Rishikesh, A growing trend and something heartening is stories of reverse-migration by youth from the hill-state who give up lucrative jobs and taking the leap of faith, return home to follow their heart.
Hemant Painuly is one success story, who returned to Rishikesh to pursue an alternate career in painting. In a very short period, this self taught artist has made a name for himself in painting life size murals.
An engineer by qualification, Hemant worked for two years in the technical field outside Uttarakhand, looking back he says, “In the two years that I was away, there was not a single day that i did not long for my hometown. One day, I decided enough is enough and returned home.” Today he pursues painting along with running a coaching centre to train young minds.
Amongst his personal favourite is a 30-foot long mural the Indo-Tiger Japanese restaurant in Rishikesh which took him almost a week to create with acrylic colors (water based) and spray.
My thoughts turn to his parents and their reaction when their lad gave it all up and returned home. Hemant considers himself lucky, “After quitting, my parents were a bit anxious about my decision and the future ahead. But when they saw my creative work, dedication and passion for painting, I won their love and trust.“
His theme ‘Back to Roots,’ is an attempt to inspire other young men and women to return home and give back something to their homestate.
Armed with a pallete, brush and colours he brings alive Uttarakhand’s vanishing traditions, culture, flora and fauna leaving behind thought-provoking trails on canvass which in his case are dilapidated walls, yoga centres, and cafes both in Rishikesh and Dehradun.
Hemant signs off saying, “My paintings help me to express my love and longing to revive forgotten ways of our past along with inspiring the youth of the state to return to their roots.“
