WE ATTENDED AN exhibition of paintings on cloth textiles by Anju Dodiya, who was born in Bombay in 1964. She studied at the Sir JJ School of Art. We were fortunate to have met her at Chemould Galleryin Bombay’s Prescott Street, where her paintings are being exhibited.

The exhibition is called “The Geometry of Ash”. The fabrics on which she has painted beautiful, slightly mysterious images come from all over the world. Some from West Africa, and one from London (it is a slightly stained British Museum tea towel).

According to the gallery’s handout:
“Anju speaks of stillness not as passivity, but as resistance. In an age of urgency, of constant outrage and digital noise, her paintings compel us to pause. They demand attention, not compulsion …”

Whetether or not you feel this when you view the exhibition is irrelevant because the paintings are beautifully executed and visually compelling. I am pleased that we were braved Bombay’s high air temperature one afternoon to walk to the show.