CHINAR Painting

Seldom has a land been so singularly celebrated with a particular species of the flora, as that with Chinar in Kashmir. The normal human propensity is to attribute lands with the abundant fauna in the region, like the Springboks in South Africa, or the Lions of Gir in Gujarat and the Rhinos in Assam. The closest one can imagine is the Maple of Canada, whose leaf has been adopted as the national symbol of the country. The mystique of Chinar (Botanical name: Platanus orientalis commonly called oriental plane) is so ingrained in Kashmir, locally called “Buen”, that it finds a place in its literature, politics, religion and romance, not to mention the solace sought perpetually under its gentle and benign shade by umpteen generations. Uniquely robust, the behemoth grows up to 25 meters tall and often a girth of 50 feet. The most colorful sight is thrown up in Autumn, when in a display of resplendent majesty, its leaves radiate myriad hues of the palette – red, mauve, amber, yellow, changing the landscape beyond recognition, like a passionate painter’s brush stroking in gay abandon on a blank canvas creating swathes egged on by the swaying leaves in silent anticipation of the changing season. It is then that the Chinar is at its exuberant best, drawing crowds to usher in the harsh winter with the warmth of the Chinar leaf embers in the “Kangri” to keep life going under the mounds of gathering snow. The romanticism of Chinar extends far beyond the shores of India and is traced back centuries to distant Greece, where umpteen small villages shelter old plane trees in the village square. The “Tree of Hippocrates”, under which Hippocrates — the "Father of Medicine" — taught at Kos in Greece is reputed to have been an oriental plane. A 500 year old tree presently standing there may be on the same site and may have been planted from a succession of cuttings from the original. The Athenian Academy, outside Athens, featured a sacred grove of planes where the students listened to the masters and where among others, the Peripatetics practiced philosophy. Closer home, a 627year old Chinar tree has been found at Chatargaam in the Badgam district of Kashmir, reportedly planted in 1374 AD by an Islamic mystic Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani, not to mention the royal “Char Chinar” on an island in the famous Dal Lake of Srinagar. . Yet this mute giant stands witness to the sands of time; where the ethereal beauty of Kashmir is brutally ravaged by blood, gore and blaze. Wish we had the wherewithal to sense the silent lamentation of Chinar chronicling the unfolding tragedy. Perhaps the moving couplet of Mohammad Iqbal on Chinar narrates a poignant tale: “Jis khaak ke zameer me hai aatish-e-chinar, Mumkin nahi ki sard ho woh khaak-e-arjumand” (The dust that carries in its conscience the fire of the Chinar, It is impossible for that celestial dust to cool down).

Painting:Acrylic on Canvas

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:16 W x 20 H x 0.5 D in

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