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Lakshmi Incarnate by Rakesh Patel



Visually aesthetically interesting and conceptually very strong is what I felt when I saw Rakesh Patel’s recent art work titled “LAKSHMI INCARNATE”, that is on display at the recently concluded TIMES ARTFEST 2020 show @ Amdavad ni Gufa. The show was curated by Ms Priya Adhyaru Majithia 
At the entrance a huge revolving bottle was on display, that was created using materials like wood, computer circuits, brass and SS sheets. Rakesh has metaphorically used these materials and significantly portrayed our more than 600-year-old walled city of Amdavad. Looking at his work we can barely move forward without feeling the vastness and the richness of the legacy that we truly belong to.
There is a story of Manekbaba and king Ahmed shah out of which this entire concept was shaped. It narrates how king Ahmed Shah tricked Manekbaba out of his own smartness and convinced him to build the teen darwaja and the city. At Teen Darwaja even today it is one muslim family that invariably lights diya every day. The form of Lotus used here symbolizes peace prosperity and unity as our real wealth because of which amdavad flourished. Rakesh has used circuits both in and out of the bottle. The colorful inside of the bottle depicts the old city and how people are large hearted and full of warmth. Contrary to that is the pure white outside of the bottle depicting the ironically developing new urbanized amdavad that somewhere lacks the real warmth and closeness. The true identity of our culturally rich heritage city.
The walls of the bottles are made using the traditional forms of jali for which amdavad’s architecture is known, the forms of these jali’s are very intricate and prominent. He has used the SS on it where the viewer can see his or her own reflection and Leave the viewer with a question to introspect as to what is it that we are doing to preserve and take forward such rich heritage and legacy that we all belong to. And yes the bottle rotates and revolves as it is believed that Lakshmiji has incarnated and is very much here to stay and bless our city and its people then and now.
UNESCO has recently titled amdavad as one of the heritage city, so are we going to nurture and preserve it for our future generations as well? kem k aa che Maru, tamaru, apnu Amdavad.

Bharvi Trivedi 






The inside view 
                                                  Rakesh Patel during his interview
                                                 With Padma Bhushan Shri Jatin Das
                           with Shri Rajiv Gupta, ACS, Forest & Environment, MD, SSNNL
                                                    With Arjun Handa, VC, MD Claris
                          With Education Minister Shri Bhupendrasingh Chudasma & Dr. Gitika Saluja
With Honourable Chief Minister of Gujarat Shri Vijay Rupani and Mayor Smt. Bijal Patel





                                              Times Artfest 2020 Team with the dignitaries


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