Front Bazar, Kashmir

Government Art College artists such as Sunil Das, often took to painting landscapes en plein air, or outdoors. They used sketching and painting as a form of travelogue-ing. The bustle of the Front Bazar is palpable as crowds move through the alleys in this painting. Sunlight bathes the valley with the lazy glow of a late morning, casting cool shadows against the bundle of houses. A solitary bullock-cart trudges along the bridge, while long boats await their rowers underneath. The mighty Himalayas stand guard behind the quaint town as it buzzes with activity, blissful in its mundanity. The artist’s attention to detail brings alive the scene; one can almost hear the bells on the bullock cart, the calls of hawkers, the bustle of conversation in the market and feel the warmth of the sun on their skin washing away the cool chill of the mountain air.