Staff Reporter
Live painter Apula Pocham who is on an all-India sojourn to capture the diverse sights and cultures of India halted at Dimapur on Tuesday. The travelling artist paints anything (animate and inanimate) that captures his imagination or stokes his interest at any time and place evoking curiosity of onlookers and in the process even striking conversations with them.
32-year-old Pocham who hails from Chennur in Telangana has so far visited 19 states, including the latest one, Nagaland. The last state he visited was Mizoram where he spent 15 days. Other states, he has visited were Assam, Tripura, Jammu, Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. His next stop is neighbouring Manipur.
Pocham began his mission on December 2017 and has so far painted over 13,000 live paintings. Apart from deriving contentment from his paintings, he also enjoys bonding with locals who approach him on noticing him painting by the roadside or in public places.
In Nagaland, Pocham carried out live paintings of livestock and other exotic dishes on sale at Super Market and visited the adjacent Kachari Rajbari ruins to paint picture of the chess pieces. He has also painted several pictures depicting Naga costumes, accessories, artefacts and rural life.
When asked how he manages his travel and accommodation, Pochan said generous friends and locals give him money. On some occasions, people provide him both food and shelter and he also sleeps in churches and railway stations.
Pocham’s mission is to traverse the entire country and ultimately publish a book compiling his paintings and experiences. He intends to introduce it to universities to showcase the rich and diverse culture of India.