This post is in honor of the wonderful work that the Indian Maritime Foundation is doing to encourage people to be sea minded under the committed leadership of Commodore Rajan Vir.
The commodore is a perfect gentleman...you know, 'they just don't make them like that anymore' types! :) Do also read my interview with the Commodore here:
http://www.dsalert.co.in/files/January_2014_INTERVIEW_Cmde_Rajan_Vir.pdf
Please learn more about the Maritime Foundation here
http://www.indianmaritimefoundation.org
The foundation also brings out a marvelous journal called Seagulls.
Society of Indian Marine Artists (SIMA)
Annual Exhibition of Seascapes 01 – 03 February 2014
New Art Gallery – Ghole Road
The Annual Exhibition of Seascapes by members of the Society of Marine Artists (SIMA) was inaugurated at 11.00 am on Saturday, 1st Feb 2014, and concluded at 8.00 pm on Monday, 3rdFeb2014. A total of 17 Artists exhibited their works, and a total of 46 paintings were on view. 3 of the Artists also displayed their photographic skills alongside the paintings.
The exhibition was inaugurated by Mrs Rooma Dubey, President of the Inner Wheel Club of Pune Central. Commodore Rajan Vir, President SIMA welcomed the Chief Guest and thanked her for taking time out from her extremely busy schedule and consenting to grace the occasion. Rooma Dubey is actively associated with a number of Rotary Projects connected with womens’ empowerment like self-help workshops for women,health and hygiene awareness for young and adolescent girls, creation of separate toilets for girl students (a major reason for girls dropping out of schools is the lack of these facilities), and adult literacy.
Commodore Vir also spoke about the genesis of SIMA, which was formed under the Aegis of the Indian Maritime Foundation in 2002. He explained the importance of creating maritime awareness amongst the citizens of our country, which was the only way the country could aspire to regain its premier status amongst the polity of nations. Art is a powerful medium for fostering this awareness, and thus the importance of SIMA could be gauged. The need for inculcating the same awareness from a young age led to the formation of Junior SIMA 7 years ago.
In her address to the gathering Mrs Rooma Dubey praised the work of the artists that was on display, and wondered how they had managed to ‘capture the moment’, especially since the sea was such a dynamic entity, constantly changing its character. She also spoke briefly about the Inner Wheel Club, and howdespite being a part of the overall ambit of Rotary, had an identity of its own. She was asked to choose two best paintings and one best photograph amongst the displayed works. She announced the winners – Mr. Shailesh Sonawane and Mrs. Lata Dhadnekar in the painting category, and Ms Hina Bhatt in the photography display. Additionally, she announced consolation prizes from her side for two more artists – Mrs. Seema Ghiya and Mr. Prateek Tandon. She also made a healthy contribution to SIMA, besides buying three paintings for her personal collection.
Senior Artist, Mr. Nandkishor Dhadnekar gave a demonstration of painting a seascape by painting one on the spot. He converteda blank paper into a beautiful seascape within 25 minutes. He held the audience spell bound while doing so.
A total of 5 paintings were sold on the first day, which is a very encouraging sign for the participants.
one of the demo paintings
Artist: Nand Kishor Dhadnekar