Published on March 15, 2013, the Daily Post, India, writes about Pratiksha, her life and work as Osho’s sannyasin and her next exhibition.
Her outlook towards life is mystical. She dwells only in the present and cherishes each moment with a smile on her face. Pratiksha, as her name suggests, happily embraces the surprises life unfolds.
Artist Pratiksha Apurv, niece and disciple of Osho, embraced spiritual living at the age of 11. “The atmosphere at home was very different…I had grown up listening to Osho’s discourses early on. I started meditating when I was only seven. It was bound to leave an impact on me, even as a child,” smiles Pratiksha, insisting that she isn’t looking for a different identity of her own and that having been known as Osho’s disciple or niece has been her biggest blessing.
With an inborn talent for creativity, the lady took up fashion designing in 1987. Under the label Oshonik, she went on to design attires for eminent personalities such as Atal Behari Vajpayee, Vinod Khanna, Amjad Ali Khan, Hansraj Hans, Kapil Dev, Zakir Hussain and the likes. But, Pratiksha didn’t find her solave in the tiresome toil. “I was only living the outer journey. I wasn’t spending enough time with myself…my inner journey had ceased,” she says. Yes, it was a flourishing profession, but, finding her peace was foremost important for the 49-year-old based in New Delhi.
She then took to painting, a skill she had always possessed. She netted a distinguished name for herself, of that of a spiritual painter, in the art world. Insisting that she always paints with a preconceived visual, majorly inspired by the teachings of Osho, Pratiksha who has also painted shlokas from the Upanishads, says, “I never paint without visualising. The concept is clear to the extent that I am precisely particular even about the size of the canvas.”
Over the many eventful years, Pratiksha has travelled and exhibited her solo works across the world. And her works, intricate reflections of pious teachings, are not mere paintings, she says. “Time and again, people have told me that my paintings spread positive energies… The ambience and the energies that surround me when I paint get absorbed in my work, I believe.”
The artist will exhibit works from her collection – Spiritual Odyssey and Reflections – in Chandigarh from April 8 to 14, at Punjab Kala Bhawan, Sector 16.
Sharing that people spend their lives worrying about unnecessary things, she says, “If people spend at least an hour meditating each day, the world will be a better place to live in. that one hour helps you improve the quality of your life, keep a balance between money and peace of mind; this is what Osho teaches.”
Abiding by Osho’s teachings, the lady, along with as many as 25 lakh disciples, vowed not to have children. “That was in the ‘70s. The world was witnessing over-population and Osho felt that one generation of people must not produce children. I felt that I should do my bit for the world,” she concludes.
by Mabel Disket
Download another article
on Pratiksha and her forthcoming exhibition
in ‘Identity’: Painter Perfect (PDF)
More articles by Pratiksha on Osho News
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