The Fight, 2014

The Fight (2014)

I spend a lot of time observing birds while I am in Goa. This particular includes watching birds called Brahminy Kites, locally known as “Goen”. The mythical bird God “Garuda” was believed to be a Bhraminy Kite. This painting is about Bhraminy Kites and their life.

These birds are unbelievable flyers, they are arial acrobats! I can look at their displays for hours. The Brahminy kites are always looking for food, flying high in the sky with their eagle like eye. I feel they look as large as eagles when they are in action. It is almost impossible to believe that they are in fact quite small, just a little bit bigger than a crow. I think that I perceive them as larger than life because I love them a lot. I have to remind myself about their actual size all the time, leaving me even more fascinated. These birds are talkative and have a sharp wail like call.

In this artwork I painted the birds using a type of technical perspective to make them appear larger than life.  If you look carefully, while you may perceive big birds, they are painted in their actual size.

This painting is called “The Fight” because Brahminy Kites always fight with each other over food. Not only that, but other types of birds rob them of their food. While two Brahminy Kites fight, a crow may come and snatch their food from them. Wherever you see these Brahminy Kites, there will be crows waiting to see if they can rob them. Personally, I am always on the side of the Bhraminy kites! 

I love nature and birds in particular. My ear is always sharp and focuses on birds and the little sounds that they make. I stop hearing whatever people say to me just to focus on a twitter from a tree. I have lived in Delhi for over 50 years. It is a bird paradise with a minimum of around 250 different species.  In the winter season, migratory birds from cold areas join those already in Delhi and the number of species can reach over 300.