Montage: A Forum for Creative and Critical Endeavour is a group of artists, academics, writers, and other intellectually inclined individuals in Udaipur who are deeply committed to creative and critical endeavour. Founded about 50 years ago, Montage, after a few months of vibrant engagement with interdisciplinary pursuits, underwent a long period of hibernation. It was, however, revived in March, 2025, and has since been a platform for the exchange of ideas, literary and artistic appreciation and expression, and meaningful dialogue on cultural and intellectual issues.

At its 17th meeting held on 9 August 2026, members presented their ekphrastic creative responses to two elegant paintings by Dr. Raghunath Sharma, a former Professor of Drawing and Painting.

Ekphrastic creative writing is writing that is inspired by, describes, responds to, or engages with a work of art. The artwork may be a painting, sculpture, photograph, film, building, piece of music, or any other artistic creation. In essence, ekphrasis creates a conversation between two art forms—visual art and literature. It enables writers to explore how images generate meaning, evoke memories and emotions, and stimulate imagination.

Inspired by Dr. Sharma’s paintings, most members interpreted them as powerful symbolic expressions of the prevalent corruption in the country. While the artwork prompted Dr. Shail Choyal, an internationally acclaimed artist, to relate two morally significant memoirs, it inspired Vilas Janve, a widely recognised theatre expert; Dakshesh Paneri, an IT professional and poet; and Dr. Paritosh Chandra Dugar, an internationally published flash fiction writer, to express their responses in evocative poetic terms.

In response to Dr. Sharma’s paintings, Renu Devpura, a well-known Hindi writer; Manish Sharma, an accomplished theatre artist; Manju Dugar, a homemaker; Dr Manisha Shekhawat, a Professor of English; and Himanjay Duggar, a student of Delhi Public School, chose to present their thoughtful views in prose.

Other members who attended the meeting included Harsh Vardhan Sharma, a PhD scholar in Physics; Akash Choyal, an eminent artist; Kiran Janve, a homemaker and theatre artist; and Gaganjay.

The meeting was chaired by Vilas Janve and compered by Dakshesh Paneri. Towards the end of the deliberations, Dr Raghunath Sharma offered his expert comments on the creative responses and explained how his paintings had come into being.

The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks by the Founder of Montage, Dr. Paritosh Chandra Dugar.