National Gallery of Modern Art-Jaipur House-Delhi

On a recent visit to Delhi, I did not take my nephew and niece to the zoo (where they wanted to go) but to the National Gallery of Modern Art.However, they did not regret it.(hopefully)

ngma (4) With Bapu

The lawns and museums around India Gate-Raj Path area have been a favorite haunt of mine for many decades.

“Who is Nandalal Bose” I asked them. They did not know before the trip started.

But after the trip, hopefully they will not forget the name of the artist who art scholars regard as one of the founding fathers of modern art in India.

A beautiful exhibition has been arranged at the National Gallery.

…Where the seeds of time are embedded…which charts the course of modern Indian art from the late Mughal school under Mohamed Shah (1719-1748) to the Company school (Daniells paintings of the Benares Ghats were the favorite with the children) to the first recognized Indian artists like Raja Ravi Verma who painted in the tradition of European Realism to illustrate themes of Indian history and mythology. The exhibition traces the trajectory of Modern Indian Art from the colonial encounter of the 18th century to the current trends in the 21st century.

The journey of India’s art parallels that of her history, as she evolved from a colony to a modern nation. Art developed in tandem with local exigencies, with artists responding to the socio-political and economic imperatives of each era. Art emerged as an important tool of the national movement. After independence many artist groups worked towards the creation of a visual language for a modern nation.ngma (2)

Nandalal Bose instilled in his students a confidence in India’s own cultural heritage.

 In the words of one of his most famous students filmmaker Satyajit Ray (1921-1992)

“It was there at Santiniketan sitting at the feet of Mastermoshai (teacher) I learned how to look at nature and how to feel the rhythms inherent in nature.”

Some of the sculptures in the gardens of the National Gallery were moving

This one made me think a bit more than the others. A reclining man. In a very odd posture.

ngma Medically –the artist has sculpted a person with severe kyphoscoliosis –bent twisted spine.

He will have respiratory problems.After going through the exhibitions I returned to see it again. A metaphor of the complex layers of being.