting form is great. - Chaitanya Kulkarni

I felt good on seeing your work. I learnt a lot from each picture – the thought and how it has been created. All the best for future career. – J

I do not know enough to give a reaction but I liked these paintings. Best wishes for future. – A

Themes of the paintings unerringly come straight to the point and make the viewer empathise. This is a unique experience, and more than that it makes you look inward and think on many problems of the society. – Sanjeev Kende

Human values, naturalness, empathy and protest…all this from an intellectual perspective…this is priceless. Very eloquent paintings. They comment so harshly on the present. You are a genius. – Arvind

All the paintings have very important themes. I liked them all. - Sanket

All the paintings are eloquent but can not speak. One doesn’t lose oneself while viewing them but I am seeing this type of work for the first time. Each painting is worth a million. A million salutes to the artist. – S M Kulkarni

Correct depiction of social issues. – Amod Pataskar

Great use of colours befitting the themes. – RBK

Each painting has so much thought and sensibility behind it. - Mrs Pradnya Karandikar

First of its kind experience…it moved me. – Rutu Gole

Thought-provoking paintings. – SV Honap

Very beautiful paintings. Great use of shades of colours. – Shashank Limaye

I am no expert regarding art but space and colours have been used very well. And more than that, I like the journey of a sensitive mind across global problems. – Neeta

It must be years that I saw a meaningful exhibition. The depiction, the concepts, pain and reality touch the heart. Skill and colour composition are very well done. Your awareness about reality and human values is obvious. Congratulations. Keep it up. – Sunil Gajendragadkar

Congratulations on an adventurous experiment. - Ram Bapat

I like the concern about pain and misery. Very fresh colours. The message come across straight with minimal details. - Vandana Bhagwat

Most of the paintings show ground reality, poverty, exploitation, aftermaths of war very forcefully and effectively. - Jayant Vaidya

I liked the ‘Big Ben’ the most. These days most of us are in the same predicament. We imprison ourselves behind our own artificial walls, we need to be free. Each picture says something. They all certainly tell us more about the reality. I only wish – there were more pictures! – Prasad

Paintings are not only beautiful but meaningful. A quest for real human-being against the global background is apparent. Added to that the pain of being an Indian. Because India is still not free of violence, superstition, mental slavery. Man is insignificant compared to nature but has created a huge empire. There are lacunae in this empire but these can be corrected – I see this optimism in the paintings. – Bhaskar Khemkar

Thank you for showing us all the human tendencies – consumerism, injustice, beastliness – not only in India but from all over the world. We read about it all the time but paintings convey them more forcefully.
This is social work by Mr Purandare who has not succumbed to own narrow interests. May he continue this work with the same vigour in future. - Artist Mahesh Bhasekar

Congratulations and thank you for showing social problems through paintings. Hope you arrange such exhibitions often. - Pallavi Mali

I like the style - it combines the unique perspective of looking at social issues of various societal strata and a very effective way to present the pain through paintings. I like Purandare’s efforts in making the paintings understandable and within reach of the common viewer. – Suhasini Joshi

You have done great portrayal of collective misery. Title of each painting speaks so much. The most unique thing I have ever seen is that use of day-to-day phrases for explaining such different style of pictures. It really helps us to understand in a better way. - Smrutee Sathaye

I had never seen such paintings before. All have been cute landscapes or beautiful women so far. You have handled many different subjects in the paintings. I sense an undercurrent of pathos. Paintings can be understood without the booklet too. But it helps to know the artist’s way of looking at each social problem. I liked the exhibition very much. Jayanti Gogate

It is impossible to comment on your work in a few words. But briefly, may there be social balance, natural balance, humanism – for ever and everywhere. Many best wishes. And thank you so much. – Sunil Borade

A lot of social problems and contemporary global events have been addressed through painting. Some paintings have specific context. [e.g English poems, proverbs, sanskrit couplets, etc.] Then the booklet explaining the pictures comes handy. It makes us understand the artist’s idea behind it and we appreciate the painting more.
Paintings are excellent. They show us the problems that are far-off very effectively. Congratulations to the artist and All the Best. – V Ranade

Lovely paintings. I like the one with a man who is sliding down. I always go to many exhibitions but I like this one. – VSS

Colours in paintings keep you spell-bound. Besides, the heart-rending themes disturb you profoundly. This is real social work. Congratulations. - Dr Vilas Ambike

Each painting expresses some emotion. I had never seen such paintings. Each painting teaches you something. Purandare is ahead of his times in painting beautifully on these topics. Hearty congratulations and all the best for future career. – Sindhu Sarode

I saw the exhibition, I liked it. It is excellent. I followed the thought behind it. I am glad that I saw a superb display. – A

Great paintings. Some of them make you think. – Alka Khade

Very laudable position – language of paintings and language to explain the paintings. Your effort to make the paintings reach everybody, develop the viewers’ eye for a painting is very welcome. – Artist Arati Bagade

Hi! It is intriguing to see the same person produce ‘The Solitary Reaper’ and ‘Transience’ and something like ‘foundations’.
The show also raises the questions about should and if it should why fine art should encroach on the realm of the political domain. I appreciate your effort in explaining everything through pamphlets and symbolisms but isn’t mystery an essential component of art?
Also I am curious to know how you manage to make such fiery anti-establishment political commentary while being an immigrant yourself in the West. – P

Excellent exhibition. Each painting makes you shudder. It is very difficult to depict human values while living abroad. But it is equally important too. That is why I felt compelled to see the exhibition again and again. I felt very good that our own people though abroad analyse the human mind. - V D Joshi

The political context of the paintings is very important. For any betterment of the world, all art media should analyse and interpret politics. Your paintings do this job very effectively. I do not understand much of the technical aspects of art but can make out they are excellent painting. I like their rich content. – Anjali Mule

Excellent paintings. I really loved them. Very realistic. I liked the language of ‘spot the beast’, ‘all masks will desert you’, ‘the flock’, ‘captive freedom’. Congratulations. – Sucheta Kulkarni

All your paintings are wonderful. More important, they are inspiring. Everybody should see them, then they will be inspired too. – Sandeep Vaghchavare

I liked ‘spot the beast’ the most – both the title and the painting. - Anagha Shrikhande

Wonderful paintings. The ones I liked at the first glance are – ‘the drop-outs’ and ‘the solitary reaper’ – Alone she cuts and binds the grain…I could immediately visualise this lyrical picture.
‘ the flock’ shows loss of individuality through the intermingling brush-strokes.
There is a lot to talk about ‘Iraq’ paintings. Nice! – Vijay Karekar

This is the first and unique exhibition I have seen in my life. Artist Purandare Sir has given a deep thought to human emotions and contemporary situation. It is admirable that he is using the exhibition as a medium to reach out to people. Particularly the painting – ‘the solitary reaper’ throws much light on life. – Amit Bore

It felt good to see art on social issues. The content of the paintings is beautiful. They express what artist has in mind very well. I am seeing such paintings for the first time. – Divyani Jadhav

When we study the evolution of human society, I find that, how man treats his fellow-beings has been changing in each age. When we see where man has reached today, we find he has reached to the stage of ultimate annihilation. I think man has to consider society too, and not only think of oneself.
You take the side of the marginalised of the society, who have been treated as sub-human. You express this through your art. You represent the exploited, the down-trodden.
Your paintings delve into the mind of man and show the reality of human reality in the world. That is why you and artists like you are becoming the solid voice of the people here. Your attempt at your level is definitely admirable. I hope you continue to reach out to people conveying them these feelings. I also hope that you continue your valuable contribution in raising your voice against the establishment, on behalf of people. - Sagar Gorakhe, Kabeer Kala Manch

Daily living tells us how one person exploits the other by creating divisions of caste, religion, creed, language, race, clan…and how indifferently we tolerate this exploitation. After a while, though, mind boils within, seethes with rage within and then people demand change. You have presented all this turmoil very effectively through your work.
Please see if you could simplify your art a bit without sacrificing the art-content, so that it reaches the lower class too and is not confined to middle class.
You have done a marvelous job of revealing the world to us. - Bapu Patil, Chhatra Bharati Vidyarthi Sanghatana

All paintings give different messages. I like the one with fish very much. – A

Paintings are fantastic, I liked especially ‘gossip’ and ‘conversation’. It is worth praising, I feel, it is better to have conversation with your pets than your friends, sometimes. – CA

All the paintings are very beautiful. Content of the paintings is authentic. Response is difficult to describe in words. – K

You have shown the truth through your paintings. I like your honesty. – A

I am an ignoramus about painting. I liked some paintings immediately. – AG

It is a good idea to explain the concept of a painting. Lovely exhibition. – V G

Paintings are very touching and relevant. – P

I feel most of the paintings speak for themselves. We don’t need any information booklet. – S

I like this exhibition because of its uniqueness as it explains every picture. – AW

The absurdity of life is apparent through the paintings. – RGP

All paintings are beautiful. ‘Sept 11’ has tremendous depth. – AA

Each of your painting speaks. Like it gives a message to an individual and the society. E.g. ‘Street Children – Let them in’. I liked this painting very much because I felt I understood the subject immediately.
‘ Prison’ – this is very heart-rending piece. The feeling in the painting is very sharp. The way you have shown the hands coming out of the bars…it tells about the subject of the painting very well. As if they are demanding something knowing they are never going to get it. That is a very disturbing piece. - SB

‘Needs, not wants’ is excellent! Very eloquent. A genuine reflection of life. Needs are always there, can not be avoided. The very subject of the painting is so rich.
My salute to the artist, with best wishes. – V M Bhandari

All paintings are wonderful and they express the misery of the exploited, of the marginalised. ‘fortress europe’ is wonderful. – Avinash Gupte

Very very realistic pictures. – P

Thought-provoking. Seldom do we get to see such exhibitions. – Jagdish Mangaonkar

I liked ‘Russia – Gods that failed’. All the paintings are realistic and making you look inwards. Despite phenomenal material advances we still have scarcity of basic needs – like food, clothing, shelter, education, electricity, water, health-care due to terrorism, religious bigotry, violence, hunger, poverty. Many can not meet their basic needs despite so much progress. Paintings make you consider why socialism, communism failed too.
Paintings convey the sincerity, social commitment, urge of the artist’s sensitive mind. Heartiest congratulations to the artist. – S D Pataskar

I do not know how to write my comment. All the paintings are excellent. - Ketaki

Both the paintings and their subject are very unusual. They make a great impact on the mind. How difficult living is for some people in the world. I felt the themes of all the paintings to be different, poignant and true. – Dhanashri

I liked all the paintings as also the provision of the booklet to understand them. - PGG

All the paintings make a deep indent on mind. Pain, misery, emotions arising out of a particular situation…you have shown it all very aptly. That is why all the paintings are very effective. You have succeeded in expressing the expectation of humanism. I hope the society takes it seriously. – Amit Bholse

Sir, I really like your thinking and your way of presenting it through pictures. But can I ask you a question? I have to ask you this - You are basically Indian and started painting in 2001. You are settled in a foreign country. You seem to have been influenced by the regimes in Russia, America going by the paintings in the exhibition. And you have created pictures under that influence. It is necessary that you put forth this side of the picture. But, Sir, in India too atrocities against lower castes take place, education is being commercialised – can I request you to state these problems through your paintings? – V G Shinde
It is only this exhibition – 40-odd paintings that you have seen. My last exhibition here had my paintings precisely on these topics. If you look up my web-site you can find many paintings on the Indian situation. – Purandare

Sir, after many years I have been able to visit an exhibition more by accident than by design. Long ago, I was very much interested in drawing and painting. After finishing school I wanted to join Abhinav Art College in Pune for further education. But I could not make it to Pune…. Then I got into business…then everything changed …the mind-set…the behaviour patterns…and the wishes remained just that.
And today, all of a sudden we came to Pune for childrens’ education and visited your exhibition coincidentally…I feel immensely overwhelmed, my heart is full of emotions…the past returned…I’ll never forget this day, this moment…Thank you. - Kishor Shaha

In the middle of the exhibition I had tears in my eyes and was all choked up. All these issues have been portrayed so honestly. I think a picture is definitely worth more than a thousand words. The impact stays etched on one’s mind. – Rashmi Gajare

Your paintings present the lethal reality effortlessly. Very naturally they keep the viewer engaged. They are very strong. Thank you. - Ravi Kulkarni

A politically illiterate person like me too appreciated this exhibition. That is because of the artist’s skill in composition, the way he uses the colours and his thought-process. – Vasant Krishnaji Navathe

I could not view the pictures and read the background at the same time. But the paintings speak to me and as they are contemporary, not very difficult to understand too. From what exhibitions I see, the quality of paintings is better. I am not sure though if they go beyond a sentimental response to the present situation. – K

Congratulations, first of all!!
The entire theme of the exhibition is quite unusual. And the number of comments are available in the booklet. Each painting is rich in content and quite different form the run of the mill paintings. Each picture has a very apt title too.
Congratulations, again! – C

I liked it. Paintings are very eloquent. And the booklet provides excellent information about the topics not known to us.
We live in a very small frame of existence and your paintings put the world, the entire society within a frame.
You have handled topics beyond ordinary imagination but we should also be aware of the burning issues out there. I can not write much about colour combinations, etc. as I do not know much about it but I understood the paintings, I liked them. Thank you. – Pallavi Prasanna

Your work is on social issues, there are only a few people doing that. That is why we liked the exhibition very much indeed. – Sanjay Shinde

Basically, to read the background and see the painting, and then again to search for the meaning in the text – this process is detrimental to the painting. Looking at the composition, colours I wonder if the background came first and then the painting. If so, can paintings be done like this?
With a few exceptions , limitations of colours and composition are also apparent. - Vikrant Pawar

The explanations in the text made it easy to understand the paintings particularly those on social and global issues. Mental reactions to an event are well conveyed through these paintings. – Archana Oak

I liked the emotion behind all the paintings as my own method of seeing a painting is to see it as a painting first, to understand it. Poverty can be narrated but is difficult to portray it. But if we all artists can adopt a single child through the medium of painting, it will be a great achievement. If the society stirs a bit because of your paintings, it will help end poverty. I liked ‘all we have been doing is to create walls’.
I am younger than you in age and experience, still felt like writing all this. All the best to you. – Ulhas Kagade

All the paintings here depict the artist’s reactions to world events. This has been expressed very beautifully. In addition, the text gives a very good description of the paintings. Hearty congratulations and all the best wishes. – Anupam Banarase

I do not understand painting. I mean I do not have that deep level of perception. But I followed a few of the paintings and could relate with them. I felt some vibes through some paintings, exactly what vibes, I can not say but felt them alright.
These paintings are a very realistic expression. - Sameer Vidwans

All the paintings hit hard and still educate. One can see other-than-what-you-intend meanings too in them. For example, I see ‘humiliation’ as depiction of a woman stuck in the flesh-trade.
While as ‘transience’ has a lasting freshness!
Thank you for taking us on an insistent and beautiful journey! - Kiran Yadnyopaveet

I remember only violence after seeing the exhibition. Is this the intended effect? - Shashank Shende

Both the paintings and the meaning appeal immediately. - Sucheta

There was no need for the booklet while viewing the paintings. Your themes were easily comprehensible. I for one, like the paintings because of this ease of understanding. – Namdev Kakade

For the first time I saw an exhibition so patiently – looking closely at the expressions in the painting and knowing the artist’s intention behind it. Now I know how brush-strokes give a message. - A Sathaye

I liked each painting in the exhibition. I liked the lay-out as well. Some paintings are just like photos. Your paintings state a problem ruthlessly. E.g. ‘prison’, ‘off to work’. The booklet helps us greatly to communicate with the painting. - SK

I saw this type of work for the first time. I have seen many exhibitions of ‘abstract’ paintings showing feelings and emotions. It is very rare to see such an excellent presentation which keeps social and political issues at the centre and tells the eternal truth. Particularly disturbing were two pieces on Iraq and ‘all we have been doing is to create walls’. All the best. – Archana Apte

I liked many of the paintings in the exhibition. Especially the paining of ‘creating walls’ is very meaningful and it relates to what is going on today in the society. All paintings are beautiful and an excellent combination of art and what is going on in the society. – Swapnil Pawale

All the paintings are superlative, very eloquent, they take you straight where the event is taking place. Your booklet giving description of context and the painting enables a direct communication with the depicted event. Thank you.
- Girish Joshi

To put it in one word ‘very beautiful’, ‘poignant’! It is difficult to follow some paintings but then the booklet helps to understand it.
Please advertise widely in newspapers about this exhibition so that a lot of people can see this. All the best and thank you. - Milind Apte

I do not understand anything about paintings but I liked this exhibition very much. All the painting speak to me. – Swapna Deshpande

When you painted a piece you thought about the event and considered the circumstances. But you have given the booklet while laying out the exhibition. Descriptions in the painting are very useful. Colours in the painting are superb and very close to the topic of the painting. Beautiful. – Raja Pradhan

Very good thoughts but you really need to learn skills of painting. – Amruta

Make paintings which can be seen without the accompanying text. – S

No painting of yours is for your self but for the wider good of the society, thank you for that. Colour-scheme, different angles and composition are perfect. All paintings have good topics, meant for the good of the society.
My only humble request is – if you could make future work in larger sizes, it will be easy to understand. – Sagar Arun Pawar

Very unusual and good subjects and excellent artwork. – Girish Chaudhary

Wonderful…I was sick of meaningless paintings and cutie-sweetie paintings…was happy to see international political issues presented so artistically...but the general feeling I get is of human helplessness. – G P Khedkar

Great paintings. Motivation behind the paintings is very admirable. They look as if done out of real life experience and not out of imagination. Therefore they are very lively. – SNK

This is really a new revolution in the history of Arts, awesome way of expressing your thoughts and ideas about social issues at an international level. It does make us think! Fabulous…keep going. – Devendra Ravetkar

Human emotions can be felt directly through your painting. You express the agony of the exploited, of the down-trodden very maturely. I am seeing such a beautiful portrayal of the marginalised people, humans through painting for the first time. I have no doubt that your motivation behind the painting is for betterment of the society. All the best for your future career. - Sagar Gadhave, Member, Mahrashtra Pradesh Youth Congress

In the current age of diminishing sensitivity, this is a very laudable project. – Aniket Pawar

Very live portrayal of reality, very sensitive picturisation of human brutality. - Tohfik Matwal

May god grant Purandare Sir a long life. – SS

Sir, I do not know much about painting but I liked your paintings very much. This is the first exhibition I have seen in Pune and it has taught me a lot. I also want to be an artist. Purandare Sir, your paintings are very tender and strike a close note in the viewer’s heart. Can I request you to do a painting on the physically disabled? Please forgive me if I have written anything untoward. – Kirti Bijve

Very intense paintings. Social misery has been shown in great detail. Eyes in‘ Iraq 2003’ and ‘Kashmir’ are pure magic. – Revati Mule

Agony is thought-provoking. Beautiful paintings. Firm social commitment while dissecting a subject – the paintings convey this impression. – Madhavi Rahirkar

I always like your paintings because you spell out the colours of politics behind human pain and helplessness.
– Prof Rajendra Vora, Professor of Political Science, University of Pune

Excellent paintings, depicting horrible state of affairs in the society. Globalisation benefits only 10%. Remaining 90% live a miserable life. Nandigram painting message is excellent. – RP

Very disturbing paintings but they feel closer when one understands the meaning. I followed what the artist wants to convey through the booklet. I admire this attitude of Mr Purandare. Many best wishes.
When they have some meaning, paintings appear quite different than when they are just eye-pleasing. – Vidya Bal

I came in casually to this exhibition. Most of the paintings depict pain, emotions and reality. I liked two paintings the most – ‘all we have been doing is to create walls’ and ‘ corporeal manipulation’. Both are very appealing and eloquent. The very name Purandare has sensitivity to art and sensibility to reality. Hearty congratulations. – S

The style of the paintings is very rich. Content is disturbing. Hope more people see these paintings, and may be then the asleep minds will wake up!- Chaitanya Kunte

An attempt to go the very basis of humanism through very diverse subjects. - Makarand

I liked the paintings. They are on totally different subjects. What is special about them they are all on humanism, humanity. People are wandering cluelessly today to get anything. Atrocities are on a rise. Hedonism, just maintaining own life-style is all what they are upto. – Pawan

Very mysterious paintings. Wonderful colours in the paintings. ‘death in a village’ is a great painting. If I were a writer, I would have written a short story on it! Very beautiful presentation of the exhibition. - Acharya

Our house is a shell of security. But once out we realise there is so much pain in the world, so much pathos, so much fear. Paintings like ‘hospital’, ‘ needs, not wants’, ‘prison’ all disturb the conscience. The painting showing the slaves is superb. - Shilpa Madhukar Apte

My dear CKP,
You have used paintings as a medium. Thinking about it, I find it one of the most effective one. Mathematically, 45 minutes = 25 subjects! Alternatively, if I had to read about so many subjects through books or magazines, it would take enormous time.
TV/Radio/newspapers…just think of them...time required is still very high and moreover, we have become sort of ‘used to’, hence impact is temporary.
Congratulations on choosing this medium as this gives quite a long-lasting and deep effect!
- Rightly enough, you have a very strong inclination towards expressing subjects through various colours, symbols, simplified expressions and mind-blowing titles.
- You are a change agent and not just an ordinary artist who would draw paintings for survival. We are lucky to experience the thought in a capsule form ; you might have taken months together first to think about how to put across the thought and secondly, draw it on canvas.
- Undoubtedly, I’ll be talking about this to many friends.
- Kindly keep me informed more about the paintings/exhibitions of yours. - Milind Kavale

I do not claim to know much about painting but I understood all your paintings. Some , with the explanations in the booklet, some with the commentary on the CD, and some without any explanation. I wish to note some very important points here –
Paintings show the agony in social system, reality very effectively. But you never show the struggle arising out of the discontent. Your paintings do not speak of the human struggle.
Your views on communism are incomplete because this is an evolving ideology. - Deepak Dhengle, Kabeer Kala Manch

I am a self-confessed ‘ignoramus’ in art, and I sincerely appreciate the effort of the artist to tell us what he intends to portray in his pictures. Once you know what you are looking at, you can really appreciate the emotion that inspired the picture. - Dr Uday Phadke

‘Iraq 2003’ – a superb painting. – RA

I like ‘off to work’. It is a very poignant commentary on life. - MP

Sir, I find your work commendable, it is fantastic, very unique and I am hoping to take inspiration from your work. One of a kind indeed! – Prerana

Very beautiful. Excellent composition. I saw each picture very carefully and each appealed to my heart. I like the one with the Statue of Liberty the best. – M

Wonderful paintings. I liked ‘mirror, mirror on the wall’ the best’ – K

Very good indeed! I liked the socio-political subjects selected for the paintings. Normally such subjects aren’t dealt with in paintings. So, it’s a good choice of subjects. I also liked the other more personal paintings like ‘Gossip’ and ‘Conversation’. Keep up the good work! – Suhrud Jawadekar

Exceptional paintings! Very eloquent, soothing to eye with colour combination but going straight to the heart. Congratulations, thank you and best wishes. - Prof S D Mahajan

I have no words than admiring your talent and efforts. – Prem Mane

The message comes across as soon as you see a picture. Very eloquent commentary on deteriorating social and political values. I appreciate that. – G H Deo

Great portrayal of political, social issues on canvas. Saw something new today. Excellent. – Mayur Gohad

Very realistic paintings. We really ‘worship feet of clay’.- AK

It is very interesting to see so many thematic concerns expressed through one medium. Thank you for bringing your work here and making it accessible. - Manisha

Very realistic pictures. Especially Sept 11, is very fresh and effective. – Mangesh Tambe

Subtle, sensitive reactions…very eloquent in picture form. – RD

Chandrashekhar Purandare Sir, I felt happy on seeing your paintings. I liked ‘hospital’ and ‘humiliation’ the best. Colour combination, thought behind the painting and emotion have come beautifully together there. - AS

Sir, your paintings are something to ponder upon. All this is very exciting – as a painter you portray the events through colours and brush-strokes. – AJ

The ‘depth’ in the paintings conveys strong messages. Does the outside world take it seriously? - L

It was wonderful to see an exhibition of non-conventional paintings. The topics of the paintings, being social, were very appealing. I hope the messages reach more and more people. Particularly blood-water and oppression of women paintings are very touching. Pictures are an important part of life, sometimes they reflect life. Since you paint with a particular outlook, your social ideology is also obvious. Very few people have it and it is very important. Congratulations. Let truth prevail. - Shubhangi Shirolkar, Satya Shodhak Movement

All the paintings are very eloquent. Remarkably, the titles of all the paintings are perfect. It is rare to find such type of paintings and artists. This type of exhibitions should reach the lowest stratum of the society. Otherwise it may be confined to insensitive capitalist urban middle class. It should reach easily the social activists who are engaged in this type of work. – Hemant Dhanorkar, Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti