Colors of Rothko..

Rothko.. Rothko.. Marcus Rothowitz...Mark Rothko.. His paintings look so bleak in spite of all the colors. It is hard to believe that such colors came from an artist who was suffering from depression and who finally commited suicide by bleeding his wrist.

These colors invoke horror in me. Yet, they beckon silently to gaze at them and have a peek. The temptation seems irresistable.

Rothko always avoided discussion on his works as he thought it would interfere with the experience the viewer has with the painting when viewing with an open mind. He wanted the painting to speak for itself.

This painting titled 'Underground fantasy' depicts the subway scene as grim and gloomy. It was painted befor Rothko developed his trademark 'multiform' painting style.
Underground Fantasy , 1940









A newspaper reading man divides the canvas. Individuals are elongated and resemble a lot like the pillars. Their postures and expression depict a detachment and loneliness in their well dressed attire. What does Rothko tell us through this painting? Is he depicting the urban alienation?
This painting reminds me of the surreal sculptures of elongated melting men created in the post war psyche by Alberto Giacometti.

Alberto Giacometti, La forêt, 1950

Bharathapuzha is dying.

Bharathapuzha is dying. It has been poisoned by the goverment and the people. The sight of a denuded river is no less heart wrenching than that of a hungry malnourished child from a famine zone.

For ages Bharathapuzha (aka Nila) carried water from the hills of Aanamalai in the Western Ghats of South Asia to the Arabian Sea. Entire Ecosystems thrived in it since time immemorial. Then the river was struck with a triple whammy- deforestation at source, damming for irrigation and sand mining to feed the construction boom.

The destruction has been systematic and methodical. The Goverment built dam after dam sapping the water from the river - a total of 6 dams on this 150 mile long river . With the life of water waning, mining contractors descended like vultures to devour whatever is left of the river. Armed with their monstrous trucks and bribes, they sheared the sands from the riverbanks and then from the riverbeds. The notional bans and regulations stayed on paper. Thuggery was employed to deal with officers of conscience.

Sand is the natural protection of the river against rooting weeds and plants. It keeps the path clear for the water to flow smoothly. Once the sand is taken, soil is exposed and it did not take time for the hardy shrubs to take root. Now they cover upto a third or more in many areas. Farmers have started farming in some areas where once the river had its water.

We do not know how much damage has been done. We do not know how much pesticides and fertilizers we have let into the river. We do not know how many species are fighting for their survival on it's dried shale. We do not know the effect of the towns dumping it's untreated sewage into the river. Those are just known unknowns.

The fact that this happened in the 'enlightened' Kerala is a shame. For we cannot consign this apathy to ignorance. The loss is not just ecological and natural. It is as much a cultural loss. Kerala's cultural psyche is anchored to Nila's flow.