Paintings 2020

Hello,
Here I would like to share a collection of my paintings that I did in 2020, dedicating to my muse, inspired by different Bengali novels and Buddhist scriptures. The paintings were done with roughly 20-30 hours.

'Yaśodharā'

My first painting in the series 'Yaśodharā' in a modern interpretation. The painting in based on an old story written in 'The Collective Sutra of the Buddha's Past Acts'. The story is as follows-
Yaśodharā meets Siddhārtha Gautama for the first time in a previous life, when as the young Brahmin (ancient Indian priest) Sumedha, he is formally identified as a future Buddha by the Buddha of that era, Dīpankara Buddha. Waiting in the city of Paduma for Dīpankara Buddha, he tries to buy flowers as an offering but soon learns that the king already bought all the flowers for his own offering. Yet, as Dipankara is approaching, Sumedha spots a girl named Sumithra (or Bhadra) holding seven lotus flowers in her hands. He speaks to her with the intention of buying one of her flowers, but she recognizes at once his potential and offers him five of the lotuses if he would promise that they would become husband and wife in all their next existences. Sumedh was smitten by the simplicity of Sumithra and promised her to be her eternal companion. In their next life, Sumedh was born as Siddhartha and Sumithra was born as Yasodhara and they got married.

After reading the collective sutra, I thought, “although the story is about 2500 years old, how about painting a modern Yasodhara?”. Let’s assume that she has taken birth after birth on Earth and finally has reached the modern era. She doesn't remember anything about her previous births, but she remembers the promise that Siddhartha made her, to be her husband in all other lives.
In this life, after a long wait, she has finally realized that the time has come for her to meet Siddhartha. She doesn't know who he is or how he looks, but knows where to find him. So, on that day, she is standing there holding seven lotuses in her hand, waiting for Siddhartha. She has the confidence that he will recognize her as she will recognize him! So, deep down in her mind, she has an unknown joy, emotion, merriment. And in her face, there is an inscrutable mystery, a mixture of serenity, anticipation and faith. This is the subject of my painting.

'Labanya'
My second painting based on Rabindranath Tagore's romantic novel 'Sesher Kabita' (The Last Poem).

'Camellia'
My third painting based on Rabindranath Tagore's poem "Camellia".

'Bijaya'
My fourth painting based on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's famous romantic novel 'Datta' (fiancée).