A Rare Krishna Painting
“Dad just bought a rare Krishna painting that is 300 years old. Come over!” said Vijay to Einstein and Nitin.
As Eeshan stood in Vijay’s hall observing the painting at close range, the look on his face changed from interested to puzzled.
“Uncle,” Eeshan said, “how old did the seller say this painting was?”
“It’s from the 18th century,” said Vijay’s father.
“Look how bright the paint is. Paint that old and from that era was usually granular and faded, it could never be this bright. We learnt this in art class a few weeks ago,” said Eeshan. “I’ll be right back,” he added abruptly, running towards Vijay’s room.
In a minute or two, he came back with a magnifying glass. “Look at the painting under the glass, Uncle. See how smooth the paint looks.” He moved to another, older painting nearby. It was a beautiful painting depicting men of the Santhal tribe. “Now look at the yellow paint on this one under the magnifying glass. It looks like uneven grains of rice, which is how a real painting from that era should be. The Krishna painting is obviously a very new one.”
Vijay’s father looked disbelieving.
Some evenings later, Eeshan was at home when the doorbell rang. Eeshan was surprised to see Vijay’s father standing there.
“Eeshan,” he said. “I owe you an apology. I decided to have the painting checked for authenticity, just in case. It turned out to be fake! I lodged a complaint with the police and they have arrested the person I bought it from.”
“I noticed you admiring the painting of Santhal men that evening,” Vijay’s dad said. He stepped aside to reveal his driver carrying the painting.
“Someone with such a keen eye as yours for art deserves to have it.”
Eeshan’s eyes brightened. “This is one of my favorite paintings! Thank you, Uncle!”
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