Art presentation to Hariprasad Chaurasia (Flute Maestro)

Friends, this was the time to feel proud on my arts once again, when I was invited for the portrait presentation to the Flute Maestro Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia Ji in an event organized by Santosh Sant, a senior disciple of the maestro.

This event was held at Shanmukhanand Auditorium in Mumbai on 6th July, 2018 and was organized for felicitating the flute maestro. Many dignitaries from the music fraternity of India visited the event and honored the maestro with flowers and shawls. Some of the names are - The very famous lyricist & poet, Javed Akhtar sab, Bollywood playback singer Udit Narayan, Suresh Wadekar, Roopkumar Singh Rathod, Bhajan Samrat Anup Jalota, Music composer Jatin-Lalit and many more.

The maestro was honored with the title of Venu-Samrat. This award was presented by his disciple Santosh Sant. After this award presentation I was called for presenting the art. During this presentation, many other dignitaries joined me and gave his hand support to the portrait. Below are the glimpses from the event.       

Portrait Presentation to Hariprasad Chaurasia Ji at Shanmukhanand Auditorium, Mumbai

There will be one more art presentation in near future. Till then, take care of yourself very well.

To see my art works, visit my official website - http://atulssketchings.com/

Love & Regards,
Atul Ojhal

Meeting with Pranab Mukherjee (President of India)

Friends, this was most awaiting and proud moment for me, when I was invited by 13th President of India, shri Pranab Mukherjee on his birthday. I received a call from his office on the eve of his birthday and was given an appointment time over the phone.

I planned a visit to Delhi from my hometown Firozabad. My eldest brother also joined me in this meeting from Delhi. We reached the destination 40 minutes prior to the appointment. I was told that before your meeting 6 Governors meetings are scheduled. I was asked to wait. No issues, excitement was on top floor ! :) .. But suddenly hear a voice of his secretary, "Hey Atul Ojhal, please come soon, President sir is calling you". We just quickly rushed to his room. Finally, we meet him, handshakes him, grab his blessings by touching his feet and present my art work, his portrait. He himself and his staff appreciated my art work. Here are few glimpse from this meeting.

I thank his secretary, his other staff for beautifully arranging this art presentation and certainly Pranab Da himself for this meeting and accepting my art work.

I will soon come with some new art works and meetings with another celebrity. Till then you improvise yourself and keep blessing me. 

Love & Regards,
Atul Ojhal

Meeting with Hema Malini (Dream Girl)

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Dear friends, I apologize for not writing a post for a long time. Nowadays I am more active on other social platforms. My artworks and updates are posted on my Facebook page Atul's Sketchings and on my Twitter Handle @atulojhal. You could join me there for faster updates on my artworks and events.

I feel the selection of the image to sketch is the toughest and the very important task. This took me really a much longer time in this case. After the selection of the image, I started with HB pencil first then 2B, 4B, 6B, 10B, and Charcoal Pencils. 4B and 6B used in the eyes. 6B and 10B used in hairs. 2B and 4B on the face. 6B is extensively used for giving the 3D impression which actually makes the portrait more realistic. 'Hard' charcoal pencil used in the background. After giving the finishing touch, I took the picture using a digital camera. 

The dream of meeting with Dream Girl came true in the month of September 26th. It was a very nice meeting with her. I got the opportunity to present my art and poetry work. She appreciated the art and applaud the poetry as well. Thanks to Mr. Janardhan Sharma for setting up this meet. This meeting was held in Mathura District of Uttar Pradesh from where Hema Malini Ji is the Member Of Parliament. Here is a glimpse of the art presentation.

Sharing a glimpse of poetry presentation as well.

I hope you like this artwork, portrait of Hema Malini Ji. I will post the next art very soon. Till then you improvise yourself and keep blessing me. :)

Love & Regards,
Atul Ojhal


      

Meeting with Nobel Laureate Shri Kailash Satyarthi

Thanks for being with me friends. Your presence feels me good and keep motivating to sketch finer & more beautiful and write something creative. These were your wishes and blessings only which actually got me privilege to meet Nobel Laureate Shri Kailash Satyarthi ji. I got this opportunity to present my art work and recite my poetry as well. I had requested him couple of months ago but that time he was abroad. Last week I received an invitation from his "Bachpan Bachao Andolan" office in New Delhi to present my art work on 27th April 2016. I was quite happy to receive the invitation. Thanks to Mrs. Prema for setting up this meet with him.

I reached his office 15 minutes before the scheduled time. Kailash ji was engaged with some other meeting which took little longer. Hence, my meeting got delayed by 45 minutes. He entered in the room where I was sitting. He handshakes first and ask my well being. He has an aura full of positiveness, that I felt in first impression only. We gave flowers to each other. Now its my time to present my art work, his portrait. I unwrap it and presented to him. He was quite happy to see his portrait and appreciated my art very much. Below is the picture taken at the time of presentation.

After art presentation I requested him to listen my poetry which was actually composed eve of this day.  Poetry has three stanzas. It briefly covers his journey of "Bachpan Bachao Andolan" so far. He listened the poetry very sincerely. After completion of recitation he pat on my shoulder and appreciated my poetry as well. And finally I received what I dreamed of, a most affectionate hug from him. You could see in the below picture.

And the meeting got over. He was tightly scheduled that day. He left for another meeting. Thanks to Kailash Ji for sparing his invaluable time !

Friends, thanks for reading this post. If you like it, do share with your friends. I shall come up with another fine art work soon. Do join my FB page Atul's Sketchings and invite your friends there. Stay calm & cool and keep improvising yourself. :-) May God Bless you all !

Love & Regards,
Atul Ojhal

Kailash Satyarthi (A Nobel Laureate)

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Sometime It really feels good when someone comes to you and recognize you through your work and through words posted on this platform. It actually reignites you to work more and write more. Let me share you a recent experience I went through. The same story got repeated again. Some one, a girl named Divya comes to me, recognize me as a blogger and appreciates my art works. She is an ardent follower of mine. She had read almost all the post. She had even remembered when I actually stopped writing and why ! yes, It was because of severe backache. She even asked my wellness. I told her that its better now. I appreciate her passion for blogging. I really thank Divya and all my dear followers for sincere reading of my posts !

This post is dedicated to none other than Nobel Peace Prize 2014 winner Shri Kailash Satyarthi Ji. I am a big admirer of his efforts paid for rescuing thousands of children from labor and slavery. Not only he saved those children but also put them in good education which took them forward to an excellent career.

I am pretty sure that very few might be knowing that he is an Electrical Engineer with a Master degree in High-Voltage engineering. Despite being an engineer he had dreamed something different, something noble ! For accomplishing his dream he founded Bachpan Bachao Andolan (Save the childhood movement) in 1980. Since then he has rescued 84711 children from bonded labor and slavery across 144 countries. Apart from many accolades in his bag he won Nobel Peace Prize as well in 2014.

I have requested him for a meeting to accept my art work, his portrait. Hope that day come soon. If you want to know about him more, please feel free to visit his official page on FB - https://www.facebook.com/KailashSatyarthi/, his BBA website - http://www.bba.org.in/ and his own website - http://www.kailashsatyarthi.net/ .

I will come up with next post soon. Till then keep sharing this post as much as possible. Do join my FB page Atul's Sketchings and invite your friends as well. Stay calm & cool and keep improvising yourself. :-) May God Bless you all !

Love & Regards,
Atul Ojhal

Atal Bihari Vajpayee (An Eloquent Leader)

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First and foremost, I apologize to my all followers for posting after a long span of time. Though I was continuously posting it on some other media, my FB page. (https://www.facebook.com/atulssketchings/)

Starting again with this post really making me happy. This day is the birthday of none other than former PM of our country 'Bharat Ratna' Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji. This is my second art work dedicated to him. I decided to sketch him again after a chain of request from my well wishers.

I have a strong desire to meet him and present this art work. But Atal Ji is not available for public meetings because of his health problems. I am hoping for this meet soon. May he becomes well soon and accept my art work.

Atal Ji always wanted to see India a developed country. His efforts towards this direction were really awesome but he did not get that much time to implement those ideas. Finally, his dreams were not fulfilled in his tenure. But we could expect it from current government and especially when his disciple & most favorite leader Narendra Modi is Prime Minister.

Friends, there is a good news for you all. On your request I have developed my own website for my art works. This site contains an Art Gallery, Events and Arts on Demand pages. Now you could order an art work from "Arts on Demand" page. For that you just need to fill the order form and submit it. Do visit. Here is the URL address for my website - http://atulssketchings.in/

I will come up with next post soon. Till then please share this post as much as possible. Do join my FB page Atul's Sketchings and invite your friends there. Stay Calm and cool my pals :-) May God Bless you All ! Merry Christmas and a very happy new year 2016 in advance !

Love & Regards,
Atul Ojhal

Asha Bhosle (Bollywood Playback Singer)

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 Extremely sorry for this unwanted delay friends ! This post after a long time. Though I kept posting my works and updates through other media but I know some of you were eagerly waiting for me here too. I shall increase my post frequency here. I have created a Facebook page Atul's Sketchings. You could join me there too.

This post is being written on a very special day, birthday of none other than 'Padma Vibhushan' Asha Bhosle Ji. She has sung thousands of songs in various languages in 81 years of her glorious life. She was officially acknowledged by the "Guinness book of world records" for the most recorded artist couple of years ago. She was awarded "Dadasaheb Phalke Award" in 2000 and Padma Vibhushan in 2008. I am pretty sure she would receive Bharat Ratna also very soon !

I have sent her this portrait through electronic media and received her blessings too. I wanted to meet her but could not plan it because of my parents bad health. I shall do it when time permits.

I will post next post soon. Till then share this post as much as possible, join my FB page Atul's Sketchings and invite your friends there. Stay Calm and cool my pals :-) May God Bless you All !!

Love & Regards,
Atul Ojhal

   

Pt. Bhimsen Joshi ( Hindustani Classical Vocal Maestro )

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Sorry for this delay guys. I am really late this time. Backache got aggravated once again. I had to reschedule all meetings with legends. Otherwise I would have shared those glimpses with you all. But no worries, it will happen soon.

Let me share my past related to this post. We did not have television at our home. We all brothers and sister insisted our father to buy a TV. Those days B. R. Chopda's 'Mahaabhaarat' serial was becoming very famous. And one more thing was grabbing attention. The song "Mile Sur Mera Tumhara" sung by Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and some other vocalist. But the voice of Pandit Ji touched my heart a lot. This was the first time I knew him and heard. Through out these years I used to keep humming this song. Though I scheduled him to sketch quite a long time back but got time now.

I would like to share one more story with you all. Few years ago I was sharing very precious time with Bhimsen Ji's students and colleagues. One among them shared this one. One day Pandit ji's concert was scheduled. He had to perform. But he was caught by cold and cough. Most of the organizers thought that today he would not be able to perform. Even he was reluctant to do so. But you know what happened to him suddenly. He asked to bring some green chillies. Once he got a handful, he kept all in his mouth and chewed. Yes, he chewed those chillies and came out to stage. He performed and got more appreciation than any other performances. So he was such kindaa person... "हिम्मत मर्दे तो मदद ख़ुदा "

I would like to appeal all Indians to go for voting in this election going to held over two months. Thats the only right we have...come on guys, go and vote for India ! I would encourage all of you to send only good candidates to the parliament. I have composed a slogan to encourage voters to vote. It is below.

"हमारा देश विकसित होगा तभी, जब मतदान को जायेंगे सभी"

Please do let me know your feedback on this art work. Now a days Navaraatey are running. Today is a second day. We worship Maa Brihmcharini this day. May this feminine eternal force bless us all with peace, love and humanity !

I will try to come as soon as possible. Till then be calm and cool. And once again "Vote for India" ! :)

Regards & Love
Atul Ojhal

     

Kiran Bedi ( First Woman IPS )

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Eternal feminine force Maa Durga is known to be the first woman of this universe. She is the nature and a creator of everything what we see, what we hear and what we speak. Without nature even Supreme can not produce anything. Though nature is been created by Supreme only. Women are the creator of our society. They bear the pain of this creation. They are in form of mother, sister and wife. They are the actual nation builder. They are the primary teacher of every child produced. That is the reason they are the most respectable creation of Almighty. It becomes our prime duty to offer our prayers to the eternal feminine force and deepest regards to women on this planet.

I have unparalleled regards to my mother and mothers of everyone. I was her child and now she is my child ! She is going to turn 63 years this year. I keep my hand on her shoulder and say, my child is grown up and 3 years old. She laughs :-) ...I love her smile, I love taking care of her, I try to fulfill her desire, I just enjoy serving her...One day she was watching Kiran Bedi Ji's interview on TV. She asked me about her. I told my mother that she was the very first women IPS. She dared to take decision of joining Indian Police Service at the time when women were not allowed to study itself. My statements echoed with in. Words strikes me and inspired me for drawing her on my canvas. I started and completed the above work.

Kiran Bedi Ji has lots of awards and accolades in her bag. She has been a role model for many youngsters especially girls for many years. She has always been against crime and criminals. Even after her retirement, she continued her service for public and mankind. She joined Anna Hazare for Jan Lokpal aandolan. And still continues her support for the party who works for India's development and could give an stable government for the nation. She runs an NGO in Delhi named "India Vision Foundation".

I have shared my work with Kiran Ji through mail. She has liked it. I would present her this work in my next visit to Delhi.

I would come soon with portrait of another personality soon. Till then you stay healthy, calm and wise !

Love & Regards,
Atul Ojhal  

Narendra Modi ( A committed leader )

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A child since his childhood inclined to spiritualism. The intensity increases as he grows. He used to share most of the time with religious mendicants. His family gets tensed to see his inclination. They started thinking about his marriage. It did happen and he got married to a girl. Still his interest keeps the same virtuous thoughts. Family folks and his relatives creates a pressure on accepting the marriage life. Despite this pressure his interest remain unchanged. Instead of going for the married life he opted the Supreme once again. He left home and reached to Himalaya. He spent some three years there. One day he returned back home with an intention of dedicating his whole life to the nation. Yes, he did that and still could carry the same motive with an immatchable will power. The child was none another than you see in the above sketch, PM candidate for 2014 elections Gujrat CM Shri Narendra Modi. He is being very popular with the name NaMo !

The kind of success he has achieved in 10-12 years serving Gujrat's people as a Chief Minister is been remarkable and doesn't require any note here. It would be quite enough to say in few words that he completely transformed the state to world class level. Gujrat became best performer in most of the departments whether its electricity, water, infra structure, education, etc..

There had been a strong desire to sketch Modi Ji for a long time. I am very much impressed with his public persona. The way he is running state, the way he speaks with his team mates and the way he gives speeches make me speechless. I don't see which party he is coming from, I don't know which caste he belongs to and I really don't want to know though. I see an angel in him whom Almighty sent for mankind and welfare.

Today is Makar Sankranti. I wish you all a very happy Makar Sankranti and all other festivals being celebrated all over the country. Lets offer our prayers to Soorya Narayan for going Uttarayan and give some relief from this chilling cold in north India....just strikes few words and I woven them into couple of lines..

उजियाले न रहे भ्रान्ति, हो जब जनहित क्रांति / 

  सूर्य आते ही 'मकर' में, मनने लगे पर्व 'संक्रांति' //

गुड में मिलाओ तिल, खाके खिल जायेंगे दिल /

          मंजा चरखी ले छत पे, उड़ाओ पतंग सब मिल // - AOD

This year 2014 is very important for all Indians. We are going to have Lok Sabha elections this year. Vote is a right for every citizen. So we must use it and send the right and honest person to assembly. I would request and appeal to each one of you for using your right and vote for India !

I will come soon with my new post soon. Till then you all be thoughtful and conscious of your choice !

Love & Regards,
Atul Ojhal

Welcome 2014

One more year comes to its end. Couple of hours to go and its 2014 ! I wish each one of you a very happy new year. May Almighty bless us with prosperity of humanity, peace, health and love. I thank all of you who all were in touch with me through out the year with their comments and feedback on my posts.

Its been little tough year for me. My mother and father both went under surgery. I was lucky to get chance to serve them. The whole span of time fell between my transition from engineering to arts. Most of the time I had to stay in my home town. I got chance to meet couple of legends this year. I met Sarod Maestro Padma Vibhushan Ustad Amjad Ali Khan Saheb in May and presented my art work, his portrait. The other meet was with Kathak Maestro Padma Vibhushan Pt. Birju Maharaj Ji in November. Both the meetings were fabulous and full of blessings and learnings !

I have composed a small poetry with three stanzas. Couple of  messages are hidden in these lines. Please find them below.

फिर एक नया साल आने को है ,

उन्नती की नयी आशाओं से भरा /

हो भरा शांति और सद्भावना से ,

ओत प्रोत हो ईश्वर साधना से /

सोच के नए आयाम बदलते रहें , 

पुण्य उदय हो और पाप ढलते रहें / 

तभी शायद खुश होगी ये माँ धरा , 

उन्नती की नयी आशाओं से भरा / 

फिर एक नया साल आने को है //

हमें द्वेष का भेष बदलना होगा ,

कातिल ईर्ष्या का दोष कुचलना होगा / 

और मसलना होगा कुरीतियों को ,

पुत्री जन्म पर उठतीं कुप्रीतियों को / 

तभी माँ बहिन का मन होगा हरा , 

उन्नती की नयी आशाओं से भरा /

फिर एक नया साल आने को है //

हमारे उत्थान को स्वस्थ राष्ट्र हो , 

सम्भव तभी यदि नायक सुपात्र हो / 

ये जिम्मेदारी हर जन को निभानी होगी , 

इस खुमार की बेशुमारी हर मन में होगी / 

तभी देश को छोड़ेगी भ्रष्टाचार सी जरा , 

उन्नती की नयी आशाओं से भरा /

         फिर एक नया साल आने को है // - AOD

Enjoy new year celebration with full of enthusiasm. May you keep the same spirit through out the year 2014. 

I will come up with new post soon. Till then live your life to the utmost !

Regards & Love,

Atul Ojhal

A Visit to Pandit Birju Maharaj

Finally came out from difficult circumstances and got chance to meet and greet one more legend. This time from culture, Padma Vibhushan Pt. Birju Maharaj Ji. The visit has been really fantastic. The kind of human being he is I have no wording to weave with. Such a great personalty with no side effects ! He is simply amazing, adorable, down to earth person. He was glad to see my art work and complemented saying "gajab kar diya". Thanks a lot Pandit Ji. It means a lot !

I requested Saswati Sen Ji for this meet. She is his disciple and a well know Kathak dancer. She runs Kalashram in Delhi, a institute founded by Birju Maharaj Ji. The request took little long because of the legend's tight schedule some time and some time my absence because of my father's illness. But finally one day I received the invitation from Saswati Ji through mail.

I was excited and wanted to see Ustad Ji asap. I reached Kalashram and saw so many of his disciples were practicing hard. I enjoyed their performances thoroughly. Just after couple of minutes the legend enters in the lobby. He was quite and stepping fast. I touched his feet and introduced myself. He gave a sweet smile and asked me to stay back. The waiting period was about to get over. and yes I was called in his aura. I met him and presented my art work. Below are the couple of snaps from the meet.

When I was in schooling I used to read about him in genral knowledge book. The question used to be like "Who is the best kathak dancer" and the answer is "Pt. Birju Maharaj". I never thought I would meet this legend in my life. I thank to Almighty for this sketching gift. Because of this skill I am able to meet such great souls and grab blessings from them.

My father, I called him Baauji, went under surgery in previous month. After couple of visits to doctor. Baauji was advised a surgery. It went well. He is now in recovery stage and will be fine soon.

Thank you guys for appreciating my work. Your feedback are most welcome.!

Take care and rest well !

Regards & Love,
Atul Ojhal  

Sachin Tendulkar (Master Blaster)

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Ohh yes, history repeated once again. you know what ? .. I portrayed Rahman Saab couple of years back. Once I was done with the art work, the very next day he received the Oscar ! It happened once again when I completed Sachin's portrait. Once the portrait gets completed, he received the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award. It might be a coincidence or Almighty listen to me sincerely :) ...Anyway, many congratulations to the Master and his well wishers !

I have been going through tough time. I am completely surrounded with life's difficult circumstances. My mother went under surgery. She had not yet recovered completely, my father fell ill. After couple of visits to doctor even he was advised a surgery. It was getting really tough to spare some time for my passion, for my life, sketching and specially sketching the one who is sitting in billions of hearts all over the world, the Master. I somehow scheduled it and spared some 15-20 minutes each day whenever I used to get chance after a well satisfied care of my parents. The portrait got completed while the master was completing his 199th test. I have tried to portray his 'Alvida' by showing his waiving hand.

Discussion over his records and on his life do not have an end. So not starting it now. It is known to everyone and the data is uploaded on bunch of sites. I am lucky to see Sachin's debut as well as his retirement. My debut as a viewer matches the date his debut as a cricketer. His debut was on 15th Nov 1989 and the same day I started watching cricket on TV and understanding the game of Cricket. He retired from the all types of cricket and I retire as a viewer on 16th Nov 2013 ! But no one knows the magic of Almighty. Someone may come once again and might entertain us more than the Master did. We should be optimistic as well ! :)

I would try presenting him my art work to the Master himself one day once the circumstances gets better. Hope it may happen soon. Wish me and bless me !

Enjoy this art work and your life as much as possible. Love and worship your parents. They are our immediate God, never let them feel alone. There is a humble request for all of you to share this post as much as possible if you like it.

Love & Regards,
Atul Ojhal


     

Madhuri Dixit (Dhak Dhak Girl)

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Hopefully, I did not let you wait for so long even after my bad health. This time, the art work is dedicated to most respected versatile Bollywood actress Shri Madhuri Dixit Ji. I thought of portraying her couple of years ago. But it was replaced by Aishwarya Ji. The reason, I got an invitation from Shri Amitabh Bachchan Ji on his father's birth anniversary. So I could not do that time.

Madhuri Ji is popular as 'dhak dhak girl' because of her "dhak dhak karne laga" song from 'Beta' movie. Personally if you ask me, I liked her each and every scene of "Hum aapke hain kaun". Mr. Suraj Badjatya sahab really produced his best and came up with the box office super duper hit. It is just one example. These are in huge number when Madhuri name strikes in mind. She proved herself so many times and became most successful actress of Bollywood.

After such successful acting career she was very much successful in her personal career also. She married to Dr Shriraam Madhav Nene in 1999. He is a Cardiovascular Surgeon practiced in Denver for a decade span of time. They have two children Arin and Raayan.

Madhuri Ji came back to acting couple of years ago with "Aaja Nach Le". Though movie could not do that well but Madhuri Ji's performance was very well appreciated and she was nominated for Best Actress Filmfare Award for record thirteenth time. She got good break with television. She is judging "Jhalak dikhlaja" dance reality show relaying on Colors with Remo Desouza. This show is doing excellent and she is being very well appreciated by viewers. I have composed couple of lines on her extraordinary career, sharing with you all too.

सर्वश्रेष्ठ अदाकारी का जीवंत उदहारण है,

अलबेला व्यक्तित्व और भी साधारण हैं /

'धक धक' गाने से बसी दिल धडकनों में ,

  युवाओं की मल्लिका आती रहीं सपनों में //

चाहे वो मुस्कान हो, चाहे नृत्य की शान हो ,

आन बान हो, या फिर संस्कृति का मान हो /

हर क्षेत्र में फिल्म उद्योग की बनी रही धुरी ,

               करोड़ों जुबाँ पर पसरी हैं आज भी ये माधुरी // - AOD

I wish Madhuri Ji a successful career ahead. I still see a huge appetite for acting and dance. I am a big fan of her dance moves. She gets lots of tips from Saroj Khan and Birju Maharaj. Both are undoubtedly deserve to be her Guru. I always wanted to portray Birju Maharaj prior to Madhuri Ji. And by God grace I could do that. Last to last art work was of Birju Maharaj Ji only. You guys would have glimpsed it before. If not, here is the link. Click Here.   

I thank everyone who all comment and share their feelings on this platform. I am grateful to their love and affection shown to me. Friends, I shall come soon with my latest work. Till then you all keep enjoying your life. Navaraate are going on. May Goddess Durga bless us all with prosperity of humanity, strength, peace and love.

Love & Regards,
Atul Ojhal  

Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia ( Flute Maestro )

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Two years ago, I planned to sketch a legend whom I admire a lot. When he plays his instrument, the flute, the whole environment turns into a beautiful garden. That gives immense pleasure and looks like Lord Krishna is playing flute sitting under a tree in Vrindaban.... But I could not start this art work that time. It used to get replaced by some other art work because of some reason. Finally, that moment came and I got chance to sketch this great man Padma Vibhushan Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia Ji.

The legend is from Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. As you guys might have read about him from the sources that his father wanted him to become wrestler. He did go for the training but it was just for pleasing his father. Almighty had decided something else for him. And it was a classical flutist. He learned flute from Pandit Bholanath Prasanna in Varansi for eight years. Later he joined All India Radio.

Hariprasad Ji got so many accolades. He was awarded Padma Bhushan in 1992, Padma Vibhushan, Hafiz Ali Khan Award, Dinanath Mangeshkar Award in 2000. He received Honorary Doctorates from two universities, North Orrisa University in 2008 and Utkal Universities in 2011. He has performed all over the world in his 55 years of his professional career. I dedicated two lines to the legend.

बांस में छिपे सुरों को, बांसुरी लायी उभार के ,

             आपने उन सुरों को सुना, दिलों को चुरा लिया / - AOD

I thoroughly enjoyed sketching Hariprasad Ji. I have surrounded him with seven colors band. They are indicator of seven swaras in music. I would love to be in his aura if I get chance. It might happen soon.

The next art work might take some time friends. I seek forgiveness for this. I have some literature work this month. And my health also not well. I am still suffering from backache. My well wishers and family members have been asking me for a quite long to take it little easy and take some rest. My pals, I agree with you and follow your suggestions. But you know, I would not have sketched any if I had considered my pain. Last 4-5 sketches have been portrayed in a huge pain and it used to get aggravated every time I sketched. But this pain grief was quite lesser than the happiness of sketching. Since so many of you eagerly wait for my art works. I am grateful to them. Their thirst only inspire me to keep sketching. Thanks for being with me and motivating me dears ! My mother's recovery is been rapid this month. She has started walking with the help of walker. Doctors are hoping for her to walk by own soon ! Thanks to all who sent recovery wishes and prayers.

You all live your dreams respecting your elders, loving your younger, following your idols and connecting the Almighty !

Love & Regards,
Atul Ojhal