‘Lifetime dream’

Mailscreener and artist, Dinesh Pandya, from Heathrow Worldwide Distribution Centre (HWDC), has received the Lalit Kala Academy Award from the President of India for his contributions to the Arts.

The National Exhibition of Art is the most prestigious annual event of the Lalit Kala Academy, India’s National Academy of Art. Every year, the month-long event exhibits and awards 15 artists from around the country, carefully chosen by a seven-member selection jury.

Before joining Royal Mail in 2004, Dinesh was a full-time artist and photographer. He graduated from the Sir J.J School of Art in Mumbai, India, in 1987 and has since studied various facets of art, including ceramics, pottery, metalcraft repousse and enamelling, painting as well as photography and interior design.

‘I received a British Council scholarship in 1989 for painting and photography here in the UK,’ said Dinesh. ‘In 1993, I received a Delfina Studio residency for painting in Spain and the United States. My association with the Lalit Kala Academy goes back to 1987, when I received a research fellowship for painting. Since then, I have had solo exhibitions and selected group shows at a number of venues in London, Mumbai and New Delhi.

‘I had the winning entry in the 2020 Lalit Kala Academy National Art Exhibition. The National award from the President of India was in recognition of this. For me, it was a lifetime dream and a great honour to have received this prestigious award from none other than the President of India.

‘I am very grateful to Royal Mail for their support in enabling me to pursue my art career whilst working full-time at HWDC.’