District Judge and Sessions Judge Sunil Vedpathak during his painting exhibition in Balgandharva. (Express Photo by Pavan Khengre) He was 18 when he first saw a peacock dancing at a friend’s farm in his hometown of Kej taluka in Beed district. For Sunil Vedpathak, the spectacle seemed to be a work of art by nature itself. That day, he went home and sketched his first peacock.
Today, the 57-year-old Vedpathak is a District Judge at the Pune District and Sessions Court. In the four decades since he saw a peacock dancing, many things have changed his life, but there has been one constant – his habit of drawing a sketch of the magnificent peacock every day.
About a hundred paintings that are on display at the exhibition show admirable variety in the style and form in the way the plumage takes shape – some look like line drawings, some following abstract styles, others made in origami styles, still others following the mandala logic , and so on. Express Photo by Pavan Khengre Vedpathak has sketched thousands of peacocks in these years, each different from the other. “For the last four decades, I have sketched a peacock almost every day and each of those has turned out to be unique. Various forms, shapes and styles that I come across during the course of the day somehow subconsciously get absorbed and these appear on the paper when I sit to draw. When I sit to draw, the style I will follow is not predetermined in my mind. It takes shape as I put pen to paper, ” Judge Vedpathak told The Indian Express at Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir, where an exhibition of his peacock sketches is currently on. This is his fourth exhibition.
Nearly 180 paintings on display at the exhibition show variety in the way the plumage takes shape – some look like line drawings, some follow abstract styles, others are made in origami style, while some follow the mandala pattern, and so on.
This is District Judge Sunil Vedpathak’s fourth exhibition. Express Photo by Pavan Khengre When asked how the judge finds time to pursue his passion, especially considering the judiciary is overburdened with pending caseload, he said, “That’s the question I am asked the most. People, and especially fellow judges, want to know how I find the time to draw. The fact of the matter is I don’t have to make any special time. The sketches happen whenever I find myself free. Many of these that you see were drawn in the half-hour window that I get during the afternoon”.
“It works like a stress-buster for me. Also, 15 minutes are sufficient for me to sketch and paint a picture” he added.
Vedpathak’s family members, who were at the exhibition on Friday when it was inaugurated by painter Murali Lahoti, have been supportive. “It’s true that on many evenings, after his return from the court, the drawing keeps him busy for a while. But I have never objected to this because I like paintings and the various forms that the peacock takes,” said his wife Anita Vedpathak.
As Vedpathak’s obsession continues, one can be assured that the peacock will continue to dance on the judge’s paper, taking newer shapes with each passing day.