ART VIBRATION : Art Vibration

International Art Symposium 2025 and Myself ...

Day -1

Friends, the three-day International Art Symposium commenced today at the "Harasar Haveli" hotel in Bikaner, organized jointly by the Dhora International Artist Society Bikaner and the Korea-India Contemporary Artists Association, New Delhi! In this art symposium, approximately 27 artists from Korea and India will jointly create artwork on canvas.

The first day began with a welcoming ceremony! Following Indian cultural traditions, all the artists were welcomed with a tilak (forehead mark) and sweets, accompanied by Vedic chants. This was a unique experience for the Korean artists, allowing them to experience Indian culture firsthand. A special aspect of this welcome was that young children applied the tilak to all the guests while chanting Vedic mantras, which was an amazing experience for all the Korean guests, and they captured it on their cameras!

Following this, the symposium poster was unveiled, introducing all the participating artists with their pictures and mentioning the organizing partners: Bhoj Kala Pranyas, Korea-India Contemporary Artists Association, AVM, and Dhora International Artist Society Bikaner.

At 11 AM, all the artists were provided with art materials and canvases, and they began painting on 2x2 feet canvases according to their individual artistic preferences! The artists participating in this art camp included those from Korea: Ilung Eun Lee, Jong Soon Choi, Changrae Kim, Ha Soon Shin, Gul Hae Seo, Bo Yeon Kim, Ho Joon Kim, and from India: senior painter Dr. Vidyasagar Upadhyay, Dr. John Philpose, Shri Kalicharan Gupta, Shri Mahaveer Swami, Meena Dior, Shri Santosh Verma, Rashmi Khurana, Shri Vinay Sharma, Shri Hemraj, Bharti Arya, Dr. Mohan Lal Choudhary, Shri Ashish Kumar Shringi, Shri Lokesh Jain, Dr. Rajneesh Harsh, Shri Manish Sharma, Shri Sunil Dutt Ranga, Shri Manoj Solanki, Shri Kamal Kishore Joshi, Shri Anurag Swami, and Master Yogendra Kumar Purohit (myself) was also present!

On the first day of this art symposium, almost all the artists painted their canvases and made them available for display in the exhibition by 5 PM in the courtyard of Hotel Harasar Haveli! This was a living testament to the commitment of all the artists towards art on the first day of this art symposium! This art exhibition was organized for the inaugural session and will remain on display at Hotel Harasar Haveli until November 5, 2025, for the art lovers of Bikaner!

The inaugural session was graced by senior painter Dr. Vidyasagar Upadhyay, who presided over the session. Also present on the stage were senior painters Shri Kalicharan Gupta, Shri Mahaveer Swami, Korean President of the Korea-India Contemporary Artists Association, Ha Soon Shin, Director of Bhoj Kala Pranyas Bikaner, Shri Manoj Solanki, and President of Dhora International Artist Society Bikaner, Bharti Arya! The inaugural session was conducted by painter Shri Vinay Sharma!

Speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural session, Shri Kalicharan Gupta emphasized the significant contribution of art in strengthening mutual relations on the world art map through art! Because art creates harmony/confluence and interaction between the cultures of two countries! And language is no barrier here, but you also said that with your refined behavior, you can create space for your own country's culture within the cultural sphere of another country, provided your conduct and speech are restrained and simple, and filled with human compassion! Referring to the hospitality of Bikaner, you expressed the joyful feelings of the Korean artists and also thanked the Dhora International Artist Society Bikaner and all the artists of Bikaner on behalf of the Korean artists!

Then, all the participating artists were honored on stage by presenting them with a Rajasthani Pachrangi dupatta/shawl and a pictorial identity card for each artist!

Giving the presidential address, Dr. Vidyasagar Upadhyay said that the main reason for organizing this symposium in Bikaner is the active artists working here in the field of contemporary Indian art. Considering this, we decided that this 2025 symposium should be held in Bikaner with the artists of Bikaner, which has begun today with the cooperation of all of you and the efforts of the Dhora International Artist Society Bikaner and the Korea-India Contemporary Artists Association! You also expressed the hope that the artists of Bikaner would design a project and submit it to us, so that we can enthusiastically work on it and provide appropriate opportunities to the underprivileged artists here!

In the inaugural session, Shri Mahaveer Swami expressed his gratitude. On this occasion, he also mentioned his trip to Korea and the art training he provided to Korean art students, and invited all the artists to visit his studio from the stage!

Here are some memorable photographs of the first day of the art symposium taken from my camera in the courtyard of Hotel Harasar Haveli for your viewing!

Day - 2

Friends, the International Art Symposium 2025 Bikaner, organized under the auspices of Dhora International Artist Society Bikaner and the Indo-Korea Contemporary Artists Association, is being held at Hotel Harasar Haveli House in Bikaner!

On the second day of this three-day art symposium, all the participating artists took part in a Bikaner Heritage Walk, which began at the historic Rampuria Haveli - Hotel Bhawar Niwas Haveli, located in Rampuria Mohalla, Bikaner. There, they observed firsthand the dedication of Mr. Sunil Rampuria (Art Collector), a connoisseur and patron of art in Bikaner, and his unique and inspiring interest in collecting contemporary artworks. They closely examined and appreciated the artistic creations displayed in the haveli, which was a wonderful experience for all the artists! On this occasion, Mr. Sunil Rampuria's daughter, Sneha Rampuria, also showed all the artists her art and craft work displayed in her art gallery. I also informed everyone about some of my collected artworks, which are also housed at Hotel Bhawar Niwas Haveli by Mr. Sunil Rampuria, and invited them to view them. These collected artworks include paper art and craft work, full-size artificial pots, paper sculptures (portraits), earthen pot paintings, and some mural and new design cardboard works!

Later, the entire team of artists from the International Art Symposium arrived at Mohta Chowk, where they visited the famous Rabri shop of Shri Manka Maharaj! There, Master Kamal Kishore Joshi (participant in the International Art Symposium 2025 Bikaner and grandson of the late Manka Maharaj), along with his father, lovingly served his homemade rabri to all the artists! From there, the artists' heritage walk reached Bikaner's historical Silk Route (an international trade route from South India to the Arab countries, with Bikaner situated along it). A Jain temple was built here 40-50 years before Bikaner was founded, commissioned by a Jain merchant named Bhanda Shah, and it is still known today as the Bhanda Shah Temple. The artists observed the ancient folk paintings in this temple, which are known in Bikaner as Matharan paintings. Many of the temple's murals and artwork are still preserved in their original form. Adjacent to this temple is the Nagar Seth Temple, which is dedicated to Lakshmi Nath Ji, and next to that is the historical cowshed.

One of the artists, Rashmi Khurana, expressed a desire to see the cowshed, so I took her there. Upon seeing the countless cows and the grandeur of the cowshed, she exclaimed, "There are so many cows here! Amazing!" She then donated a sum of money to the cowshed, for which she received a receipt.

The Bhanda Shah Temple was the final stop of the International Art Symposium 2025 in Bikaner. From there, all the artists returned to the Harasar Haveli Hotel, where almost all of them completed their paintings. They also interacted with media representatives, including Dinesh Gupta, Kamyab Kalam, and journalists from the News18 Bikaner YouTube channel, sharing their thoughts on their artwork.

During this time, a senior artist of the art symposium, Dr. John Philipose, presented his art catalog to some of the fellow artists, starting with me and then giving copies to others, as well as to the director of Harasar Haveli.

Artists Mohan Lal Chaudhary, Bharti Arya, and Master Sunil D. Ranga added a cultural touch with folk music, which I also enjoyed as a listener. Some of the Korean artists went on a desert safari, while others remained busy with their artwork, including senior artist Dr. Vidyasagar Upadhyay. Yes, Master Manish Sharma, Dr. Rajneesh Harsh, Master Sunil Dutt Ranga, and Bharti Arya were present!

Senior painter Dr. Narendra Verma, Master Sunil Kumar Sharma, senior painter Raju Swami, music expert/painter Rang Malhar, and Dr. Damodar Tanwar, along with art students, observed the International Art Symposium 2025 Bikaner and also interacted with the artists!

On November 5, 2025, that is, tomorrow at 4 PM, an art exhibition of all the paintings created at the International Art Symposium will be held at the Maharani Sudarshan Art Gallery in Bikaner, which will be open to all art lovers of Bikaner free of charge! This information was given by the convener of the International Art Symposium 2025 Bikaner, Dr. Rajneesh Harsh, and co-convener Master Saurabh Sharma!

Here are some photographs from the second day of the International Art Symposium 2025 Bikaner for your viewing!

Day - 3

The International Art Symposium 2025 Bikaner exhibition, organized by the India-Korea Contemporary Artists Association and Dhora International Artists Society Bikaner, has commenced in the presence of senior Indian artists Dr. Vidyasagar Upadhyay and Mr. Mahaveer Swami, Dr. Kalicharan Gupta, Mr. Manoj Solanki of Bikaner, and Korean artists. 27 paintings are on display in the exhibition hall of the Maharani Sudarshan Art Gallery, Nagari Bhandar, Bikaner, Rajasthan. At the opening ceremony of the art exhibition, the Dhora International Artists Society Bikaner presented awards to all the Korean and Indian artists. A unique aspect of this art exhibition was that a child inaugurated the exhibition, and a young girl gifted her handmade painting to the Korean artists. I am sharing some pictures I took with my camera here.