Colouring the past By CLARA A RODRIGUES Thursday, 29 October 2009 01:36 It is sometimes heartening to come across people who actually snub social security and convention when it comes to pursuing something that has always been close to the heart.
Meet Bernadette Gomes and you will understand exactly what we are talking about. A lecturer having a secured job opts for voluntary retirement (mind you it's not an easy decision considering the benefits of the Sixth Pay Commission) only to focus on a childhood hobby and a talent at which she excels. Ready with her first exhibition 'Maadani'-Under the coconut palms that will begin from October 29 at the Institute Menezes Braganza, Bernadette says, "I am aware of the decision I have taken. Art is a tricky trade but I do not see it as a livelihood. If somebody appreciates my art and decides to buy it, then it's a good thing. I paint because I enjoy it, and monetary gain is not my goal." An interest in the arts that blossomed right from her school days was also strongly influenced by an elder sister who is an artist too. 'Maadani' is a kind of receptacle for all the personal images and experiences that Bernadette has come face to face with. " I paint life as I see it. The Goan life is a predominant theme. Nothing is imagined." The work of preparing for the monsoons by gathering dried leaves, par-boiling paddy at night, scenes of women bathing at the village stream, of men dancing the 'powo' during Dussehra, Cuncolim's unique 'sotryo' festival; walking over coals at the zatra of Goddess Lairayee at Sirgao are just some of those experiences. Bernadette also depicts her experiences as a child, of a time when there was no electricity or telephones, and radio was the only source of contact. Says Bernadette, "It's how we lived our lives. I want to leave these images behind for the future generation." And the 'growing up in Goa' experience has somewhere down the line undergone a change. One wonders whether Bernadette is, with subtlety, trying to slip in a note of caution with regards to our lifestyle. "I have not tried to make any conscious or political statement. The time I lived was different and the present is different too. My time was a secure one but it would be incorrect to imply the present times as being filled with inadequacies. I just want to depict my life as a child," says the young artist. She concludes, "We have to grow up accordingly but there is always room for learning from our past". http://www.navhindtimes.in/buzz/4707-colouring-the-past Goanet A&E www.goanet.org
