Nivas Kanhere's works are characterised by the forces of acceptance and negation. Yet, the acceptance is not prima facie. Indeed, the more colourful works were done mostly during the extended pandemic period, as if in an attempt to disprove the doom. These works propose an ode to the vibrancy of (once-) lived surroundings. As the city regained its radiance, Kanhere reclused to the blues and greys. The expanses of unlived spaces made their presence felt in his works. Can this be called escapist? Is abstraction an escape from the real?