Spaces Issue 7

However, if one were to look
around his studio, one would
see mostly Buddhism inspired
Pauwa paintings. Such as the
68x68 cm Garbadhatu
Mandala, the 65x65 cm
Vajrabhairaba Mandala and
the 68x68cm Chakra
Sambhava Mandala: all of
which according to Lok
Chitrakar were painted by
students. A strikingly elegant
Pauwa, the 39x34 cm
Samantha Bhadra-Samantha
Bhadri (Yam-Yum) hangs in
one corner and was painted
by the master himself as were
the 33x47.5 cm Nilotpala, the
21x24cm Mahakala and the
27x87 cm White Tara.
However, it is not
uncommon, and indeed, the
norm, for many artists to
work on the same canvas- so
intricate are the details, and so
long is the time taken.
In fact, Lok Chitrakar is
currently at work on a massive
5 ft x 7 ft Amitabha which still
remains unfinished three
years down the line. “It might
be another year before this is
finished,” say Chitrakar. The
painting, although large, does
not have as many intricate
details as is present in many
of the smaller Pauwas, but
Above: A strikingly elegant Pauwa, the 39x34 cm Samantha
Bhadra-Samantha Bhadri (Yam-Yum).
Below: Lok with a Japanese student, an art teacher himself.
“Pauwa actually comes from two words, ‘Pau’ and
‘Wa’ derived from the Newari term Patra Bhattarak,
which means, ‘depiction of god in flat form’”.
this is explained easily enough by the artist,
“ Since it is so big, I want the painting to
draw people’s attention like a magnet and
so I would like to make the details large
enough for long distance viewing”. In
addition, he confides, “Many of the finer
detailing has yet to be done.” Because of
the time consuming nature of Pauwa
painting, it is understandable that Lok
Chitrakar manages to finish but four or
five Pauwas a year.
And one of the reasons for the paucity of
his own works in the gallery is simply
because most of what he paints is sold as
quickly as they are finished. In fact the
artist reveals that on more than
one occasion he has had to
request buyers to lend him
their collections for exhibiting.
To a question about the time
factor in the art, this is what
Lok says, “There are no time
limits whatsoever.” He points
out a large (about 3.5ftx4ft )
HeVajra Manadala which still
has a lot of work left to be
done and a Vasundhara in
which only the ink sketching
has been finished. “At any time
you will find me working on a
number of pieces. As soon as
I get tired of working on one
piece and monotony sets in, I
start work on another. When I
get in the mood again, I go
back to the previous unfinished
piece. That is why I cannot say
with certainty when a work will
be finished.”
Explaining his craft, Chitrakar
says, “Pauwa actually comes
from two words, ‘Pau’ and ‘Wa’
derived from the Newari term
Patra Bhattarak, which means,
‘depiction of god in flat
form’”. He adds, “Pauwa
painting is an ancient art form
and the oldest one ever found,
a Ratna Sambhav, is lodged in
Los Angeles County Museum
in the United States. I believe
it is either from late 12 th
century or early 13 th century.”
Lok Chitrakar is disappointed that this art
form has not been given much importance
within the country itself and rues, “ There
are no grants and no research done on this
traditional art form in Nepal.” Most of his
customers are from abroad and his largest
works, a set of 2 m by 1.5 m Garbadhatu
and Vajradhatu Mandalas is housed in a
temple in Saitama Perfecture in Japan.
“It took me four years to finish “ he
informs. But it seems the time taken was
worth it as it fetched him a whopping Rs.25
lakhs. It is true that many of his Pauwa
paintings have earned him a pretty penny
SPACES NOV-DEC 2005 15