Dr. Ravidarshan Vyas: Journey of life of a marvelous artist on canvas
Saurashtra has a very rich history attached to it, and there are hundreds of spots in this region of Gujarat, which successfully attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists every year. The architecture that you find here is unique, and glorious stories are attached to every bit of it.
Gondal is a magnificent, beautiful, and history-rich province situated in Saurashtra, Western Gujarat, and it’s a place where architecture truly wins hearts.
Today, we’re talking about a marvelous artist born in a family whose history is tightly woven with the royal families since the eighteenth century. He is the Director of Shri Bhuvaneshwari Aushadhashram Pvt. Ltd. and adhyaksh of Shri Bhuvaneshwari temple.
Bhuvaneshwari ayurvedic pharmacy and institute was founded by his grandfather Acharyashri Charantirthji Maharaj who was the physician (Rajvaidya) of the royal family. He was the one to pioneer Ayurveda in the Gondal region in 1904.
You’ll be stunned to know that he was the first person who bestowed the title of “MAHATMA” to Gandhiji in 1915. If you visit the Bhuvaneshwari premises, you can still find Gandhi Smriti and a plaque there. Pith still renders numerous religious and frequently carries charitable activities.
Dr. Ravidarshan Vyas’s father, Gopal Ratna, His Holiness Acharyashri Ghanshyamji, actively carried forward this heritage and played a highly important role in promoting scientific Gir Cattle and kathiyawadi horse breeding. He was the one to place Gndal’s reputation on the international map.
A gem of the Vyas family, who carried forward the legacy with his divine art!
Dr. Ravidarshan Vyas, the gem of the Rajvaidya family of Gondal, carried forward the legacy in his very own style.
In 1997, he qualified as a doctor in alternative homeopathic medicine, but he didn’t bound him to the medical line only. Yes, he is carrying forward the legacy inherited by his grandfather and handles the office, but he also beholds as adhyaksh of the temple and takes the rich historic art of Gondal to a new level through his paintings.
He feels that painting is the best way to express the richness of the experience. He was inclined towards arts right from his childhood. He devoted a large part of his life to traveling, visiting museums, artistic places, historic palatial monuments displaying exotic arts, and understanding the art style of various eras of various parts of the world.
He is a person that worships every form of art, whether it’s folk or classical dance and music, architecture, and interiors starting from cozy streets of colonial or native India to grand royal palaces of the Indian Raj. Throughout his life, he has been gathering knowledge of culture, traditions, fashion, arts, not just from remote areas of India embracing casts, creed, and religion, but also across various continents.
A self-made artist who has his own distinctive form of art
Trained artists do well, but the history itself says many stories where untrained artists did magic.
Dr. Ravidarshan Vyas is a self-taught artist, and he has built his artist character by studying the work of renowned artists. He looks upon the legendary artist Raja Ravi Varma’s art as the core of his inspiration and considers him his Guru.
He used to visit Laxmi Vilas palace situated in Vadodara (Gujarat), as he is a close one to the royal family. There he felt amazed by the creation and composition style of Raja Ravi Verma from a very young age.
Here’s an example Manidwipa’s painting from his art gallery:
His indo-western style of composing, dramatizing, and presenting mythological impressed Dr. Ravidarshan Vyas, and he loved the way Verma’s presenting his characters in a modern style of composition.
Dr. Ravidarshan Vyas portrays similar characters and adds extra focus to the intricate brushwork. That’s the reason you can see a reflection of the style of the uniqueness of the historical golden era of India in his paintings.
The hard work of learning portraits with oils began in 2003, and after 12 long years of hard work and dedication, series of paintings titled “Hrim Creation” came into existence in 2015.
In October 2018, this collection attained sacredness when it was offered to Goddess Bhuvaneshwari’s lotus feet by His Holiness Sri Sri Ravishankerji in Gondal, during his darshan and Kuldevi Yagya.
The second offering took place with a public display in mid-December 2019 in Vadodara. H. H. Rajmata Subhangini Raje Gaekwad graced this occasion accompanied by Their Highnesses and whole royal family in the royal premises (Kirti Mandir Palace) itself.
The joyous fact is that the journey is still going on, and fortunately, the whole collection is permanently displayed in his art gallery in Gondal, called “journey of life on canvas.”
Let’s put the spotlight on this.
“Journey of Life on Canvas”
Dr. Ravidarshan Vyas says that there’s a popular saying, “Life is a journey and not a destination,” and I believe that the same fits well for a “Celebration of Colors on Canvas.”
Drawing on walls of my houses and rough pages of school books was how his artistic journey began — occasional brush strokes on coloring books as a holiday activity transformed into a deep hobby. With time, Dr. Ravidarshan developed a deeper love for art, creativity, travel experiences, and he developed a keen sense of observing and understanding the intricacies of arts and crafts.
Later on, all of that brought great improvement in his artistic skills, and that’s how his masterpieces such as Asha Pura Temple Painting came into existence. He adds a unique style of composition to his artistic creations, and he gives a glimpse of himself, his dreams, thoughts, intuitions, experiences, and emotions.
If you have a close look at his masterpieces, you’ll be able to feel the depiction of various charming locations which inspired Dr. Ravidarshan Vyas during his many travel escapades.
His “Painted Biography” attempts to give you a glimpse of his life, which has been full of colorful experiences.
Indian mythology and emotional aspects of life
There are many ways to learn about the emotional aspects of life, and Indian mythology is a great example of the same. Dr. Ravidarshan Vyas captures moments from his methodology and depicts his inner feelings in a personalized way through his masterpiece paintings.
Every single painting has a distinctive mood and theme, and keeping the same in mind, all frames of the paintings are individually crafted.
While paying homage to Goddess Shri Bhuvaneshwari Ma, he exclaims that without her blessing, he wouldn’t have been able to complete his creating tasks.
Further, he says that the ultimate sources of his art’s strength are his Late Grandfather Acharya Shri Charantirthji Maharaj, who was erstwhile Gondal State’s (Saurashtra, Gujarat) Raj Vaidya, his parents, and his beloved family members.
Besides, he exclaims that the journey wouldn’t have been that amazing without inspirational guru Shri Raja Ravi Varma, whose art fetched and nourished his art, and his teachers, who have highly helped in improving and enhancing his skills.
It’s entirely worth a visit
There are very few artists in India whose artworks are so deep and inspiring. Dr. Ravidarshan Vyas’ art gallery in Gondal, called “journey of life on canvas,” has got everything to fascinate you, and one shouldn’t miss the chance of admiring his artworks in real life, standing closely, and understanding various perspex of this glorious journey, which we can wish goes on for years and years.
