The art camp in an indirect way was also about rediscovering our historic Indo British links as equal partners in a new context of current global reality. Built around the concept of lotus as a symbol of living arts of India and its representation in culture and entertainment - arts, cinema, fashion, theatre, design and cuisine as well as spirituality across Asia and the World- Tamarai, and the celebratory nature of the occasion of its launch in the presence of such a galaxy of star artists added to the significance of the art camp.

The group consisted of luminaries of Indian art, the stars who are adding to the buzz around contemporary creativity and art scene. We had master artist Jogen Chowdhury from Santiniketan and effusive and generous Shuvaprasanna from Kolkata while soft spoken Achuthan Kudallur joined us from Chennai. Ever busy and spirited Yusuf Arakkal with wife Sara from Bangalore bonded with the group effortlessly. Frontrunner amongst women artists of India, Anjolie Ela Menon, as well as her protégé Nayanaa Kanodia were part of the group together with a select few from Delhi- a much sought after artist Paresh Maity, Zen master Satish Gupta, born painter Sidharth and minimalist Shobha Broota. Sanjay Bhattacharyya and Sujata Bajaj got held back at the last minute for personal reasons but they were there with us in spirit and through their amazing work, which was a part of the Sitaaray preview show held in London alongside the camp. Camera artist Amit Pasricha with his keen observant eyes was our photographer in residence and I was there as the curator of the project. The Sitaaray preview show which featured recent works by artists in the group was planned as the special inaugural exhibition to launch the newly renovated Chor Bizarre India's Art Gallery at Albemarle Street adjacent to Burlington Arcade in London as an integral part of the camp. The idea was to build an atmosphere and to give the viewers particularly the British who may be less familiar with the Indian scene, a flavour of the current Indian art that is going through an unprecedented surge in its aesthetic merit and market value.

Figuring camp fellows' drawings by Yusuf Arakkal

The idea of getting away from one's daily routine to stand, stare, reflect, breathe in fresh air and soak in different perspectives, seemed to excite us all enough to take the plunge and join the camp. Being in the company of other comrades with a shared interest and preoccupation was a reason good enough for the group to want to jam together for some adventure. All those in the group were established artists each with own distinct aesthetics, concerns and interests. These differences though melted away as the artists began to interact with each other, camping and living together, joking with one another while also offering free and frank comments in true spirit of comradeship, when jamming happened amongst like-minded people during the art camp.