Artist Yashwanth Hibare holds no degree in Fine Arts but today among many awards and accolades, he has also won the title of Chitrakala Ratna. In 2010, he was honoured with the Rajyotsava award. But now, he has a pursuit.
Now at 70, the artist has painted a 30 x 40 size portrait of Dinanath Mangeshkar, father of Latha Mangeshkar which he plans to present it to the melody queen in Mumbai on April 24.
“I just came to know that the Mangeshkar family would be holding the death anniversary of their father. So, I decided that it was an appropriate day to gift my painting. I have been in touch with the family and have apprised them about the painting and I will be presenting it on this day,” said Yashwanth.
His interest to do this particular portrait was basically because he was mesmerised by the history of this famous person. “I got to hear about this great personality through my friends. I heard that Dinanath had struggled a lot in life and had to go through lot of difficulties in taking care of the family along with his elder daughter Lata Mangeshkar. They were singing on railway platforms for their living. I had tears in my eyes when I heard about it. That’s when I made up my mind to do the painting,” he revealed.
Although Yashwanth has done around 4000 paintings in the past few decades, he has never presented his art form to anybody. “This will be my first painting that I am gifting to somebody. I wanted to do this portrait 11 years ago but was unable to get a photo till now. The actual picture was only up to shoulder length. I created the rest and added instruments since he was a good musician,” said Yashwanth, who feels it is a small gift to the lady who has done so much for India. “After all the initial struggle, Lataji has achieved in her own way for which she has received national and international acclaim. This is just a small gift from my side,” he stated.
Going back to time
Yashwanth started painting when he was just seven. Today, at 70, he is still exploring the art form. “I consider my father Thippaji Rao, a tailor by profession as my guru. I am completely illiterate because I never attended any school. I remember as a child, my father asked me to draw pictures of Lord Hanuman on a slate and later he drew it for me which I kept on copying. From then on, I have been holding on to the brush,” he said.
Yashwanth, a native of Bidar has been in Bangalore for decades now and earns a living through his paintings. He is popular for his holistic approach to his paintings as he concentrates mostly on mythological themes and famous people. “I am more into realistic art which I picked up from my Guru SM Pandit. I follow his art form in my paintings. My paintings are often displayed at Chitrakala Parishath and recently, I showcased my art at Chitra Parse,” he said.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bangalore / by A. Sharadhaa / ENS – Bangalore / April 04th, 2013