It’s very rare for a qualified practitioner of Ayurveda to also be an artist behind museum-quality art. Dr Ravidarshan Vyas, the Rajya Vaid of Gondol state in Gujarat, is one such exception. He recently hosted his solo show of paintings, his live’s repertoire. Works in oil that capture what he calls the history of royal India, its mythology and regal folklore. Hugely inspired by the genre of calendar artist Raja Ravi Verma, Ravidarshan, who also helms the much revered Shaktipeeth Bhuveneshwari Temple, had a galaxy of royal stars attending his preview. From the Maharawal of Baria to the princess of Bhavnagar, the Nawab of Balasinore and the scion of his own state of Gondol, Dr Vyas got them all to attend. Including the heir to the Hutheesing family Umang Hutheesing who finds his art, “European in style and fiercely Indian in story.”
Maharaval Tushar Singh Devgarh Baria with the art and Nawab Salauddin Khan Babi of Balasinore.
Rohit Raje Deshmukh of Surguna Maharashtra .
Mahalaxmi.
Vyas.
Darbar Saheb Satyajit Khacher, Rani Alaukika Raje, Yuvraaj Raviraj, and KS Shivraj of Jasdan.
Mrs and Mr Vyas with Bijeshwari Gohil of Bhavnagar, and KS Jyotirmah Sinhji of Gondol.
The royal line up
Grandson of the much-acclaimed Vaidya His Holiness Acharya Shri Charan Tirtha Maharaja, he steers a pharmacy founded in 1904. “My grandfather was the royal physician of many states of Gujarat and Rajasthan. Though based out of Gondol in Kathiawar, we were consulting many leading families like Jodhpur, Rajkot, Jasdan etc.”
Heir to this legacy of science, Ravidarshan is a lover of art, qualified in homoeopathy, and still consults. Besides being the Gaddi Pati of Bhuvaneshwari Temple, a Shakti Peeth revered by people of Gujarat, living across the globe.
“I am not really trained in an institution. I paint through the inner instinct of growing up amongst Ravi Varma’s art.” The Vyas family enjoys a deep closeness to the Jasdan royal family and Baroda and in his work, you will find many references to parts of their stunning palaces. Like the Maand room in Jasdan Palace that is a reflection of the local craft of mirror work and has sparkling brass urns piled upright to its roof. Ravidarshan paints an image of the siblings Krishna and Subhadra chatting in this very room. Then there is the image of Mohini, half male, half female seductress, who could lure the most saintly of saints in Laxmi Vilas Palace, Baroda.
“Raja Ravi Varma’s every brushstroke captures the depth of Indian mythological history. In his work, I find a Godlike innocence and in my own way I try to recreate that rare reverence.”
Curated by Deep Khatri with whom Dr Vyas creates art inspired fashion, the show also throws light on some recent works like his interpretation of the erstwhile Rani of Ayodhya. Waking to visions of the sheer sadness of her life, he captures her in the jungle, devastated and lost.
He shares, “Ayodhaya was a flourishing kingdom even after Rama rajya. Manorama, married into the family saw her life tumbling down losing her husband, her kingdom and her wealth. To save the real heir of the empire her son Sudarshana, she escaped to the jungle and my painting portrayed her lost in a devastated jungle. The burnt wood carved frame represents devastated Ayodhya suffering due to this sudden incident.”
Gods, goddesses, Maharanis and their strife filled life, Ravidarshan’s art, carrying forward the vivid genre of Ravi Verma’s art, is a must-watch for those living in Gujarat.