Ranchi artist's PM painting gets Rs 1.65L bid in e-auction

Ranchi: The bid for Ranchi-based artist Praveen Kumar Karmakar’s artwork of Prime Minister Narendra Modi taking the blessings of a tribal woman has reached Rs 1.65 lakh from its base price of Rs 1.5 lakh during the second round of e-auction for over 2,700 mementos received by Modi.

Modi auctioned the mementos he received during the course of his prime ministership to raise funds for the Namami Gange Project and the second round e-auction began on September 14.

It will end on October 3 at 5pm.

Talking to TOI, Karmakar said he took 24 hours to draw the painting. He further said, “When the painting was commissioned by the the CM’s Office to be given as a gift to the Prime Minister during his September 23 visit to Ranchi last year, the concept was to paint a picture of him with his mother along with the flora and fauna of Jharkhand in the background. I was halfway through the project when chief minister Raghubar Das called and asked me to make changes, which are now reflected on my final work.”

The framed oil painting on canvas is currently featured on the e-auction website of the Union ministry of culture. “The size of the commissioned portrait was increased that very day and according to the CM’s vision, I painted Modi taking blessings from an elderly tribal woman. I am very proud that a painting made by me will make a direct contribution to the cause of Namami Gange. It is a matter of pride for any artist that his or her work made it to the PMO but for me, the painting will be travelling beyond — to raise money for a noble cause.”

There are a number of other items in the catalogue for the second round of e-auction of mementos gifted to Modi during his visits to Jharkhand over the past few years. They include a framed piece of artwork made with brass and poster colours gifted to the PM by the state government with a base price of Rs 75,000 and a tribal musical instrument with a base price of Rs 500.