When our mythological figures and ancient literature are brought to life through the primary colours, what takes form is nothing less than a visual delight. Rameshchandra N Rathod's paintings in the folk art style have an added feature — they narrate the stories, imbibing in the format the whole ambience, thus allowing the viewer to soak in the beauty of the narrative as presented.

And so, you just not see Lord Krishna lifting the Govardhan mountain, but also the villagers standing in awe and reverence, the animals, the birds, the clouds and the lashing rain too.

An exhibition of many such 'stories' was inaugurated at the Ravishankar Raval Kala Bhavan in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.

Rathod shares his happiness when he says that his paintings were much appreciated at the exhibition held at the Oberoi Hotel (Mumbai) a couple of months back.

This artist from Bhavnagar was an art teacher, but after retiring, he continues to experiment with his style of painting for he remains a guru, constantly guiding and encouraging his students. "I constantly try experimenting with my art form. Only then I can advise students on what works and how they can improve their art," he says. For example, he points out, the miniature-style painting which he chose to do on silk, while most of the others paintings are done on boards.

While he strictly adheres to the traditional, Indian folk art style, his subjects too are borrowed from ancient texts like Kalidasa's Shakuntalam, Meghadootam and Kumar Sambhav, among others.

Be it king Dushyant seeking to know from the birds, animals and creepers if they've seen Shakuntala; the lonely Yakshini separated from her beloved, or the young Bharata playing with a lion; Hanuman visiting Sita at the Ashok vatika or a Shiv-vivaah — each frame is intricately colourful and decorated, and the verses are virtually translated in rich colours.