Jaideep Mehrotra holds a solo show in Mumbai after five years. A pioneer in the field of painting in the digital medium in India, Jaideep Mehrotra has the distinction of being the first Indian artist to have his own web site on the Internet. Though his forte is painting in oils, he is quite comfortable working with sculptures in different media, digital-based prints, films, large-scale murals and installations. But contrary to all expectations, his latest body of work showcasing oil and acrylic paintings on canvas runs on a different track.

These paintings seem to be bound by a railways theme.

Yes, it’s the first time I’ve worked on a thematic show! I’ve titled the exhibition Retracked…as it is a kind of a retrospective journey. Visually, I’m attempting to relive the essence of what we were and are about. The Indian rail system, which inextricably linked the length and breadth of the country long before air travel and email, is an intrinsic part of us. The younger generation, as they have other options in modes of travel and communication, may not carry the same memories that I do of my youth – the innumerable journeys by trains to boarding school and back home, the smells and idiosyncrasies of every state and station we traversed. I wanted to relive those years.

So, this is merely an autobiographical exercise?

Not really. On one level, it’s a personal journey of evolving…it’s about growing up with vivid images of going to school or work, and how distant those memories have become in my present lifestyle. But on a more universal level, it encompasses the state (India) as it stands in reference to today’s social and political climate.

By political climate, you are referring to the religious and communal divide? Amongst other things, yes. I feel that the communal riots and the bomb blasts have their seeds in the Partition of India. I’ve only heard stories and incidents about the Partition and the trauma it spelt for families on both sides of the border, but it always conjures up images of refugees atop trains and in crowded stations. In these paintings, I have tried to capture my memories as well as my impressions and associations of rail travel.