An artist’s attempts to present Jesus Christ and Christian themes in Indian settings are helping convey Christian ideas to thousands of non-Christians in India.
Jyoti Sahi, 76, uses his paintings to blend biblical themes with his native symbols and pieces of folk, tribal and Vedic symbols to take Jesus closer to non-Christians in India.
“I have known Jyoti Sahi personally, and his creative paintings are path-breaking. They introduced a paradigm shift in art, using folk, tribal and Hindu cultural symbols.”
Through his evocative art, Sahi attempted to make Jesus look like an Indian. He aimed to make Jesus accessible to a multicultural and multifaith Indian milieu, said the bishop, a former professor of Indian spirituality and traditions at Jnana-Deepa Vidyapeeth, Papal Athenaeum, in Pune.
Sahi, who once thought of becoming a Benedictine monk, took up a vocation of painting. With some others, he pioneered the Indian Christian Art Movement, encouraging artistic expressions of Christian themes.
Jesuit Fr Roy M. Thottam said Sahi is known as a theologian with the brush. He draws his inspiration from Indian cultures, mythologies and mysticism as well as tribal and folk traditions. “He has depicted Christ variously as ‘the tree of life,’ ‘Lord of Dance’ and ‘Christ the living water.’ He combines Biblical symbols with cultural symbols,” said Fr Thottam, who trained as a painter under Sahi.