Jaideep Mehrotra paints a kick plastic message

A brilliant blue swirls over the painting, which Mehrotra says could either mean the blue sky which would not remain blue for long or “the scary attractiveness of a plastic bag.”

The 45-year-old artist, known for pioneering everything from fabric sculptures to computer generated art, iscurrently showing his works in an exhibition titled `Bookmark’ at the gallery.

But he’s instantly recognised by shopkeepers near his home at Malabar Hill and studio in Worli for a different reason. He’s the man who brings his own shopping bag and doesn’t accept plastic carry bags. A shopkeeper once complained to Mehrotra how he had to stock bags as customers insisted on them. `Just tell them no,’ Mehrotra advised, “ask them how they shoppped before plastic bags came on the scene a few years back.”

Some of the shopkeepers have already figured it out. “I know, sadta nahin hain,’ one of them told him. “The message is getting across,” the grizzle-bearded artist grins.

For a while, Mehrotra thought plastic bags were recyclable and, therefore, environment friendly. Until he discovered that the plastic carry bags were at the last stage of recycling.

However, today he regrets that the throwaway culture of the west which discards everything from leftover food to plastic bags, is very much in, andthe Indian culture of reuse has been dumped as well. “That was our plus point, we Indians recycled everything.” So he’s suggested a two-pronged strategy. A ban by the government on thin plastic bags to be supplemented by individual awareness.