It was in 1985, when I first came to Ahmedabad from my village with my father. On reaching the Geetamandir bus stand at around 9.30 in the morning, dad asked me, "Would you like to have some breakfast, son?" Walking from there he took me to the Aastodia Darwaza and my journey in this wonderful city started.

A completely new city and a beautiful morning, this proved to be a 'new morning' in my life. Reaching 'Chandravilas' dad said to me, "This is my most favourite place. When I was undergoing the training for a primary teacher at the Premchand Raichand training college, me and my friends used to visit this place very often to have the delicious 'Faafda and Jalebis'. Today, we father and son will enjoy the same." And that day I experienced the real Amdavad, the Amdavadi’s and the Amdavadi taste. It was indescribable experience, both gastronomically and culturally, and from that day I became an Amdavadi.

Recently on the completion of my Amdavad's 600 years, like other Amdavadi's, my heart also danced to celebrate this moment, this auspicious day. So how can 'Ahmedabad Mirror' remain apart from this celebration? They too decided to sing the songs of glory of Ahmedabad and decided to hold an art exhibition in its honour. Several artists like me accepted this idea whole heartedly. With just one phone call from Ahmedabad Mirror and I happily showed my consent and told them that I would create my best work and try to clear my debt towards Amdavad; which is so much that it is almost impossible to clear." I know many interesting stories about Amdavad and its heritage and so I was in a great confusion about the subject I should work on for the Ahmedabad Mirror Art Show. Anilbhai (Anil Relia) understood my consfusion and called me to discuss a few of my ideas. Finally he guided in this direction. He said, "Nabibakhsh, paint the faafda-jalebis." This came to me as a cherry on my cake. All of a sudden the taste of faafda and jalebi’s started to tickle my tongue.

The Sabarmati river, the Amdavadi culture, the monuments in the painting, are all who have witnessed Amdavad growing, they have all seen Amdavad blossom. Just like them, the favourite snack of all Amdavadi’s, faafda and jalebi, has also witnessed the same. This thought became the soul of my painting.

A while back my father made me experience this Amdavadi taste of faafda-jalebis, and today I'm making my children, Moobin & Mansoor, experience the same taste. Hoping that these two would further pass on this taste and experience to their children and so on.

I always wonder how many generations have witnessed this taste & experience, and of how many more generations will continue it further. This taste is also our heritage; and in this painting I have tried to convey the same. An old man and a young boy are seen having their best time, eating faafda & jalebi spread on a newspaper. In the background the river Sabarmati is swinging in its full mood, the river which has always remained a witness of this. Ellis bridge - joining two ends, joining generations, joining the two cities is seen. The newspaper which serves all interesting news is also enjoying the delicious faafda-jalebi. On the upper right corner of the painting, I'm seen enjoying the hot-hot 'cutting' tea along with my own Amdavad.  You can also see a foreigner, generously watching the magnanimity of Amdavad, this whole legacy. He's trying to capture this taste of Amdavad in his digital camera; hoping that he will spread this legacy back in his country.

I had these faafda-jalebi's with my dad, and now I'm having these with my children. This legacy has been going on for centuries and I hope that is goes for many more centuries. The people dining there will change, the time will change, but the taste will remain the same as ever for centuries; of the faafda's, of the jalebi's, of the papaya scraping, of the 'kadhi', and of the fried chilies!

I'm very thankful to 'Ahmedabad Mirror' for providing me with a wonderful chance of creating a work through which I was able to express all my good wishes to my very own Amdavad. I wish that my Amdavad will always be on the path of progress, its pride and dignity remains intact forever, and that there always is peace in my Amdavad. I would like to thank the very enthusiastic Anurita Rathore and the 'Ahmedabad Mirror' editor Pankaj Upadhyay for organizing such a wonderful exhibition.

Congratulations for their success!

View details of my work here

Newspaper Clippings of the show

The opening of the exhibition "A Day at Nathdwara" at the AMDAVAD NI GUFA on March 10th. 2010 was big success. Over 300 art enthusiasts, friends and art lovers were present at the event.

Here is what the artist Anuj Ambalal writes about the show and his experiences.

Everything about Nathdwara fascinates me. This quaint little town near Udaipur has all it takes to capture my imagination. A seeming chaos is what welcomed me as I entered the town for the first time as a kid. But over the years as I rambled along the narrow sinuous streets - without trying to decipher its randomness, the magic started to unveil.

This temple town comes across as a place bumbling with people and a flurry of activity. But then, as I wandered around exploring it, I experienced a strange feeling of stillness - almost timelessness - about it. I was struck by this duality and it eventually became bit of a challenge to depict it through photography - especially when I have had no formal training of the medium.

Another interesting aspect about the place is the panache with which its people use an array of strong vibrant contrasting colours around them. All around the town the walls of houses and temples are decorated with inconspicuous frescos & religious graffitis. These combined with its unique and distinct architectural idiom has successfully created an amazingly tactile, dynamic and a touching visual experience. And It is the ease and playfulness with which the people have derived such high aesthetics is something that never fails to amaze me.

Three years back I started taking photographs of the town with an intention to document it and also to capture these subtle nuances that form the core of the Nathdwara aesthetics. This exhibition is an attempt to relive that visual experience.

Press Coverage from the exhibition:

An article from DNA After Hrs. (Ahmedabad) - March 11th, 2010 (PDF 212.65 kb)

An article in Gujarati from Divya Bhaskar Ahmedabad (PDF 299.22 kb)

Archer the leading provider for Indian contemporary art and serigraphs, since 1978, announces the launch of Archer Art Warehouse.

“It has been long overdue that our city deserves a place where an aspirant or a hard-core art lover can find various works of art. A place where they are encouraged for their love & affection towards art and can also be guided to select art that meets their choice. We have the pleasure to inform that Archer is going to gift such a place at a very large scale called 'Archer Art Warehouse' which stocks various works of art like contemporary paintings, sculptures, graphics and other folk art.”, says Anil Relia founder Chairman of Archer.

Founder of Archer

Anil Relia founded the group “Archer” as a small atelier in Ahmedabad in 1978. He is a Fine Arts Major in Applied Arts, Serigraphy and Photography from the M. S. University of Baroda. Under his able guidance, Archer has been professionally involved in screen printing activities for a number of renowned designers and companies.

His soft spot for art has inspired him to collect paintings and sculptures of many Indian Masters & Contemporary artists as well as miniatures, pichwais and many other vintage & rare works like photographs, photo paintings, books, stamps, lithographs, etchings etc.

Archer's Activity

From a studio in a small room in 1978, Archer started with design and printing jobs for small & medium business groups. Growing with time and successful results of challenging printing works for some publication & advertisement groups made Archer known and popular for creative and exceptional work. In a very short span, Archer had long list of corporate clients throughout the country. Relia says, “It was dedication to my profession and support of my family, specially my wife Tanuja that gave me the strength to work harder and harder. If I belong to the creative department of my company, Tanuja has to be called the coordinator of my company.” During the period of last 30 years, the commitment to quality & dedication of work paid off in terms of numerous National Awards & Achievements and blue chip clientele.

Art Publication

Anil's background in screen printing and his inclination towards fine art prints motivated him to venture into publication of serigraphs in collaboration with renowned Indian contemporary artists. His passion for art has allowed him to enjoy close relations and art discussions with several artists like S. H. Raza, Jogen Chowdhury, Bhupen Khakhar, Amit Ambalal, Manu & Madhvi Parekh to name a few.

Hence, with the vision of enhancing the Indian art market, Archer initiated the printing of Limited Edition Graphics in 1997. Since then, Archer has worked on the path to bring out the finest quality work at an artistic level completing numerous editions for some of the most popular and demanding artists of the day including Jogen Chowdhury, Amit Ambalal, S. H. Raza, Manjit Bawa, Manu Parekh, Madhvi Parekh and Thota Vaikuntam.

All the Limited Edition prints executed by Archer are carefully examined and signed by the respective artist making it a collectable piece of art. The materials used in producing a Limited Edition print are of archival quality, this is done to preserve the life of the print and to prevent discoloration. This genuine works of art released by Archer comes along with a Certificate of Authenticity. This has played an important role in the development of the art scene in India by popularizing the demand for fine art prints in a new segment; people could now enjoy the artists' work at an affordable price compared to the original paintings.

The concept of Art Warehouse

“As said, my family is my strength and this time my son Manan, his wife Ishani, and my daughter Radhika have joined forces to make my wish come true.” says Anil Relia. Manan & Ishani Relia, with their professional experience from overseas, and Radhika with a degree in art have helped in opening the Art Warehouse. “Since childhood I found myself playing with my father's art collection and now it is my turn to take his company to the next milestone.” says Manan Relia.

At Archer Art Warehouse, you can spot works of art by renowned Indian artists like S. H. Raza, K. G. Subramanyan, Jogen Chowdhury, Manjit Bawa, Amit Ambalal & many more. At the same time they can also discover a range of Ravi Varma Lithographs, folk-art like Pichwais, Miniatures, Kali-ghat paintings, Bastar Sculptures etc.

Manan adds, “People have the misconception that good works of art are very expensive and can be bought only through art galleries. That is not true; we have a wide array of art at very reasonable prices. We want to make sure that even small to medium scale buyers can afford to own good art.”

The 10000 sq. ft space is divided into two floors, in which one floor will display a featured collection from time to time. The space is focused on satisfying the demand for art of artists of different segments as well as providing platform to upcoming and emerging local artists. For this first time in Gujarat a retail store of this magnitude has opened for public. Archer Art Warehouse will also provide works similar to those provided by large galleries in cities like Delhi and Mumbai.

Art as an Investment

Anil Relia says, “Art is not limited to a particular medium. It can be a painting; sculpture; drawing; fine art print (limited edition graphic); mural or installation.  And it is no longer considered a waste of money. If we go back ten to fifteen years, prices of art by many promising artists were 5 to 10 times lower as compared to today's market. An art lover, who bought such art, can now be proud to have art of this repute. This can now happen to present up-coming new artists, who are promising in their work. Having art pieces hang on your walls is status symbol now.” Indian art is now comparable to other world class art and so its demand is also growing.

Promotion of Art & Artists

Anil Relia says, “It is the moral responsibility for every human being to pay back to the society for providing such a disciplined, healthy and helpful environment. I always try to support emerging local artists by organizing exhibitions; and I want to make sure that art lovers can enjoy some remarkable art.” Archer has done many exhibitions in various cities of India like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Surat etc. and overseas like Chicago, London, Singapore, Dubai, Beijing etc. Archer has also published many books on artists like Kalaguru Shri Ravishankar Raval, S. H. Raza,  etc.