"The Changing Face of South Asia" opened on  Oct 20. The show is taking place under the auspices of Art Mithas and SAI and  has participating  artists from the Greater Boston area.

The opening reception was very well attended with an audience of more than 125 people. The concourse level at the CGIS South building was full of  engaged  viewers. The evening started with a welcome by Professor Bose, director of SAI Harvard. In  his opening address he eloquently summarized the idea behind the show. "It is a conversation between the art, with a harmonious flow between all the pieces" -Sugata Bose.

The exhibition has brought together art inspired by South Asia. Susan Bean, Curator PEM, moderated a panel where she encouraged the artists to share this inspiration. She underlined the commonality of Boston as a shared place of residence. In her words "Where you live effects your work in different ways and its interesting to see how different artists react to their common environment."

"The only brief I had when I was asked to curate this show was that it be diverse," says Manika Srivastav. She has attempted to do that by including artists from Pakistan, India and the USA. Yanick Lapuh who is French, makes his home in Boston and is inspired by the Tibetan Book of the dead. Sehr Jalal works in the miniature format. Mona Bhoyar is inspired by contemporary issues such as war and its effect on society. Gay Gilles works with natural materials such a bees wax and is in tune with nature after her travels in Nepal.Lenore Sempert has made a series of paintings based on postcards her parents collected in their travel to India. Sridevi Thumati is showing her series of photographs taken in a farm in Andhra Pradesh in India. Manikas paintings in the show are inspired by the prayer flags she saw in the foothills of the Himalayas.

As Professor Bose remarked these artists with their diverse approaches have somethings in common. Like the hands - which Sehr and Gay both have surrounded by bees in their art. And which Sri has portrayed with a sense of rhythm in her pieces.Or the strong lines of Monas art and Yanicks sculptures.

Deepak Singh of Mithas in his address hoped for the continuation of support for all the art forms from the South Asian region. He said that this show was a new direction for MITHAS which has in the past organized musical concerts in the region.

Various guests remarked on the remarkable space and how it showcases the art in a beautiful way. The show continues through Dec 20 during which time it is sure enrich its audience and encourage the thought that diverse paths can come together to form a strong road.