OM Prakash, Contributor

Self-taught artist Bimal Saigal.

It is said that art imitates life, but when nature becomes the artist, the creations are not only natural, but intricately unique too. The expanse canvas of mother nature presents endless obscure forms of art for a discerning eye to see.

Bimal Saigal, whom nature has given a discerning eye to discover these sculpted forms bearing stark resemblance to human and animal forms, lurking in layers of anonymity within plants and trees, aptly calls his art Floral Fauna.

Saigal was drawn to the art of discovering shapes of living beings within the vegetative masses by a grotesque shaped root of a grapevine that was weeded out of the kitchen garden of his house. Tentacles of the entangled mass of the undergrowth fired the creative urge in the artist. It was only a prolonged probe from different perspectives that revealed a beautiful sculpted form of a woman holding her hands high in the air in an ecstatic form. All that was to be done was to remove certain conflicting portions of the unwieldy root to discover the sensual form. Thus developed an enduring interest in any entangled mass of branches and roots, which were transformed to artistic expressions of human and animal life representations. What to others appeared only dead masses of lowly wood, to him held precious treasures.

Elephant

Like the art forms, the art of discovering a promising form and bringing it to life is unique. The forms are enhanced from state of obfuscation by pruning the superfluous and obtrusive parts without any carving and thus avoiding tampering with their natural distinction. Imaginative skills, therefore, are paramount to the art. One needs a piercing perception and patience for practising this peculiar, but gratifying art.

Dancing dog

Over the years, Saigal has raised his creative collection to several dozen of objets d'art. There are human shapes in different physical postures and states of mind. There are mammals, birds, reptiles and even insects - many of them bearing stark resemblance to their live counterparts.

The varied collection ranges from a humble ant to the insurmountable dinosaur. There are representations of lizards, rodents, camels, horses, mythical dragons and a variety of birds, including the eagle and an ostrich.

Apart from animal forms, there are several interesting human shapes. A child rides on the back of her mother; a mother cradles her baby in her arms; a woman dances in delight while another sits attentively; a tribal couple pose in their natal attire; a woman is bound in shackles, representing the struggle for women's liberation and many more. His works have been showcased and appreciated in print and visual media in India and abroad.

Fettered Femininity