Varanasi: To mark the anniversary of the Roerich Pact, a three-day solo art exhibition titled ‘Himalaya: The Sacred Silence of Spirituality and Peace’ by contemporary artist and research scholar of Banaras Hindu University Hari Darshan Sankhya was inaugurated at the Azad Art Gallery, Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith, on Wednesday.The inauguration featured a tribute to Nicholas Roerich’s vision for the protection of cultural heritage. Indian classical singer Padma Shri Pt Ritwik Sanyal performed a ceremonial act of painting the ‘Banner of Peace’ on canvas. In a symbolic gesture for global harmony, the guests collectively added colors to the emblem, formally declaring the exhibition open.The exhibition showcases 21 curated masterpieces from a monumental series of 108 paintings that mark the culmination of Sankhya’s three-year solitary odyssey and research in the Garhwal Himalayas. The collection captures the ethereal beauty and spiritual energy of sacred peaks and shrines, including Badrinath, Kedarnath and the golden glow of Mount Kailash.Renowned writer and ‘Ganga Yatri’ Nilay Upadhyay lauded the collection as an exemplary form of ‘Sattvic Art’. “Sankhya’s paintings are not mere landscapes; they are meditations, capturing the ‘Prana’ or the energy of the Himalayas, inviting the viewer into a space of profound silence and devotion”, said Upadhyay.The curatorial note for the exhibition was provided by Padma Shri Yashodhar Mathpal, highlighting the technical maturity and the dramatic play of light and mist in Sankhya’s acrylic works.The exhibition is organised in collaboration with INTACH Varanasi, Pilgrims Book House (Kathmandu), and MGKVP. It aims to remind the modern world that culture and its preservation are the true foundations of lasting peace. The exhibition remains open to the public until Apr 17.
