Acrylic on Canvas
24 × 30 inches (with gilded wooden frame)

A path-breaking Hidden Heritage creation by the brilliant Shashank Gautam, ‘Two Boys in a Lotus Pond’ is a contemporary reimagining of the ancient “Lotus Gatherers” motif from the ceiling frescoes of Sittanavasal caves, Tamil Nadu — a 1,000-year-old Jain artistic heritage site on Ajanta-Ellora artistic lineage and often overshadowed by Ajanta. Painted in a palette revived from ancient Jain manuscripts — lapis lazuli blue, lotus red, ochre, soft grey, and white — and framed in gold to echo sacred iconography, the work bridges lost tradition and modern expression.