TEETERING BEYOND OUR GRASP

Meera Menezes traces Mahesh Baliga's journey from Moodabidri to London.

- Meera Menezes

“I live in my memories, I feel sometimes,” Mahesh Baliga tells me over a Zoom call.

Seated in his studio in Vadodara, the artist has just returned from a trip to Uttarakhand with a friend. We quickly discover many connections, foremost among them our common mother tongue Konkani and childhood memories of Mangalore. Baliga grew up not far from the port city, in the small town of Moodabidri, known for its ancient Jain temples, some dating to the 14th century. This provided him with the opportunity to closely observe their architecture and the details of their intricate carvings, elaborately decorated columns and murals.

Tragedy struck early in his life. He lost his businessman father at the age of four, when he was ambushed and killed by dacoits while travelling between Bombay and Mangalore. The only memory the artist possesses of his father is in the form of a studio photograph. The photographer, Baliga recalls, would make the dead more presentable by correcting their eyebrows and erasing marks on their faces by hand colouring the black and white photographs. Even as a child, the artist found this ability to transform the perception of a person mesmerizing.