Beyond Highway NH4 - About the Exhibition

Anwar Husain has crossed the highway near his town several times. This time however he embarks on a journey where he will create beautiful pencil sketches of the life beyond the highway NH4 which goes all the way from Mumbai to Bengaluru and is the lifeline of the economy in south western India. Anwar has created eighteen pencil sketches from his walks around the villages beyond the highway.

One look at the sketches and what strikes you instantly is the contrast between the pace that the highway is and the villages which are not far from the fast moving highway. Nobody rests on the highway. Everyone is in a tearing hurry to reach their destination in a given time. Contrast that with the pace of life in the villages around - everything moves at its own pace, nobody is in a great hurry, nobody is stressed and yet there seems to be a graceful acceptance of life for what it gives you. Is it that people here live life more intensely or more tastefully as they seem to find time to explore all the nuances of life and each experience is a celebration of life. This attitude is not only seen at the individual level but seems to be the collective conscience of the community here.

Anwar has been able to portray all this with his thick and deep pencil strokes which show in their character that they are as unhurried as the subjects they are creating. You need to experience these sketches in the same unhurried manner as these people live their life.

Milind Sathe

July 2015