Govinda successfully made a bicycle trip of Nepal from the eastern
border to the western in 2000 wholly on his own. He took a period of almost
three months to cover the distance but as he did, he came face to face with the
rich cultural heritage, lingual variety and diverse and unique ways of living
on the one hand and on the other hand, acute wants, abject poverty and
unfathomable sorrows of his people living at the backdrop of the most ravishing
natural beauty of the land. The emotions swelling within urged him to bring out
his motherland in all its facets in his superb paintings along the way at
different townships. He held solo exhibitions and in many places gave
preliminary art lesson to young enthusiasts inspiration them to be a part of
his objective that this is the century of art and peace.
Govinda is indeed an artist with a positive outlook in life. He struggle and
struggles with all his might but for securing, retaining and maintaining peace,
foe he feels that creativity all throughout the jags would go to naught if
contemporary artist didn’t strive collectively for peace in their work.
He is particularly thrilled with historical personalities, their exploits and
the events they have encountered to shape the future of mankind. He is equally
given to religious sites and practices in which he tries to discover love for
all human beings. He is not interested in various cults as he knows and feels
that all major religions aim at the well-being, progress and prosperity of
humankind and not at hatred, animosity and division. The religious message of
Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity is love, friendship and cooperation.
All these great religious teach sacrifice and social service. And he is keen on
this great message to depict in his paintings.
In modern age there are numerous areas where man is found as an entity carrying
a live bomb with him. This situation is pernicious to the growth of
civilization. It’s art that can do away with evil and re-instate higher human
values. Science primitive’s times, from the Stone Age., human beings were led
to civilization by their inner urge to create beautiful things. We can see even
today excellent paintings inside ancient caves that ancestors of ours have left
for us as a model follow. It is this treasury of creation that has inspired
Govinda to make a world tour and see, learn and paint the intricate human
embroidery of the Mother Earth.
Equipped with sufficient training and emboldened by his successful solo venture
of all Nepal bicycle tour, Govinda is now plunging headlong into the vast
expanse of our planet to enjoy both the beauty and ugliness of universal human
living.
©Dr. Tara Nath Sharma, Literary Critic,
January 20, 2004
