19 June 2020, Coimbatore: ‘Bhairava’, a painting by Sadhguru, Founder, Isha Foundation, is being auctioned to raise funds for Isha’s ongoing pandemic relief activities in rural Tamil Nadu, the Foundation announced. Tamil Nadu is one of the runaway states where the pandemic has surged to staggering proportions, severely impacting livelihoods especially in rural communities.
‘Bhairava’ is an eponymous tribute to the iconic bull who passed away recently at the Isha Yoga Center. The popular bull with his majestic gait and bearing died during the nationwide lockdown after an infection – unrelated to the virus – could not be treated in a timely fashion due to the non-availability of veterinarians.
Isha released a brief video clip that shows Sadhguru sporting dungarees as he prepares his canvas with cow dung as a backdrop for the painting and talks about creating an “art work in honour of Bhairava, the most handsome bull you could imagine.” The painting has been created using only organic material like charcoal, turmeric and limestone besides the cow dung background. The painting is up for online bidding at ishaoutreach.org/charity-auction. Bidding closes on 5 July 2020.
Isha Outreach, the social and environmental arm of the Foundation has been running an on-ground #BeatTheVirus campaign to protect rural communities from starvation due to loss of livelihoods. Hundreds of Isha volunteers are delivering cooked meals and an immunity booster drink Nilavembu Kashayam every day to tens of thousands of people in rural Tamil Nadu. Isha is also distributing protective gear to frontline workers. Neither the Yoga Center nor the Thondamuthur block, the administrative division where the Center is situated, has reported a single positive case of COVID-19 till date. Thondamuthur block comprises nearly 90 villages and has a population of over 2 lakh people.
This is the second painting by Sadhguru to go under the hammer to raise funds for Isha Outreach on-ground efforts to prevent starvation. The proceeds from the first painting titled ‘To Live Totally!’ were donated towards the #BeatTheVirus campaign in rural Tamil Nadu.
