Inside the Magic of Bengaluru's Chitra Santhe

What makes a work of art sell? This is something that I have always wondered about. 

Is it something that depicts reality as it is? Or something that depicts reality with a little or a lot of distortion? Or, is it something that is totally unrelated to reality?

Maybe all of these sell. It depends on what you are looking for.

All these thoughts came to my mind when I went to Bengaluru's Chitra Santhe last Sunday, Jan 7. 

That's the famous art fair of the city, wherein artists from all around the country come to showcase their work. The last time I went there was almost 10 years ago. 

This was the 21st edition of the event. It's organised by Karnataka Chitrakala Parishad in January every year. 

The entire stretch of road of over a kilometre in front of the KCP turns into a market of sorts with artists displaying their works on both sides of the street.

Every year, there is a huge number of visitors, especially in the evening. This year, apparently, some four hundred thousand people came for this single-day event.

Everyone from the curious to the aficionados come over. Why not? Because art isn't about one particular form, nor has it any limits. It exists both on canvas as well as on one's mind.

Though these artists are selling their work, they are not into it for money. It's pure passion, like for one of the artists who had come to display his works at the Chitra Santhe. Back home, his studio is next to the provision store that he runs for a living.

There was another artist who actually runs a small IT solutions company which executes projects for some of the well-known names in the industry.

Yet another was someone who had worked his way up from being a wall painter. Probably buoyed by his self-confidence, he had an enthusiastic demeanour about him. 

There was quite a buzz around his booth, and many of his works were getting sold out. They were all vignettes from various aspects of our daily lives, depictions that radiated contrast and brightness.

One of the artists told me that it's not the experts who mostly buy their works; it's the layperson, who has simply fallen in love with the creation and doesn't want to leave without possessing it.

The connoisseurs, on the other hand, spend time at the booth, staring at the works, admiring them, chatting with the artists about the intricacies and layers of the strokes and the curves.

Even if they leave without a buy, the conversation usually ends with an exchange of contact details and a firm assurance to pick up from where they left off sooner rather than later.

As one of the artists told me, "Money takes care of the material needs, but it's those smiles and nods of appreciation that stay with us forever."