Freedom Above All

Anjolie Ela Menon returns to Mumbai after nine years with a solo show of recent works

- Soumitra Das

The protagonists of her paintings wear that familiar faraway look. They could be the 'Goat People', the dark man in a singlet, his arm tattooed, a parrot perched on his shoulder; his bosomy wife in a mauve blouse, her head covered with a blue-green dupatta; the son in a tee and shorts, and the two goats seemingly deep in slumber. The melancholic woman sitting on "The Red Charpoi', her little son with blue skin and corkscrew curls sitting on the floor. 'The Goatherd-1', a little girl with mousy hair clutching her sleepy goat in her arms. 'The Boy Behind the Arras' half concealed. 'Madonna and Child II' sitting upright, as if posing before an early camera. Parvati and Ganesh', the elephant-headed child, a comical figure with his green skin and a globe for a belly. 'Yashoda and Krishna', wearing a peacock feather on his head. The dusky 'Namboodiri' with green eyes, an aquiline nose and a sandal paste mark on his forehead.