Edwin Parmar, a Catholic painter from Gujarat, is the author of an oil painting on canvas, 143 by 0.90 metres, with a biblical theme. In the Indian-style work, Eve has waist-length black curls, Our Lady wears a sari and Moses is holding the tablets with the Ten Commandments in Hindi.
The work is currently on display at the Pastoral Orientation Centre at Palarivattom, Kochi, at an exhibition organised by the Bible Commission of the Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council.
Working 16 hours a day for 40 days, Parmar completed the big painting in 2005. At that time, he was living in Kalol, 40 kilometres from Ahmedabad, the largest city in Gujarat.
"I am Catholic," Parmar told AsiaNews. "In the state [Gujarat], Christians are a tiny minority, barely tolerated. One day I got an idea. Why not use Indian culture, which I love and which unites us all, to explain the Bible and our faith to Hindus and Muslims [the local majority]. The outcome was positive and non-Christians were quite impressed.
Fr Paul Kattukaran, Artists' Forum coordinator for the Office of Social Communication of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, helped Parmar in promoting his work.
"His paintings are thought from the perspective of ordinary people," the priest told AsiaNews.
"Seeing figures with Indian features impresses people because it eliminates differences. Today, everybody is caught up in electronics, television, but when they look at these paintings, they are struck by their depth."
Parmar's work has been exhibited in 39 churches in Thrissur Diocese, to which Fr Kattukaran belongs.
In view of his great success in Kerala, Parmar and his wife Maneesha moved to Kerala.