KATHMANDU: It is the creative genius who can bring back the marvellous lifestyle of a community living 300 or more years ago. And the painting exhibition ‘Kathmandu Valley Down the Ages: Glorious Culture and Architecture’ by Hari Prasad Sharma is proof that he is one such genius who has vividly brought back the historical and cultural events to life again. The exhibition began on September 24 at the Nepal Art Council, Babarmahal where the artist presented the medieval lifestyle of Kathmandu Valley. The architectural and cultural richness is overflowing in his paintings where Sharma has beautifully interpreted the cultural/historical important events through his detailed and imaginative work using oil. The use of vibrant colours and clever use of light and shadow has created a unique world of the past, but still has links to contemporary times of the Valley through architecture and places. In the painting ‘The Kot Massacre’, Sharma has depicted this historical event using his imagination. It is night time around Hanumandokha area (the architecture seen even in the painting matches current day’s Hanumandokha) and there is a brutal killing of army men. Many army men lie dead in the middle of the square where armed army men surround the dead bodies. The light and shade during the night where the brutal incident of Kot massacre took place under the light of a few oil torches is presented in a breathtaking way. Almost all the paintings are unique where Sharma has depicted people’s life that includes Jyapu couple resting in their room, people celebrating festivities, children playing at the bahals to giving farewell to artist Araniko while leaving for China, king Prithivi Narayan receiving tika from goddess Kumari, and many more. There is the grandness to the paintings because he has painstakingly worked on giving details to numerous human figures and their expressions, artistic details seen in temples, houses of medieval period and even if there are a lesser number of people, then he has worked on finer points showing the interior designs of the room. The exhibition continues till October 7.