Young IAS officer Abhishek Sharma is using colours to draw tourists to the naturally beautiful places of Jammu and Kashmir, that often lie hidden in the mountains. He recently organised an exhibition of his paintings called ‘Ekaant, an Ode to Home in the Mountains’ that consisted of a series of his landscape paintings, done during his postings at various places in the Valley.
A 2018-batch IAS officer of the Chhattisgarh cadre, he is currently on deputation to J&K and is posted as CEO of JKEGA in Srinagar. His paintings exhibition was held at the Kashmir International Convention Centre and was also attended by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.
In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, Mr. Sharma, who hails from this beautiful land of valleys and mountains, opened up about his passion for painting and shared how he pursues it despite his busy work schedule.
PAINTING RUNS IN THE FAMILY
Mr. Sharma was born and brought up in the remote but breathtakingly beautiful district of the Jammu division, Kishtwar. While speaking to Indian Masterminds, he said, “Since childhood, I wanted to pursue a career in civil services and had an interest in painting, too. As art runs in my blood, I took no time in developing an interest in it. Many people on my maternal side used to paint, including my great grandfather and my maternal uncle.”
Growing up in a family where his mother used to work as a clerk in the SDM office, he used to frequently visit the office and get inspired by the work done by various officers. His mother always wished to see him in the administrative service, and somewhere, he also wanted to follow on the same path. He cleared the CS exam on the third attempt and scored a top rank of 69 to become an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Chhattisgarh cadre.
His love for painting received a boost at LBSNAA, as officer trainees are given a target to choose a hobby or art they want to get involved in and pursue in the future.
STARTED DOING LANDSCAPES DURING LOCKDOWN
After completion of the training period in LBSNAA, Mr. Sharma was allotted the Chhattisgarh cadre and was posted in a tribal district called Sarguja during his probation period. During that time, the Covid pandemic had also started in India, and the country got shut down for a period of around two and a half months under lockdown. It was a very unusual and unprecedented time the country had to deal with, and everyone was affected in some way or the other.
Reminiscing that period, Mr. Sharma said, “I was posted in Chhattisgarh during the lockdown and was missing home. Moreover, I had ample time with me to even paint. Despite having a limited stock of colours and other painting kits, I started a series of landscape paintings on my hometown, Kishtwar. I sketched around eight to ten artworks then. I didn’t stop there and kept on painting and increasing the tally.”
He said, “I used to go out for bike rides with my painting kit and explore new places and create an impression in my mind which I portrayed in the art form. Painting ranged from the banks of Jhelum to Dal Lake and other beautiful places in Jammu and Kashmir which I could witness and create an impression of.”
After completing around 37-38 paintings on the beautiful landscapes of J&K, Mr. Sharma decided to organize an exhibition in Srinagar and open up his art to a larger audience.
PROMOTING TOURISM THROUGH HIS PAINTINGS
As these paintings also covered various places of interest which were unknown to many people, it also helped in promoting the picturesque, offbeat tourist destinations of the UT and encourage local artisans to promote the local culture and natural heritage.
The exhibits create a stream of natural stories from Brammah to Bharnazar, and from the iconic landmarks of Jammu city to the icy silk mountains of the Uri valley. They also depict the grasslands of Kishtwar that sits at the centre of the hills and is famously known as Chowgan.
Mr. Sharma said, “I never liked to participate in painting competitions in school as I believe art cannot be compared. It is an expression which varies from one person to another.”
