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Businesspeople during the week, artists on Sundays!
There are a group of artists and painters
in Pune who love their art.
They have been going out of the city to nearby
rural areas to do land sketching. This routine
has been going on since 1965. In the days before
television, they used to go every Sunday on their
bicycles. It was a picnic-cum-painting expedition.
With marriage and added responsibility, the event
became a fortnightly one, and they upgraded to
scooters. Now, with grand children and business
responsibilities, "painting day" is
on the first Sunday of the month, and the trip
is in a four-wheeler. Progress all the way!
 "They"
are Shashi Karmarkar, Ramesh Talegaonkar, Ashok
Sainkar, Capt. A.V. Rowe, Bhalchandra Mohite,
Sunil Gokarn, and at times, Ravi Paranjpe. Shashi,
Ramesh and Ashok have been classmates in the Fine
Arts college Abhinav Kalavidhyalay, Pune,
while Ravi Paranjpe was their Professor. Capt.
Rowe and Bhalchandra have been their colleagues
in an Advertising Agency. Sunil is the youngest
of the lot.
The uniqueness of the entire venture is that
all of them paint / sketch in a different medium,
depending on their mood and fancy on that particular
day. They use watercolours on drawing paper or
canvas, oil paint, charcoal or just a plain pencil.
Bhalchandra Mohite has recently switched to 'nature
photography.'
In all these years, they have never held an exhibition,
nor have  they
sold any of their paintings. The paintings are
stacked in their houses or just given away to
anyone who appreciates them.
All of them love their art as much as the Sunday
outing. With a twinkle in his eyes, Shashi Karmarkar
says, "We paint for the love of the art and
would not like the talent in us to rot and disappear.
Though progress has been made by the use of computers
and photography, the pleasure and joy of painting
is immense."
May this class of painters and artists thrive
and give a sense of happiness to those who not
only paint, but also appreciate the art.
- Sudheer Waje
Photographs - Bhalchandra Mohite
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