Creation Of Rhododendron Art

An adventurous childhood surrounded by mountains, trees, the cool breeze and the blue sky above, showed me how beautiful nature is. The feeling of grass under my bare feet with my toes digging into the soft mud, is an unforgettable feeling.

If you ever travel to Bengal and find yourself in Kurseong, go higher and you will reach a small village called Dowhill. This is the place I first saw a valley with rhododendrons in bloom. My father was stationed there as a DFO (Divisional Forest Officer) and we had a beautiful house allotted to us. This house with its sloping roof and white pane glass windows was full of mysteries. To a child’s mind every dark nook and cranny of the house held a secret to unfold. The huge attic was the land of monsters, even stepping a toe there meant you are bravest of all.

The house was situated just below the tip of the mountain surrounded by forest on all sides and a view of the lush green slopes descending down to the depths of the valley. The greens were randomly spotted with the Guraas (Rhododendron) trees. These beautiful trees when in full bloom would be covered with red flowers and could be seen from afar. The valley normally in shades of green would be painted red, when the sun rays fell on them the valley seemed ablaze with color and magic. As if someone had picked a giant painting brush and decided to paint a masterpiece.

At that young age I didn’t understand what I felt but such magic and art in Nature inspired me…and now for my own creations I couldn’t think of a better name than Rhododendron Art.