Urbanity-boon or bane?
Kalicharan Gupta ’s
colossal vision for metropolis

Apurva Sinha

When we talk about roots, what comes to one’s mind? Depth, strength, belongingness, nostalgia – as warming pool of personal emotions. Here we are, living in a deeply rooted society that breathes and bleeds in terms of indelible and unreadable emotions.One strongly feels the need to vent when detached from his native place, or when he gradually gets accustomed to the hustle-bustle, whims and fancies of a hyper-real life, or when he is forced to confront an unwelcome change.When the artist finds himself in such a predicament, he employs his artistic oeuvre to break free from the illusions and myths of metropolises.Our mind is an aggregation of different beliefs, constantly on the quest to unveil the hidden truth.

The artworks of Kalicharan Gupta enunciate the story of the making of an artist, one who is well rooted to his motherland and has developed his sense of ideation with the environment that has affected his mindset. He is an artist who has advanced towards a fast-moving city life in search of an identity, to nurture his dreams, and to embrace new surroundings. Why do people migrate to cities? What are the repercussions? Are urban spaces generating claustrophobia? Is spatial crunch rapidly
on the rise? Considering the concurrent scenario, one may think in terms of globalization – is it a boon or bane? Is this sudden change in habitation expansion causing havoc by reducing the city’s greenery? Is the city life suffocating? The answers lie in the artworks of Kalicharan Gupta as the artist expresses and explores through lines, giving colours to his emotions.