Bhubaneswar: Odisha-born teenage artiste Maharshi Sanket has taken a vow to campaign against bullying and sexual abuse in schools. In order to create awareness on these two sensitive issues, he has undertaken a 1,000-km cycle yatra from Bangalore to Mumbai.
Several prominent personalities, including film producer and director Sukant Panigrahi have lent Sanket a hand to accomplish his mission. Many renowned artistes, social catalysts and citizens have joined hands with him.
Talking to Orissa POST, Sanket, who is an abstract figurative painter, said that having witnessed the impacts of bullying on children at close quarters and the suffocation and helplessness they suffer when in solitude has inspired him to speak out against the menace. “This is why I have undertaken the bicycle rally,” he said.
Art has always been an enduring passion for 15-year-old Sanket, who was born in the capital city. His father John George runs eco-village tourism campuses named ‘Siddharth Village’ in Bhubaneswar, Rayagada and Koraput.
Currently, Sanket is studying in Treamis World School in Bangalore. He has held exhibited his paintings in Bangalore as well as other places. He is also an avid cyclist and is presently in contention for becoming the ‘Cycling Mayor’ of Bangalore and plans to motivate people to take up cycling more often.
“My bicycle is my constant companion as I still continue to venture out into the lanes and by-lanes of Bangalore. Sometimes, I even try to compete with cars and surprisingly reach my destination faster – thanks to the traffic snarls,” Sanket says jokingly. “Campaigning on my bicycle is meaningful to me as it is a symbol of care, health, awareness and strength, for me.”
Talking about his art, Sanket said he draws inspiration from the works of Ramkinkar Baij and Amrita Sher-Gil as well as from the traditional wellsprings of Tanjore paintings and Mughal miniature art.
The recent gruesome rape incidents in Kathua and Unnao shocked and saddened him so much that Sanket expressed his grief and anger through his recent artworks.
It is worth mentioning here that recently, Pradeep Kumar Sen of Indore in Madhya Pradesh visited the capital city during his journey across 10 states covering at least 8,000 km on a bicycle to spread awareness on environment protection, sanitation, road safety and other such social issues. He had lost one leg in a mishap a few years ago, but that did not deter him from travelling across West Bengal, Bihar, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh before calling it a day in his hometown.
