<p>Rightly so, Chithra Mithra is a blend of both and many more qualities, which has helped him carve out a niche for himself in the world of colours.<br /><br />Hailing from a traditional bunt family settled in Mumbai, engaged in hotel business, young Prashanth Shetty, christened himself as ‘Chithra Mithra’ to showcase his tryst with colours. From time to time, this artist has left connoisseurs of art spellbound because of his precision and detailing. <br /><br />As a little kid, it was young Prashanth who had gifted his favourite teacher a bundle of 1,800 drawing as a mark of his affection and since then, there has been no looking back. With no formal training in art, he heard the inner voice, which told him that he was not cut out to be a business entrepreneur but he belonged to the world of art.<br /><br />Having little interest in studies, Prashanth had a stint in his father’s hotel invariably. During the day, he would sit in the counter and paint his heart out on various topics. <br /><br />One such busy afternoons, a bunch of journalists from a reputed media firm, which was functioning right opposite his hotel noticed the expert hands painting wonders and gave him his first assignment, an illustration on the legendary singer Asha Bhosle. It was in 1993 that he made his first art work seen by millions.<br /><br />From here the journey of Chithra Mithra began. In 2002, he exhibited his first solo art exhibition on human portraits at Bajaj Art gallery, Mumbai. This exhibition set the Chithra Mithra brand, which were real faces of people he had noticed in the South. All the paintings got sold in a week, talking volumes on the popularity that Chithra Mithra had received for his very first solo show. This was a big boost for the young artist and since then he has had several exhibitions, which he has not kept track of. One of his paintings of Mother Teresa was sold for Rs 1,60,000, the proceedings of which was given by the artist for charity.<br /><br />Me in Hanuman<br /><br />Chithra Mithra, though living in Mumbai has kept himself rooted to his culture and Tulunadu very much. He spends most of his time here in Mangalore to inspire himself. Ask him about his inspiration, pat comes the answer ‘Lord Hanuman’. The love for this deity is very evident in Chithra Mithra’s art works where he presents to the art connoisseurs his perspective of Lord Hanuman in human forms. Sometimes Hanuman is shown by the artist as an farmer wearing the traditional ‘Muttale’ on head and sometimes the strong deity is shown sitting near a cave repairing his mace. In one of his paintings, Hanuman is seen cradling baby Ganesha with his tail.<br /><br />The latest art work of Chithra Mithra made on order is a huge 5 ft canvas showing smiling Hanuman kneeling on the ground on one knee, with his golden locks flying wild. In each of the Hanuman paintings, Chithra Mithra makes a merger of his eyes and features of his mother to give a facial profile to Lord Anjaneya. In this latest painting, Hanuman has his mace in one hand, rested on the shoulders and a piece of jasmine locked between the thumb and index finger. Chithra Mithra has given so much emphasis on the detailing that the water flowing from the jasmine has been captured to reality and many people who have seen the painting have touched the Jasmine to see if it is a real one hung on the painting.<br /><br />“There are lots of myths connected to Lord Hanuman. They say one should not keep the painting of Hanuman at home because it invites bad luck in terms of marriage. I have paintings of Hanuman in my house and many people have bought my paintings which adorn the walls of many houses. Nothing wrong has happened,” says Chithra Mithra adding that Lord Hanuman has been his guardian from childhood.<br /><br />According to Chithra Mithra, Lord Hanuman can never bring bad luck to anybody in terms of wedlock and companionship because Hanuman, according to the artist was the catalyst in bringing together Rama and Sita. Hence, he is a person who brings together and bridges gaps and not the one who prevents union of two individuals.<br /><br />The next plan of action for Chithra Mithra is a painting on Ramayan series to be exhibited during Annual Book Fair in London.Kudos to this artist from Tulunadu who is taking his art beyond the Indian boundaries.<br /><br /></p>
<p>Rightly so, Chithra Mithra is a blend of both and many more qualities, which has helped him carve out a niche for himself in the world of colours.<br /><br />Hailing from a traditional bunt family settled in Mumbai, engaged in hotel business, young Prashanth Shetty, christened himself as ‘Chithra Mithra’ to showcase his tryst with colours. From time to time, this artist has left connoisseurs of art spellbound because of his precision and detailing. <br /><br />As a little kid, it was young Prashanth who had gifted his favourite teacher a bundle of 1,800 drawing as a mark of his affection and since then, there has been no looking back. With no formal training in art, he heard the inner voice, which told him that he was not cut out to be a business entrepreneur but he belonged to the world of art.<br /><br />Having little interest in studies, Prashanth had a stint in his father’s hotel invariably. During the day, he would sit in the counter and paint his heart out on various topics. <br /><br />One such busy afternoons, a bunch of journalists from a reputed media firm, which was functioning right opposite his hotel noticed the expert hands painting wonders and gave him his first assignment, an illustration on the legendary singer Asha Bhosle. It was in 1993 that he made his first art work seen by millions.<br /><br />From here the journey of Chithra Mithra began. In 2002, he exhibited his first solo art exhibition on human portraits at Bajaj Art gallery, Mumbai. This exhibition set the Chithra Mithra brand, which were real faces of people he had noticed in the South. All the paintings got sold in a week, talking volumes on the popularity that Chithra Mithra had received for his very first solo show. This was a big boost for the young artist and since then he has had several exhibitions, which he has not kept track of. One of his paintings of Mother Teresa was sold for Rs 1,60,000, the proceedings of which was given by the artist for charity.<br /><br />Me in Hanuman<br /><br />Chithra Mithra, though living in Mumbai has kept himself rooted to his culture and Tulunadu very much. He spends most of his time here in Mangalore to inspire himself. Ask him about his inspiration, pat comes the answer ‘Lord Hanuman’. The love for this deity is very evident in Chithra Mithra’s art works where he presents to the art connoisseurs his perspective of Lord Hanuman in human forms. Sometimes Hanuman is shown by the artist as an farmer wearing the traditional ‘Muttale’ on head and sometimes the strong deity is shown sitting near a cave repairing his mace. In one of his paintings, Hanuman is seen cradling baby Ganesha with his tail.<br /><br />The latest art work of Chithra Mithra made on order is a huge 5 ft canvas showing smiling Hanuman kneeling on the ground on one knee, with his golden locks flying wild. In each of the Hanuman paintings, Chithra Mithra makes a merger of his eyes and features of his mother to give a facial profile to Lord Anjaneya. In this latest painting, Hanuman has his mace in one hand, rested on the shoulders and a piece of jasmine locked between the thumb and index finger. Chithra Mithra has given so much emphasis on the detailing that the water flowing from the jasmine has been captured to reality and many people who have seen the painting have touched the Jasmine to see if it is a real one hung on the painting.<br /><br />“There are lots of myths connected to Lord Hanuman. They say one should not keep the painting of Hanuman at home because it invites bad luck in terms of marriage. I have paintings of Hanuman in my house and many people have bought my paintings which adorn the walls of many houses. Nothing wrong has happened,” says Chithra Mithra adding that Lord Hanuman has been his guardian from childhood.<br /><br />According to Chithra Mithra, Lord Hanuman can never bring bad luck to anybody in terms of wedlock and companionship because Hanuman, according to the artist was the catalyst in bringing together Rama and Sita. Hence, he is a person who brings together and bridges gaps and not the one who prevents union of two individuals.<br /><br />The next plan of action for Chithra Mithra is a painting on Ramayan series to be exhibited during Annual Book Fair in London.Kudos to this artist from Tulunadu who is taking his art beyond the Indian boundaries.<br /><br /></p>
