admin Sonali Meshram
It makes me giggle when my friends share my sketches with me on WhatsApp not knowing that I am the person behind them. It is a nice feeling to see portraits made by an untrained artist like me being shared widely on social media. I never thought my simple sketches would be adored by people and would help me get recognition as an artist.
I had a knack for drawing from a very young age. I have been drawing portraits since my childhood. I did not take my talent in this field seriously though. I studied Engineering in Printing and Graphics Communication after school. Drawing, however, always kept knocking at the door of my heart.
After quitting my job in 2011, I started drawing more regularly. I learned digital drawing on my own. My preferred style is line art—both in traditional medium (mostly pencil work) as well as the digital medium. I am quite good at portraiture, especially portraits of women, and have a strong obsession with sketching the eyes. My favorite software for drawing is Adobe Illustrator and I use the mouse to draw. But I am yet to get comfortable with the digital pen. My most preferred medium is traditional pencil sketching. However, with the arrival of smartphones, numerous designing and editing apps have also arrived and I keep experimenting with them.
The first portrait I posted on Facebook was of Ramabai Ambedkar in February 2018. People have immense respect for her and that sketch was shared widely. I take the opportunity to portray our leaders on their birth anniversaries and post them on Facebook. I have been able to portray some living legends like Kuffir Nalgundwar sir as well. That actually is my favourite portrait.
My children are the reason I started drawing portraits of Bahujan leaders. Since our leaders and their work are erased from school textbooks and school culture, I knew that my kids would not get to know about them and their monumental work unless I did something about it. When I first created Savitribai Phule’s portrait, my daughters showed immense curiosity to know about her. At that time I realised that portraits were a great way to introduce our emancipators to my kids. My daughters, aged six and eight respectively, can recognise a few of our leaders and they also know about their work. But Savitrimai remains their favourite. They are so amazed by her work, they often ask me to draw her portrait so that they can colour it.
India’s educational institutions and academia are dominated by religious, unscientific, gender-biased and irrational cultural hegemony of the upper caste community. Hence, it is important to imbibe knowledge, rationality, scientific approach, critical thinking and empathy in our next generation. This goal can partly be achieved by introducing them to our Dalit-Bahujan history which, on the one hand, is full of oppression, discrimination and struggles, and on the other, resistance, assertion and stellar work of numerous unsung social reformers. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s goal of annihilating caste and Kanshiramji’s vision of social transformation, social justice, and equality through proportional representation are long battles. We need to prepare the next generation for them.
I did not know much about Dalit history, historic and current Dalit Bahujan fighters, books, and Bahujan discourse before I started making portraits of our leaders. I still feel like a student who bunked school the whole year. A lot is to be read, known, understood, learned, unlearned and relearned.
It was the book ‘Hatred in the Belly’ that introduced me to the anti-caste discourse. This book, which I read in 2016, was an eye-opener. I started following the anti-caste discourse and have read many finest writers related to the movement since then.
I was fortunate to find an incredible Ambedkarite circle on Facebook. I came across many knowledgeable individuals who also write really well. I have learned and continue to learn so much every day. I am especially grateful to Round Table India for educating me and helping me figure out my politics, and also introducing me to anti-caste movements, Bahujan autonomy, important Dalit Bahujan Pasmanda issues, our rich literature, and counter-culture. RTI is a school for me. I salute each and every contributor of this Bahujan portal who is relentlessly and selflessly working for it. RTI, as well as other Bahujan portals, have destroyed North Indian upper caste, Brahmin narratives from the minds of many Bahujans. I see the transition in myself as I realise the confidence I have gained regarding my identity in the last two years.
The Ambedkarite community on Facebook gave me a chance to connect with various Dalit Bahujan film-makers, rappers, activists, writers, students, people from the education field who are selflessly working for the anti-caste movements towards annihilation of caste. Their work and journeys are truly inspiring.
I would like to mention a few of my favourite artists here. The black and white illustrations of Syamsunder Vunnamati very effectively show Dalit- Bahujan issues, and ably expose upper caste, Brahmin hegemony and bigotry. I find Malvika Raj’s Madhubani art form very creative and brilliant, and her work, as well as subjects, deeply resonate with me. It is my wish to get training from her and work with her someday.
Nidhin Shobhana is another immensely talented artist and writer. I truly adore his illustrations. Nidhin has designed the cover page of Bojja Tharakam’s book ‘Mahad: The March That’s Launched Everyday’ that was published in 2018. The illustration of Babasaheb on the cover takes you directly to that spectacular event in 1927—the Mahad satyagraha. His Savitri-Fatima illustration and its details are also magnificent. It is my humble wish to produce work as good as these people.
It is my dream to have my own studio and a good printer. I want to make big digital paintings, preferably of Savitrimai, Babasaheb and the Lord Buddha, and make them available to people at affordable prices. I want to exhibit my work in art festivals too. I hope to be able to work on these goals.
I would like to thank everybody who keeps encouraging me. I especially thank Anu Ramdas Di who asked me to write this piece. I feel truly appreciated.
Jai Savitri! Jai Bhim!
~~~
Sonali Meshram can be contacted via email at: sonali.meshram78@gmail.com
Copyright of images unless stated otherwise can be freely circulated for anti-caste articulations by Bahujan. Please contact the artist if images are going to be modified or are used for commercial purposes.
