August 2025 marked the one-year death anniversary of Smt. Nivedita Limaye. This article is being published to recognize her contribution to Hindu and Jain Temple of Las Vegas. Ganeshotsav 2019 celebrations at the temple had a unique program. 4 bhajans were sung by a group of local artists for Lord Ganesh, Krishna and Vithoba and Nivedita ji did a live painting of Ganesha playing the flute with Vithoba Murti image in the background. The entire painting was completed in 14 minutes from start to finish. The painting was auctioned immediately then, and there, in the temple to Dr. RD Prabhu with proceeds going to temple.

Nivedita ji was an Art Master specializing in watercolor paintings from the prestigious Sir JJ School of Art in Mumbai, India. Daughter of Chitrakar Krishnarao Ketkar, who himself was the first Indian to graduate from Sir JJ School of Art with a gold medal. She made her career as an artist and a drawing teacher and specialized in various forms of art, including oil, acrylic medium, and also fabric art, pottery painting and ceramic painting. She held several exhibitions in art galleries and venues in India, Holland as well as in the USA. She taught art at Municipal and private schools in Mumbai.

She later devoted her time to her sincere worship of God. She spent quite some time making use of her artistic talents in the service of the temple here in Las Vegas. 

Celebrating the Warli paintings at the Hindu & Jain temple of Las Vegas, she painted 

• The vase proudly displayed at the entrance of the temple 
• Daan peti (donation box)
• Chariot for God Ganesh 

Finally, she took on the project per my request to paint the warli art depicting Hindu religion heritage on six walls of the temple around the statue of Buddha. Project was demanding and she was almost able to finish the fourth wall. 

During her final moments, the very last day, she did the final sketch for the remaining 2 walls and gave it to her daughter, Sharmila Moharir, just few hours before bidding her final goodbye. Nivedita ji has signed her paintings on the bottom right. 

We truly value her selfless voluntary work for the temple. She positively impacted and connected with many of all the ages. She is survived by her son, Shirish Limaye and daughter-in-law, Medha Limaye, who live here in Vegas. A team of several artists and art volunteers came to complete the remaining two walls. 

Next time you visit the temple, please do see the Mrs. Limaye’s art work knowing the history of it. 

About Nivedita Limaye paintings

Warli Painting is a traditional knowledge and cultural intellectual property preserved across generations. This tradition in Maharashtra is among the finest examples of the folk style of paintings. The Warli tribe is one of the largest in India, located outside Mumbai. Till the 1970s, even though the tribal style of art is thought to date back as early as the 10th century C.E., the Warli culture is centered on the concept of Mother Nature, and elements of nature are often focal points depicted in Warli painting. Farming is their main way of life and a large source of food for the tribe. They greatly respect nature and wildlife for the resources that they provide for life. 

Warli artists use their clay huts as the backdrop for their paintings, similar to how ancient people used cave walls as their canvases. These rudimentary wall paintings use a set of basic geometric shapes: a circle, a triangle, and a square. These shapes are symbolic of different elements of nature. The circle and the triangle come from their observation of nature. The circle represents the sun and the moon, while the triangle depicts mountains and conical trees. In contrast, the square is rendered as a human invention, indicating a sacred enclosure or a piece of land.

Raas Mandal – In this painting, Radha & Krishna are dancing in the center. Gopis are dancing in a circle around them. Another circle of Krishna dancing with gopis follows and finally, other gopis form a circle among the trees. Dance is performed on a full moon night with the sky full of bright stars. 

One of the central aspects depicted in many Warli paintings is the tarpa dance. The tarpa, a trumpet-like instrument, is played in turns by different village men. Men and women entwine their hands and move in a circle around the tarpa player. The dancers then follow him, turning and moving as he turns, never turning their backs to the tarpa. The musician plays two different notes, which direct the head dancer to either move clockwise or counterclockwise. The tarpa player assumes a role similar to that of a snake charmer, and the dancers become the figurative snake. The dancers take a long turn in the audience and try to encircle them for entertainment. The circle formation of the dancers is also said to resemble the circle of life.

Pilgrimage – In this scene, you would see a pilgrimage going to the temple in the upper left corner of the painting. Villagers are going in a covered and open wagon. Ones in the open wagon are singing and chanting.

Some of the villagers on foot are carrying flags and water pots. They are all passing by a village. A typical Warli painting is painted in white however, Niveditaji made it more colorful. The simple pictorial language of Warli painting is matched by a rudimentary technique. The ritual paintings were usually created on the inside walls of village huts. The walls are made of a mixture of branches, earth, and red brick, which makes a red ochre background for the paintings. The Warli only paint with a white pigment made from a mixture of rice flour and water, with gum as a binder. A bamboo stick is chewed at the end to give it the texture of a paintbrush. Walls are painted only to mark special occasions such as weddings, festivals, or everything harvests. They make it with a sense that it can be seen by future generations.

Lord Ganesh and his Chariot – This painting depicts the villagers celebrating the local festival of ‘Ganesh Chaturthi,’ in honor of the God Ganesha, the god of auspicious beginnings. The painting is slightly diverged from the traditional Warli pattern, with the use of colors and done without a border. In the traditional paintings, the backgrounds are always dark brown, owing to the color of the mud walls. 

However, in normal practice, you can use any dark color. The consistency of the white paint must be right in the middle to be able to paint the intricate details while not losing its intensity against the dark background. 

Goddess Durga – Goddess Durga is aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars The word Durga literally means impassable, invincible, unassailable. 

Kaaliya Mardan – Kaliya Naag Mardan episode signifies Lord Krishna’s supreme power, mercy, and protection of his devotees. By subduing Kaliya, Lord Krishna cleanses the Yamuna of poison, symbolizing the removal of envy and pride from the heart. 

Finally, many thanks to all the volunteer artists who helped complete the remaining two walls. Thanks to Sharmila Moharir, Shyam Ketkar, Amolika Surpure, Sonali Sali, Kirti & Paresh Joshi, Paresh Varatkar, Rupali & Prashant Gupte, Ganesh Kadam, Jayadevi Ansari, Meenu Gupta, Monika & Dr. Sudhir Khemka, Anu Raizada, Anuja Kulkarni, Apurva Pund, Shivani Sali, Varsha Godbole, Medha & Shirish Limaye.