Ram Kumar b. 1924 Benaras

Ram Kumar's Varanasi series marks a significant shift in his work, from his post-Paris figurative phase to the non-figurative world of abstraction. The artist's choice of the sacred city of Varanasi as the catalyst and inspiration for this move to abstractions is not altogether surprising. Hindus believe that death or cremation in this holy city leads to liberation rather than rebirth in another form and in some ways these sent.mes nts are reflected in the transition in Ram Kumar’s work from figuration to abstraction. In the words of the artist, 'sitting on the steps of the Manikarnika Ghat, watching the dead bodies some brought from distant villages in boats, waiting for their turn for liberation, I almost felt the disappearing boundary line between life and death.'  (Ram Kumar: A Journey Within, Vadehra Art Gallery, 1996).