In his canvases, the artist portrays the contrast between the rural struggles of survival and an urban desire for abundance. His rural upbringing and eventual migration to a big city made him experience these various complexities and dilemmas. He was greatly affected by the recent exodus of migrant works and the tragic events that followed, which put a dark veil on his hopes and dreams. Uma Shankar uses various images and elements to mirror these urban-rural complexities, be it street lights, zebra crossings, giraffes, birds or ploughs. These imageries depict various emotions that man has brought upon himself in his quest to fulfill his desires.