Interestingly, all eight artists participating in this exhibition -- Pampa and Pankaj Panwar, Chandrima and Dipak Bhattacharyya, Manjari Chakravarti, Rashmi Bagchi Sarkar, Salil Sahani and Sukanya Das -- have chosen to live and work in Tagore's land. "I selected them because I wanted to get the flavour of this place as it is today these works are nothing like the essential style we associate with Santiniketan. And while these artists stay there, they are not cut off from the outside world and addressthe same issues that concern urban life," says Niyati Shinde of the Birla Academy, and curator of this exhibition.

Not only have they broken away from the soft lines that traditionally characterised Santiniketan art, some of them have also experimented with newer, innovative forms. All of them display influences of a changing social and cultural scenario. "Pankaj, the lone sculptor in this group, works with fibre glass, a medium you wouldn't associate with Santiniketan. Also, his figures show a definite influence of South Indian temple art -- another indication of his awareness of the world outside," says Shinde.

Chandrima, the most well-known of the artists, describes her recent works as "my view of life and the world", and draws inspiration from dreams and nightmares. Her paintings reflect the bright rich colours and bold strokes that have gradually crept into Santiniketan art. "Chandrima weaves various intimate or personal happenings on a single canvas. The cluster of events are apparentlydisconnected but altogether create a multi-layered visual statement," says Bhattacharyya.

Manjari's paintings also function at a psychological level -- through the residue of childhood, to speak of the loss of innocence. "A broken doll, tattered pages of a child's scribbles, a box in which I had stored carefully my treasures -- a few seeds, bits of tinsel, scraps of coloured cloth -- reminiscent of an innocent world which had harboured my hopes and dreams. Why is it then, when I look at them now, tears spring to my eyes?" says the artist of her present concern.

Pampa's multi-layered paintings with three-dimensional quality are "related to visual feelings and moods" and inspired by natural elements. While Rashmi's works portray native pastoral scenes drawn from the life of the Santhal tribe. For Salil, painting is "an intimate dialogue", and Dipak's works are a "collaboration between my observation of the immediate surrounding and the vast body of work done by artists around me".

Perhaps the most tellingstatement though, comes through in Sukanya's works a critique on the world of advertisements. "The impact of advertisements on our daily life and its influences on the social, economical and cultural life of our country gradually became a serious thought process for my recent paintings," she says. Sukanya believes that art for art's sake has less relevance in today's world. "She juxtaposes the unreal world of glamour and glitter against the real world of the common man, his poor condition and day to day struggle," says Bhattacharyya.

Finally what emerges from this collaborative effort is a curious mix of the old and new styles and ideas. Despite sharing the same geographic space, each artist has brought along a distinctly individualistic flavour to the show. "They appear to have overcome the vexatious balance between legacy and exploration," says Shinde.

At the Birla Academy of Art and Culture. Till Oct 30, 1998. Time: 11.00 am to 7.00 pm.