A collection of 19 works, a combination of acrylic, watercolour on paper and graphite on paper, the paintings appear almost lyrical, an elegy of a simple life.

However, a closer look underscores the domestic turmoil surrounding the people’s lives. Says 44-year-old Gupta who also has a degree in Law, “The subjects have not sprung from my imagination. They are all from my immediate surroundings, which are often bypassed by ordinary eyes. I chanced upon them during long walks and catch them at work or play”.

Art critic Uma Nair curated the exhibition. Two Sisters, an acrylic on canvas, set in verdant surroundings is sunk in a green somnolence while a plain-faced girl in a yellow kurta looks on. The title from the show takes off from a portrait of a bespectacled, wiry man playing the fiddle against an old ageing gnarled trunk of a banyan tree.

Amidst the formulaic, quotidian depiction of women lazing around the field, The Tree of Celebration stands out with its real touch. An acrylic on canvas—a plain-clothed 12-year-old boy forms the center-point of the canvas dotted by multi-coloured kites, a partridge at his foot. “ It is the boy’s eyes which are very attractive. Despite having all the enjoyments around him, his eyes reflect a certain sadness,” said gallery owner Tripat Kalra, who earlier worked in the technical art of egg tempera.

Ask why he hasn’t moved from Jammu, since at one time he was highly sought after in Europe, and Gupta retorts, “ Besides being my hometown, it is a wonderful place to work as my subjects are here”.