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Tilak Gitai

"Namastee! My name is Tilak Gitai and I was born in Bekaner. Rajasthan represents color, beauty, festivity, romance and bravery - all the ingredients for a perfect place to live in. My father was one of the artists patronized by the Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bekaner. He served the king for more than ten years. During his service to the Maharaja, he did numerous works, including the sculpture of Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India.

"I was born a couple of years after the Indian Independence, in 1949. We moved to Jaipur where I did my schooling. Childhood was fun, and school was just a means to obtain a basic education. While in kindergarten, I was more inclined to drawing rather than reading or writing. While the rest of my friends learn how to pronounce 'C' for C-A-T, I would draw the subject instead. I was always rewarded for the best drawings during my school days. I always believed that the painting instinct within me was god-gifted. My father never taught me in particular but he was always either painting or sculpting. Being close to my father, I eventually imbibed this quality. I am saying my talent is god-gifted because I have this grasping power and I would take no time to learn whatever he did.

"After completing my 12th standard, I decided to pursue a diploma in art. But a mere diploma was not enough to quench my thirst for painting. Subsequently, I also received a scholarship from the Government of Rajasthan to pursue further study in art.

"I have specialized in traditional Indian miniature paintings like Mughal, Rajasthani and Phadi art. I have participated in international and national exhibitions, including the Festival of India (Augburg, Germany, 1985), in Geneva, Zurich and Basel (1987), and at Earls Court (London, 2001).

"Among the many works I have done, something worth mentioning is my research on the ancient Ragamala and reinventing the missing portion using my own creative imagination. I have spent ten long years on this research and my hard work has paid off. I have received praise from famous personalities including US President Bill Clinton. My research, titled, 'Ragamala – The Missing Link,' has been exhibited in Manoir de la Ville de Martigny in Switzerland and the Muse'e d' Ethnographie de Gene've.

"For me, art is priceless, a gift from God. You can be trained to become a doctor, engineer or lawyer, but a true artist cannot be trained. It has to come from within. Creativity is the key for a genuine artist.

"I am now concentrating on a series on the seasons in India. I want to express the classical relation of the four seasons."

Miniature paintings are one of India's unique and legendary art forms, characterized by their beauty and finesse. Though originally small in size, the term applies to a style of painting that is rich in detail that is meticulously executed with delicate brushwork. Colors were once obtained from minerals, vegetables, precious stones, conch shells, silver and gold.