“Its Saturday, so everything is a bit quiet," Lok Chitrakar heaves a sigh relief as he leads me to Simrik Atelier, his studio in Patan Dhoka seemingly serene. The serenity dies down as he sips his coffee from a red mug in a bright airy studio surrounded by framed paintings. His studio was a world where gods and demons fight and make love on canvas.

Chitrakar has mastered himself in Paubha, a traditional Newari art form that depicts Hindu and Buddhist deities and tells religious stories. Ritualistic symbolism and tantric elements are used to depict these gods and goddesses in their different “mudras” (posture). Paubha is making a comeback in the Nepali art scene after almost a hiatus of two centuries.

“You need to be very precise when it comes to Paubha," says Chitrakar. "Every stroke, symbol or colour means something. And the most important thing to consider is the lining. Every object that is drawn needs to be lined perfectly,” he points out with precision displaying a painting of Chinta Mani Lokeshwor searching for the Kalpa Brikshya.

Paubha is not considered to have taken a final shape until all the details come to a point where they can be easily distinguished. Even though the painting Chitrakar was exemplifying gave an impression that it was complete, apparently there were still few details that needed to be added. “I hope to finish it this month” he adds.

Chitrakar comes up with another half-finished painting which is a visual depiction of a tantric manuscript that he has been working on for the past several years. The painting consisted of the elements of violence and erotic imagery but he rules out any skepticism or conclusion that one can reach regarding the work. “Even though this painting has a lot of erotic elements, it’s not an erotic painting. In tantrism, the male represents compassion and the female represents wisdom. It is only through the union of these two elements that one can achieve liberation. That is what the erotic imagery is trying to convey," Chitrakar makes it clearer.

As for the elements of violence which has been depicted by garlands made of freshly severed heads and people squashed under the feet of copulating pairs, Chitrakar wants to allegorise the obstacles we face on our quest for liberation and how we overcome them. “Death and creation, both of them hinder our quest for liberation which is why they are squashed under the feet.” he explains.

To fully understand these paintings, one needs to have a sound knowledge of tantrism. Chitrakar himself spent months researching the subject matter before he began outlining them. “It is very important to get the right information. There are rules that must be followed while painting Paubha. In the old days, people weren’t allowed to gain knowledge over these things, but nowadays, it’s important that we learn the meaning of the symbols to prevent from misinterpretation.”

Learning the traits of Paubha wasn’t easy for Chitrakar. Although from a Chitrakar family, he had to learn Paubha on his own. “My father passed away when I was very young, so I didn’t get the chance to learn from him.” However, his family used to paint ritualistic art for a living so he still grew up in an environment where he could pursue art. Chitrakar started painting at a very young age and by the time he turned 10, he had already created his first Paubha painting. “I honestly don’t know when, how or why I started painting. But it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do and all I’ve ever done.”

Making Paubha the only profession of his life, however, has not been easy for Chitrakar. When he started painting professionally, it wasn’t possible for an artist to earn a living solely through paintings. Perhaps that is the reason why many of his contemporaries left the field halfway through. But Chitrakar could never give up. For over 40 years, Chitrakar has fought to keep himself afloat, during which he had to survive many exhilarating highs and devastating lows.

One of his most bitter experiences involves having his work stolen by another artist. “This particular artist was a senior of mine,” he narrates the story. “This person kept buying many of my paintings. I was grateful to him initially because my works were being sold. I discovered later on that he had been exhibiting those paintings making his own. He even had a book of paintings published in Japan. All the paintings were mine, but my name was nowhere to be found.”

Chitrakar doesn’t hold any grudges against the artist for the money he made out of the paintings which actually were his creation. But having his own work credited to another was a huge blow for him. However, due to weak copyright laws here in Nepal, there wasn’t much he could do about it but be a mute spectator.

Chitrakar has also faced a very common challenge that nearly every artist in Nepal faces – lack of respect and recognition. In fact, it was only when he travelled to Japan in the 90s that he finally got a taste of the respect most artists accept as their due. “When I first landed there (Japan), I felt rather shabby, even in the new clothes I had bought for that trip. But once people learnt that I was an artist, the respect and admiration I got was amazing,” he reminisces.

“The bitter truth that we need to accept is that, the only reason Nepalese art has survived for so long is because of foreigners. Had the foreigners not bought our paintings in the past, we wouldn’t have survived. People did not understand art. For them, it was just some curio that tourists would buy,” Chitrakar, as every other artist, has a bitter story to tell.

But it is not the end of the world. “Over these 40 years that I’ve been involved in Paubha, people’s perception towards artists has changed drastically. People are now curious about art. We now have avid domestic collectors who are very interested in traditional forms of paintings like Paubha. And even if they don’t buy Paubha, I consider their interest in this field itself to be a big asset for the artists.”

However, we still have a long way to go before Chitrakar’s vision comes to being. “I would like to see some kind of painting hanging in every Nepalese household one day. It doesn’t have to be expensive, and it doesn’t have to be Paubha, but I think every household should have at least one art work displayed at their home.”

While the path we are treading has all come down to a perfect avenue, there are a few significant road blocks on the way. A major problem plaguing Paubha is the lack of resources and documents.

Unlike the west, we have very little documentation of the paintings of the past and the techniques we used. Most of the information has been a well guarded secret that gets transferred from generation to generation with no written document. Even Chitrakar had a hard time finding the right resources while trying to learn paubha.

“Back in the old days, people believed that these kinds of knowledge should be kept secret. Our art and culture are in no way second to that of the west. While they had Leonardo da Vinci and the likes, we had our own master painters and craftsmen. The only problem is that we didn’t keep any records,” laments Chitrakar. To avoid further danger, Chitrakar and his contemporaries have been sharing their knowledge with as many budding artists as they can to ensure that Paubha survives.

A visionary Chitrakar is well aware how art can survive, through the policy makers. “If Nepalese art is to survive, it needs to be included in school curriculums. Furthermore, the government needs to provide a platform for artists where they will get recognition for their hard work so that the new generation gets encouraged to pursue this field.”

Chitrakar believes Paubha could truly represent Nepal not only internally, but internationally as well. To make his point, Chitrakar recounts an interesting incident that took place while he was travelling to the US wih his students. “We did a workshop at Elmira College in New York to showcase Paubha. But, during the workshop, none of the participants were ready to believe that the Paubha we presented were genuine paintings. They assumed it to have been done through computers. It was only after a brief chat with my students, they started believing us.”

It was not only in America that Lok Chitrakar and his Paubha have made an impression. Kanzouin Museum in Japan has recently unveiled a series of 108 Paintings depicting the deity Lokeshwor that Chitrakar himself painted over the past 12 years. “The series is permanently exhibited there. And, they have also agreed to cooperate if any other organization in any other country wants to borrow the collection for an exhibition. I think this is not only a personal achievement but also a victory for Nepal and the Nepalese.”

In conversation with Shreesha.