Art is all about creating an illusion that is worth a hundred truth. And there’s no bigger truth than the artist finding some visuals alive and active in his brain, to the extent that when you find it represented on his canvas, you mistake it for a photograph. The same happened to me when I chanced upon Shashikant Dhotre’s paintings. The folds of the sari, oil in the shining hair of the women, their skin texture, the smiles or melancholy of the faces, the sun-rays forcing in through the windows, all seemed so real that it was difficult to believe that those women didn’t ever walk beyond the canvas! When I probed further into the life of the artist, I discovered an inspiring journey that reminds of a phoenix rising from the ashes with fire in his craft and strength in his pursuits. Coming from a background that resists freedom of mind more than it encourages, Shashikant has travelled a phenomenal path leaving behind the hardships of a less privileged life. But here I would celebrate his achievements instead of grieving over his struggles.