Exhibition Of Charcoal Drawings By Lata Marur

As a fitting tribute to the rockscapes of Telangana and the Telangana paintings of Thota Vaikuntam, artist Lata Marur is organising Rockuntam, a series of 24 charcoal and pencil sketches, at the ITC Kakatiya Sheraton, on 15th & 16th December. The exhibition is about rocks and the people of Telangana, in Vaikuntam style.

The spirit of Telangana is embodied in the two things that give its landscape a unique color and texture. The first are the rocks of the Deccan Plateau, and the second are the people of Telangana, especially its women. While the rocks are being eroded, the people are being given a raw deal.

In both cases, the villains are time and man. While the rocks have become the focus of heritage centric organizations like the Save The Rocks Society, the people/women are being empowered by several self-help groups, and are rapidly coming in to their own.

While attempts to chronicle the rocks have seen amateur artists like Marur humbly choosing to use them as subjects, the people have been immortalized by the brilliance of the Doyen of Art, Thota Vaikuntam. Marur has therefore decided to fuse the two elements that are so integral to the essence of Telangana.

Lata Marur is a Hyderabad-based artist, dancer, HR professional and trainer who in the last few years has specialized in translating images of rocks and rocky landscapes into a unique perspective of the Deccan. Nalgonda, where she was born, and Hyderabad, where she grew up, have been her major hunting grounds for subjects. Her self-taught style is reflective of her roots