Bhubaneswar: Paintings of 97-year-old renowned Odia artist, Banshidhar Pratihary—recipient of Dharmapada award—were displayed at a seven-day exhibition in Mumbai’s famed Jehangir Art Gallery, which has the repute of holding exhibitions showcasing works of MF Hussain, recently. The exhibition was held between Oct 20 and 26.
Pratihary is known for lending a mystical quality to his paintings. Pratihary is an alumnus (Master of Fine Arts) of Visva Bharati, Shantiniketan, and was a student of doyens such as Nandalal Bose, Dhirendra Krishna Deb Barman, Ramkinkar Baij, A. Perumal and Sukhamoy Mitra.
He was inspired by Nandalal Bose’s style of painting. Pratihary’s paintings have essence and aesthetics of timeless Ajanta fresco paintings and Indian temple sculptures. His works, mostly in Tempera and Water colour, are largely inspired by Indian mythology and life of a common man
The recent exhibition in Mumbai was graced by art historian, Pheroza Godrej. She is also one of the leading art collectors of India. “National museum and the NGMA, Delhi, are the right places to exhibit Pratihary’s paintings. His work reminded me of Nandalal Bose’s paintings of fine lines and earthy tones,” Pheroza Godrej said.
The exhibition also showcased the paintings of Aashima Mehrotra, an artist and civil servant whose engagement with art dates back to childhood.
Mehrotra’s paintings feature subjects that are drawn from people, nature, and the places she had travelled. A self-taught artist, she was shaped by the works of Nandalal Bose, Amrita Sher-Gil, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, and Vincent van Gogh. Her craft matured under the guidance of Veer Munshi and Banshidhar Pratihary. Her career in Railways and Tourism has taken her across India. This gave her an experience that continues to shape her vision.
Her painting ‘Laapataa Ladies’ was selected for the prestigious 64th National Exhibition of Art, 2024-25 by Lalit Kala Academy, Government of India. She also secured fourth place in the ‘Art United – Together We Stand’ competition organised by New York Art Competition in collaboration with Agora Art Gallery, and sixth place in the American Art Awards in the category of Impressionism-Human, besides many other accolades.
She had also showcased her works at the Plein Air Russian Atlantis event in St. Petersburg and the Eurasia Busan International Art Fair 2025 in South Korea. Her paintings are held in the collections of Adil Hussain, Pheroza Godrej, Deepika Jindal, and the US Embassy consulate, among others.