The National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi celebrated Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav with Kala Kumbh artist workshops. By Team Viva
The National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi celebrated Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav with Kala Kumbh — artist workshops for painting scrolls measuring approximately 750 metres, representing the tales of valour of unsung heroes of India’s freedom movement.
These scrolls analyse the potential of art as a means to express national pride and excellence with varied forms of art from diverse geographical locations of the country. The celebration of the true essence of Ek Bharat Shresth Bharat was visible in these workshops where the rich diversity of our country in its cultural aspects was witnessed while portraying the heroic lives and struggles of unsung heroes of India’s freedom movement. These have been diligently researched upon and painted enthusiastically by more than 500 artists spread over two locations, Odisha and Chandigarh.
Aligning with the flagship programme of the Ministry of Culture, the aspect of collaborations and collective work has been outlined in these workshops. At Odisha , the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi collaborated with Kalinga Institute of Technology and Silicon Institute of Technology in Bhubaneswar between December 11 and 17 and, at Chandigarh, the collaboration was done with Chitkara University from December 25 to January 2.
Kala Kumbh-Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav reflects the essence of unity in diversity while also commemorating 75 years of India and the glorious history of its people, culture and its achievements. The scrolls painted in these workshops may be seen as an embodiment of all that is progressive about India’s socio-cultural identity which has been imparted prominence on the large scale scrolls as per the artistic vision of Adwait Garanayak, director-general, NGMA and mentored by eminent senior artists.
Ten gigantic scrolls of approximately 750 metres portray the tales of valour and the legacy of the unsung heroes of India’s freedom struggle. Inspiration has also been drawn from the creative illustrations in the Constitution of India wherein the artistic elements painted by Nandalal Bose and his team have imparted a distinctive appeal along with several representations from the indigenous arts of India. These represent and showcase the rich cultural heritage of India along with the insights of struggles undertaken by the unsung heroes for achieving India’s freedom.
At Bhubaneswar, the narratives have reflected the tales of valour and historical elements of India’s movement of freedom struggle focusing on Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bengal, northeastern parts of India and Andhra Pradesh with artistic expressions reflecting the indigenous forms of art such as Pattachitra, Talapatra Chitra, Manjusa, Madhubani and Jadu Patua to name a few.
At Chandigarh, the narratives have been a reflection of the tales of valour of unsung heroes from Ladakh, Jammu, Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan with artistic expressions reflecting the indigenous forms of art such as Phad, Pichwai, Miniature, Kalamkari, Mandana, Thangka and Warli.
Students visited both venues. NCC cadets have also witnessed the creative representations of India’s unsung heroes of freedom struggle at Chandigarh. Lt Gen Devendra Sharma, SM, Chief of Staff, HQ Western Command, Lt Col Abhinav Navneet, PRO (Defence), DPR, Major D P Singh (Retd) along with other officials from the Ministry of Defence also visited the workshop at Chandigarh
The closing ceremony of Kalakumbh- Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav at Chandigarh was graced by Banwari Lal Purohit, Governor Punjab and Administrator of UT Chandigarh and at Bhubaneshwar by Member of Parliament, Dr Achutya Samanta who is also the founder of KIIT and KISS. Series of cultural programs were held in the evenings during these workshops, reflecting upon the rich traditions of folk and indigenous performing arts of India in collaboration with Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre and Northern Zonal Cultural Centre.
In the next phase, these scrolls will be placed artistically at Rajpath for the celebrations of Republic Day. The strategic location of these scrolls would serve as an open gallery for all the citizens and it is intended to inspire people about the rich national heritage and legacy of Bharat in its true sense.