Thursday, March 28
08:29 PM

Indian artist’s tribute to Oman – Ahlan wa Sahlan

13 Nov 2021 Indian artist

Hubert Vaz

“Oman and the people of Oman, nationals and residents alike played a major role in my growth as an artist. I grew from being just a novice to an artist who can curate major exhibitions,” says Harini Kumar, an Indian artist residing in Oman, who held a virtual solo exhibition titled ‘Ahlan wa Sahlan’ with a set of her paintings done in Oman, on Friday.

“It was my dream to pay my tributes to this beautiful country by staging a solo exhibition in Muscat. The sudden onset of the unfortunate pandemic stalled my wish and we had to relocate to India in June 2021. But I left the paintings in Oman with a family friend of mine hoping to come back sometime and fulfill my dream of holding a physical exhibition,” Harini said, adding that she looked upon this as a blessing in disguise which opened up a new chapter in the lives of people in the form of online events, including art exhibitions which could be viewed by people from the world without any restrictions.

After learning the ropes by viewing as well as participating in a couple of online exhibitions in the UAE, Harini was able to develop her own skills at creating and curating virtual exhibitions. With help from the owner and founder of Orbit Event Management, she was able to hold her own solo virtual exhibition.
“I could not have got a better title than ‘Ahlan wa Sahlan’ for this solo exhibition, since it was a tribute to my time in Oman, and we welcomed the idea with enthusiasm. Having already relocated to India, this seemed a great idea now,” the Indian artist said.

The virtual exhibition was inaugurated on November 12 at 7.30pm, and Reena Jain, first secretary (Culture), of the Indian Embassy in Oman, was the guest of honour while Harini’s friends and associates from different countries, including several artists, visited the online gallery to get a glimpse of her artistic journey in Oman.

“Most of my paintings had Omani themes and many had been painted in the last couple of years. They identify closely with my emotional connection to Oman which was my home for the last 27 years,” she said, adding, “My evolution as an artist with a distinctive style can be observed in my paintings.”

While acknowledging the support and patronage for her virtual solo exhibition by people of diverse backgrounds, Harini also expressed her gratitude towards Ramesh, of Orbit Events, and Saiju Victor, of Spectrum Solutions, who played a major role in the success of this online exhibition, with their valuable inputs.

(The online virtual gallery can be viewed at: https://www.artsteps.com/view/609a7026bd0e3ddf36caa4a9?currentUser)

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