Bored at Jehangir Art Gallery

I drop by Jehangir Art Gallery often, and more often than not, come out with a feeling of smug superiority, thinking I could have done much better. But there's always a surprise lurking somewhere in the gallery. It may just be one painting in an ocean of art that gets you thinking. Pritish Nandy's exhibit called Bored, was an exception, in that all his works got me thinking. I wouldn't call it good art, but it was different and attracted my attention.

You get a strong sense of Nandy's advertising and commercial background; selling an idea is in his blood, even if it's poetry. His works are very self-conscious and well thought-through. There seem to be no accidents. The craftsmanship on each canvas was very good and the text was very clear (it may have been screen-printed for precision). But when commercial media and poetry meet, the product just doesn't have the authenticity of an artwork created by a "true" artist or a poet. I know there's nothing such as a "true" artist, but what I mean is someone who is naturally creative and not self-consciously so.

Each of his short poems seemed like copy for advertisements. Most of them were perceptive, and did strike an emotional chord in you, but at the same time, predictable.