GOVIT MORAJKAR
With his eye catching drawings of heritage structures, Govit Morajkar wants to bring people together to stand up for Goan heritage while also saving it for posterity
Govit Morajkar is an artist par excellence when it comes to heritage art. A graduate from the Goa College of Art, his interest in heritage was piqued ever since he was a child, living in a heritage house and spending his time exploring the pretty lanes of the capital city, which is home to many heritage buildings.
“I grew up surrounded by fireflies, in the beautiful village of Chimbel, sandwiched between ‘dongraar’ (green hills) in the east and the ‘Bandaar’ (Mandovi Plains) in the west, a place that is rich in heritage and culture with its proximity to Old Goa,” says Govit.
He completed his schooling from People’s High School where he studied for a good 13 years and always considered it as his second home.
His love for the culture and history of Goa made him pursue art and illustration as a career. “The moment I realised that art is a medium through which I can inform and educate people about the Goan structural heritage and its importance as an identity of every Goan, is when I knew what I wanted to do with my life.”
Govit’s illustrations are heritage buildings and he prefers using pens and ink as a medium. His colours of choice are mostly blacks, whites and greys. “I also use half dry markers which is great when it comes to capturing the tints in between the shades. A good play of contrast is inviting given that I am always bringing heritage structures to life with my art.”
As an artist who eternalises heritage buildings on paper, Govit states that one must have a sense of belonging to a place. “Goa has a ric
h heritage and I feel that its culture should be a part of the people here. One must be determined to pass all this to our future generations. I began realising what Panjim had lost when I noticed the sorry state of many old structures. Even what we have today, we are on the verge of losing and much as a lot of us notice this, we tend to turn a blind eye to it as we are so busy with the hustle and bustle of our daily lives. My work is a persistent reminder to people to pause, go back in time and re-imagine our beloved city as it was so many years back.”
His art career took on a different turn when he began illustrating for Peacock magazine, the annual newspaper of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), which is published during the entire length of the festival. “The Peacock magazine added a new perspective to my drawing career. I began doing more of colour illustrations, and this gave me a new way to understand and express my love for our heritage and culture. It is a good platform to showcase your work. This year, I was privileged to design the cover pages for all the nine issues of the magazine and it was an absolutely amazing experience. I would like to express my gratitude to Vivek Menezes and José Lourenço. With the fantastic team we had this year; we delivered excellence on all nine days.”
When asked on the connection between his life experiences and work, Govit says everything has a memory attached to it. “I spent 30 years of my life walking by the same walls, windows, lanes, streets, places and springs; each one has a different memory attached to it and I thought of connecting both into one and presenting them as works of art.”
Govit considers his artistic creativity as art and does not think of it as a business as he feels it might take him away from his actual cause.
He believes that while art does have a social responsibility, it has to be understood from two perspectives. “I believe art gets provocative and soothing as and when it is needed in society. Social responsibility must be understood from both perspectives, that of the artist and society. Art is not always about happiness, it is as much about rebellion, too,” he adds His work, especially heritage art is more about the cause rather than social accountability. There are times when Govit goes on a drawing spree and times when he does not draw at all. “This is a roadblock I usually face. When I get a mind block, I know it is time to shift to a different media. I feel a balanced mind is very important in my line of work.” His works have been influenced by Mario de Miranda – an intense study of negative and positive spaces and prominence of a particular object. “I have also been inspired by the works of Angelo Fonseca, Antonio Lopes Mendes, Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat.” Govit enjoys visiting protected heritage sites and learning about its history.
He loves tr
avelling, bird watching and as an avid football fan his heart beats for Liverpool Football Club and FC Goa. He is currently working on a project that will bring forth what Goa was like before the Portuguese rule and it promises to be a visual treat with a fusion of facts and his imagination. “It is a challenge as there is not much data available, and I will be recreating the scenes using my own interpretation but I promise it will be one of my best works yet.” Talking about his future plans, Govit concludes with a humourous line. “I am an artist, my future and fortune starts after I am dead,” he says with a laugh.
