Art for a cause

Odisha or Orissa, lying in the eastern part of India has always been susceptible to natural calamities like flood, drought, cyclone. Just as the state was recovering from the great floods of 2008, it has again been hit by floods which has caused even more destruction this time around. More than half the state has been affected by floods. Over 2 million people have been affected. Official death toll as of today stands at 19. Many people have drowned and many have been swept away. Those who are alive have lost everything and have taken shelter on places like national highway. According to official reports 3,505 villages in 19 of the 30 districts have been affected and at least 21,816 houses have been damaged. But the worse is yet to come as the fear of epidemic breaking out looms large. If you just search for 'Orissa floods 2011' on Google you'll be able to understand the amount of destruction that has taken place.

Flood relief operations are on in the state by government and non government organizations and they are facing a serious crunch of resources. The current situation requires all of us to come forward and contribute towards the flood relief operation in whichever way we can. And you can lend your support to this cause by buying one of my paintings. I have put 40 paintings of mine up for sale for this cause and all the proceedings collected from the sales will go towards an organization working at ground zero for the flood relief operations. A group of earnest young men here in Bangalore working towards the cause have identified UBSS (Utkala Bipanna Sahayata Samiti) for the ground level relief operation. UBSS, an NGO with proven track record in relief operations, has got many accolades for its tremendous commitment and dedication for this kind of activities. This NGO operates in all the districts with local volunteers. More information on UBSS can be found at http://ubssseva.org.

So here are the steps how you can help towards this cause.

1. Select the paintings shown in the link, that you are interested in. Please click here to see the paintings.
2. Send me a mail at prabal.mallick@gmail.com with the details (name and link) of the painting.
3. Make sure the subject line says 'Painting for Orissa floods'.
4. Then I reply back to you and you make the payment to me.
5. You get the painting and the certificate of authenticity.
6. I'll publish the details and receipt of all the money collected in a future post, so that you know that your money has been used for the right cause.

Please note that the paintings have been priced at a much lower rate, so that it becomes affordable for you. The price range of the paintings is Rs 1000/- to Rs 8000/-.

In the end I would again appeal to all of you to come forward and contribute towards this noble cause.