It's not unusual for children to pursue the same profession as their parents, specially if the latter are highly successful and have made a mark globally. What's unusual is a career option becoming a legacy to shoulder under tremendous pressure and social vigil, because the parent has passed away prematurely.
Does the legacy, then, become a burden? Does it affect the child's own growth as a professional? Do such children succumb to the pressure and end up becoming could-have-beens? It has happened quite often in the film industry, examples too well-known to quote here.
I had these questions popping in my head as I prepared for a meeting with Japani Shyam. Even those who don't know her but know enough about the art world know about her — the daughter of India's most famous tribal artist, who earned global fame in his short life and whose works continue to be placed on the same pedestal as those by top-notch Modern and Contemporary artists.
Jangarh Singh Shyam, the Gond tribal artist, was famously 'discovered' by another legend, J. Swaminathan and brought from his village in Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh to the state capital Bhopal to embark on a career that took him all over the world. He is the gold standard in Indian tribal art of our times.
Being his daughter is Japani's biggest identity, yet in all the years since her father's passing — she had just stepped into teenage then — she has slowly and gradually carved a niche for herself. She was interested in her father's work right since she could remember. She shared that she enjoyed watching him work, and doing a big of painting herself. But the tragedy that struck Shyam's family — his wife Nankusia and son Mayank are also well-known artists — left young Japani with a very mature question — how to carry on painting in "Jangarh Kalam," a style developed by her father, yet not become do something distinct, "and make my own name?"
"I realised early on that my father's legacy was too big. Yet, I wanted to do something that would not be a copy of what he did. He wouldn't have wanted me to be a copy artist," Japani, now 30, shared with me in a recent meeting in Bhopal, where she is based. Her solo show is currently on view at Shobha Bhatia's Gallerie Ganesha in New Delhi.
Japani is a fabulous artist and makes canvases that are a delight to connoisseurs, and visually mesmerising to novices interested in learning about art.
I wrote a piece on Japani and her current solo for www.blouinartinfo.com that can be read here.
Images of her works, pasted below, give ample idea of the talented artist who knows how to blend her Gond heritage with her city upbringing.
All works acrylic on canvas. All images courtesy Gallerie Ganesha.
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