New Delhi, Aug 9 - Pawan, a 20-year-old undertrial from Bihar, has found his calling after five in the confines of the capital's Tihar Jail. The inmate of the men's ward meant for convicts and undertrials between 18 and 21 is now a budding artist.

'My painting will be on display at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA) Aug 12,' the smiling young man told IANS at his workshop inside the jail.

Pawan's large water colour 'Baby Krishna slurping cream and butter from a pot' drawn to meticulous details on paper is part of a joint three-week exhibition called Expressions, featuring 36 leading contemporary artists and 35 inmates of Tihar Jail, who have chosen art as their vocation under a rehabilitation project. More than 100 works will be on display.

' 'Krishna' is actually a collaborative work which three of us worked on--but I led the team,' said Pawan, pointing to his co-artists Sanjay and Mehtab.

Expressions, which will open Aug 12 at IGNCA, will feature big names like Rameshwar Broota, Chintan Upadhyay, Bose Krishnamachari, Riyas Komu, Jehangir Jani, T.V. Santosh and Tejal Shah, along with upcoming artists in Tihar Jail, Pawan, Suraj, Sanjay and Mehtab.

The exhibition will be sponsored by Delhi Prisons, the NGO Ramchander Nath Foundation, and IGNCA.

In their 50 ft X 30 ft workshop inside the jail, the young artists are now busy giving finishing touches to their paintings.

'Every day, they assemble there from 8 a.m. and work till 5 p.m. We have designed the workshop in such a way that it allows play of natural light throughout the day and remains well-ventilated,' deputy superintendent Mahavir Singh Meena, who watches over the artists at work, told IANS.

The jail authorities and the foundation provide the raw material, while instructor Chaitali De from the Delhi College of Art teaches them the techniques of miniature enlargement, portraiture, acrylic painting, water colours and oil painting, along with basic art theory, history and appreciation.

The artists have familiarised themselves with the latest in contemporary art through books, brochures and catalogues on art at the jail library and through interactive workshops on the premises with established artists.

'I have taught them how to make graphs to draw large format figures so that they are proportionate.