‘Creation should last longer than the artist’
   Date :19-Jun-2022

Nilesh Ingle
Nilesh Ingle with the mural depicting India’s first War of Indepedence (1857). 
 
By Kartik Lokhande:
 
Years ago, while walking to his school in Akola, he saw artists using clay and transforming it into beautiful idols of deities. He wondered whether it was magic. It’s 2022 now, and he has sculpted his dreams into reality to a great extent. Meet a young artist Nilesh Ingle, who hails from Akola in Vidarbha, and has made his mark in the world of art, especially portaiture.. Recently, on June 14, 2022, Nilesh Ingle got a reason to celebrate. For, he was among the team of artists of South Central Zone Cultural Centre (SCZCC), which was entrusted with the task of creating murals, paintings, and busts of India’s freedom fighters for the ‘Krantigaatha’ museum in Mumbai Raj Bhavan’s underground tunnel. The museum was inaugurated at the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
 

sachin tendulkar 
 
The next day, Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Governor of Maharashtra, felicitated SCZCC artists including Nilesh Ingle. The occasion further fuelled Nilesh’s ambition of creating something like the works of celebrated artist Ram Sutar. Speaking to ‘The Hitavada’ at Nagpur, Nilesh shed light on his life, inspiration, and achievements. His father Ashok Ingle was fond of writing and singing devotional songs (Bhajans) even though he worked to repair tile moulds. Nilesh’s mother Leela is a home-maker. “When I was a child, I leaned on the back of my mother as she was preparing dough. She picked up a part of a the dough, instantly gave it a shape of an ox, gave it to me, and asked me to play with it. I was amazed. It was like magic that she could give the shape she wanted to the dough. Probably, it inspired my inclination towards sculpting,” he said. While walking to his school in Akola, he saw artists using clay and moulding it into beautiful idols of deities.
 
He used to stop by at the houses of these artists and watch their mastery for hours. In Std X, he made a mural depicting an episode from the life of revered saint Gajanan Maharaj of Shegaon. He also made a statue of Osho at his home. Realising his creativity and potential in him, his parents encouraged him to pursue the chosen path. Nilesh completed his school education at Akola, and later earned admission into J J School of Arts, Mumbai. Interestingly, with gift of talent, he topped in BFA and MFA examinations. Soon, a solo exhibition followed at Jehagir Art Gallery. In 2015 and 2016, his works won him Art Society of India’s Special Judge Choice Award (Sculpture). Already, Nilesh has gained reputation of being a fine artist. Among his works are a mural at the residence of master blaster ‘Bharat Ratna’ Sachin Tendulkar, wall paintings at Govandi railway station, murals at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus at Kurla, murals of Gajanan Maharaj, mural of President of India Ram Nath Kovind at Indian Navy facility in Lonavala. In Nagpur also, he is making murals based on 21 chapters of ‘Sant Gajanan Maharaj Granth’, for Shri Gajanan Mandir at Ambazari. But, Nilesh feels that the most challenging was the work he has done at Raj Bhavan in Mumbai. According to him, he has made busts of 20 freedom fighters, a mural depicting India’s first war of Independence (1857), a mural showing Lokmanya Tilak addressing a huge gathering. “Some of the artists from Nagpur actually refused to do some of the busts as the photographs/images of the freedom fighters were not clear.
 
The images were blurred in some part, facial features were kind of smudged or merged with the background. So, it was very challenging for me to make their busts with clear facial features and expression of appropriate emotion on their faces,” he explained. Though his father passed away in 2020, his mother keeps encouraging Nilesh to pursue his dream. His elder brother Pramod is a school dropout, as he had to engage himself into some job to take care of education of Nilesh and sister Pooja. Interestingly, in the past few years, Pramod had earned a reputation for himself as a wood carving artist. He still stays at Akola. Having achieved all this at a very young age, now Nilesh wants to do something as big as that done by his idol Ram Sutar, the master artist. “I may not be there after several years, but my creation should be there. My work should be lasting. For, I believe that a good creation lasts longer than the artist. That, precisely, is my dream,” he added, with enthusiasm in his voice and sparkle in his eyes.