Saroj Prakash Bandi is a visual artist, whose works come forth as still meditations on time, memory and space. Bandi’s painting of the poetry of silence is rooted in a highly personal relationship with the ephemeral and the overlooked. In a poetic dance of abstraction, shadow and texture, the artist beckons us into the quiet beauty of neglected corners, mossy wall, dull surfaces of places spent from time.
Bandi’s practice is driven by a heightened awareness of “Nothingness,” examining moments that tend to pass us by—serene evenings, lonely afternoons and landscapes where quiet predominates. It’s in these meditative spaces the artist discovers the stories beyond words. Each stroke and tint on the canvas tries to transfer the intangible: the cold dampness that adheres to walls, the warmth of softened light, and the recognisable sensory impressions of places inscribed both in the collective memory and in personal memory.
But masterful applications of earthy tones, subdued greens and atmospheric grays meld to shape an immersive universe of shadow and light, while geometric forms suggest structure and proximity. Each of these compositions represents an intentional equilibrium between abstraction and realism, evoking a subdued nostalgia. The visual depth of Bandi’s works reflects the artist’s preoccupation with the passage of time and the way it alters the places where it used to live or be loved.
Silence becomes a portentous narrative in Saroj Prakash Bandi’s paintings. These pieces speak to viewers personally, making them think, but also reminding them of places they once lived. These canvases do not just represent; they are sensory experiences — brokering texture, smell, and the heaviness of arrested stillness. Bandi elevates mundane moments into exquisite visual narratives through this unique tongue of light, space, and colour, providing comfort and reflection to those who experience them.
Iftikar Ahmed is a New Delhi-based art writer & researcher.
