Subodh Gupta’s shows the affection of his tradition in the Rural Rhythm Artwork along with Kerala Boat.

 In 2021 Subodh Gupta explores the relationship between humans and cows in Janamashtami, a sculpture inspired by the auspicious occasion of the birth of Lord Krishna. Miniature art from India contains depictions of Lord Krishna, the Gopals, and the cows who sit in rapt adoration.  

Cow, the word, has several cultural references. Artist and genius Subodh Gupta enjoyed them. Gupta's first cow installation, The Way Home, was included in a show with the same name at Chemould Gallery in Mumbai. "My installation of the sitting cow, with all the different vessels surrounding it, was about culture, it was about an ordinary living, and it was also about state of mind," he adds in a phone chat from London.  

The items he used in his work appear as vernacular symbols, elegantly simple icons that depict the complicated social, economic, and cultural context that exists in modern-day India. 

Subodh Gupta art related to cows is connected with all the tradition and ritual he follows since his childhood. He explains the whole thing about the ritual that whenever a pooja happened in his house, his mother asks him to bring three things- mango leaf, dhodhiya grass, and cow dung. In Hinduism, cow dung is the holiest thing to use in any religious ritual.  

Whenever he was making installations, the memory and experience were represented by the motorbike with milk containers, the scooter with pails, and the bicycle with pails. Milk serves as the medium, and the cow shows how dependent man is on animals. Over the years, Gupta has created massive sculptures, paintings, installations, photographs, videos, and performances using a wide range of media. 

This is not the first time Subodh Gupta has gone so deep with his memory lane to create any sculpture. In 2012, the Kochi Biennale was inaugurated by Bose Krishnamachari and Riyas Komu. The inauguration day became standout by an installation created by Subodh Gupta that included a sizable Kerala kettuvallam (huge boat used to transport rice) packed with containers, utensils, and items from commonplace lives.   

Another piece that year featured a large Keralan fishermen boat with nothing but black water pots hanging from and spilling out of it. For many years, Subodh's pot has served as a substitute and a metaphor for a person's life. The traditional Keralan boat, which was displayed at the Kochi Biennale and was over 20 meters wide in the center, spanned the entire length of the gallery when it was displayed in London. 

For Subodh, the boat was not simply a means of getting around; eventually, it developed into an extension of the larger paradigm of survival, subsistence, and livelihood. The Jal Mein Kumbh, Jal Hai boat installation included a universal emblem. The black pots hanging from the ceiling reflected the effects of industrialization and globalization.   

Subodh Gupta believes that Kabir is a great mystic who can unite all religions in his understanding of One. His couplets, many people still chant them, have stood the test of time. There are two installations of boats created by an artist who can recite the couplets off-hand, and they form connections between container and content and quality of life.