Research Paper

Narrative Art of Indian through the Middle Ages: An Analytical Insight

Ravinder Singh1,2 Dr. Gurcharan Singh 3

1Research Scholar, Department of Fine Arts, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, Haryana 2Assistant Professor, Department of Visual Arts, Sri Sri University, Cuttack, Odisha

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Fine Arts, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, Haryana

Corresponding Author: ravindersinghgusain@gmail.com

Abstract This presented research had an aim to bring to light about the history of rich traditions

of one of important form of art, i.e. Narrative Art. It certainly created a new level of interest and

insight into one of the world oldest and still mysterious (as per scholars) cultures through this

study. Another important factor brought forward through this research was that in India, where

the uses of narrative compositions have been continuously prominent. Rather than merely telling

a story, though, many of artists working in India use the power of metaphor to comment on

stories both personal and cultural, or to reflect on a specific aspect of histories, religion, myths

and mythologies of India. Storytelling is an important element of India's traditional character and

the narrative impulse continues to be a motivating muse for even contemporary Indian artists.

Narration had been the connective thread that binds contemporary artists to India’s rich oral

tradition.

Present paper successfully concluded as a major contribution in bringing together and

shaping up a broad clarification and important position of narrative art as per the other major

trends being followed in India throughout the history into broad contemporary Indian art

scenario.

This study will also reveal lack of understanding among the connoisseurship of Indian

contemporary art that has been stuck in an ethnocentric mode of self- comparison. Western

curators haven't had the training or vocabulary as has been felt (beyond "hybrid," "syncretism or

influence") to locate culturally what has been happening in India.

Key Words: Orientlist, Jataka, Ragamala, Miniature, Patua, Janamsakhis, Chaurapanchasika,

Mughal, Rajasthani, Pahari

Introduction In the Mythology, Ramayana and Mahabharata are the central point of the narrations.

Many short stories are also included in both the epic so that the human can correlate themselves

with the epics. As persons, situations, behaviour has changed time to time and all human has

faced these changes, whether good or bad. So all the human beings are different from each other

but still get associated with the various situations of epics. With the inspiration of epics the artist

has painted such topics. Many modern Indian artists had also illustrated the Ramayana and

Mahabharata [Tuli, 2004] in their own style like their predecessors of the different era by using

the beautiful imagination.

Narrative painting is painting that tells a story. It often depicts images from religion,

mythology, history, literature, or everyday life. Genre and history painting are each types of

narrative art. While genre paintings depict events of an everyday sort, history paintings depict

famous events [Sandelowski, 1991]. It can be a story, either as a moment in an ongoing story or

as a sequence of events unfolding over time. Some of the earliest evidence of human art suggests

that people told stories with pictures. Although there are some common features to all narrative

art, different cultures have developed idiosyncratic ways to discern narrative action from pictures

[Barthes & Duisit, 1975]. Prior to the advent of literacy most narrative art was done in a

simultaneous narrative style with very little overarching organization. Once literacy developed in

different parts of the world pictures began to be organized along register lines, like lines on a

page that helped define the direction of the narrative. This method of linking scenes together led

to other ways of telling stories in the 20th century, namely the newspaper, comic strips and

comic books [Mago, 2014].

Narratives occur in a space and unfold in time. In narrative art, the artist chooses how to

portray the story, represent the space, and how to shape time within the artwork [Petersen, 2010].

Narrative art can be categorized into various types, also known as modes or styles. A piece of

artwork is not limited to only one type of narrative. An artwork may have a narrative type as a

whole, as well as portions of the artwork itself that depict separate types of narratives [Small &

Jocelyn, 1999].

Literature Review

In this study, a vast literature has been studied and reviewed. In context of narration and

its rich traditions, the work with concerned phase, philosophy and perception along with the

various use of technology in their work in the Middle Ages, author take a penetrative approach

to the study. Although it may be understood that the complete literature either not available or

lost or ignored on the basis of importance.

In this literature study, it is found from the various angles that artists were quite

successful in dealing with the undertaken issue which was based on the artist’s experience,

category, socio-political condition, religious lineage of the said time, dealing with the subject

matter and incorporation of diverse techniques in their work.

Although, the artist’s own personal idioms their thought process and linguistic and

cultural lineage also considered thoroughly. On a light note, to study the below literature,

almost (approx.) 22 reference books, 10 exhibition catalogues, 50 research papers have been

thoroughly studied. To add and gather more information for the study, around 18 International

and National seminars were attended across India. Personal visits to the art galleries and

museums enriched authors experience further.

Narration can be understood as the picture that depicts two or more events in the same

picture plane. In narration, artists deal with the mythological, historical, contemporary, personal

and psychological issues weather those are religious, mythological, political or totally personal

ones. Narration gets influences from the artist’s personal experience and their personal touch in

telling a tale through their visual language. So here it is explained about the art of storytelling.

Following the plot Most stories in art taken from history, religion, or myth were known to their contemporary

audience but may be unfamiliar now. To help viewers, artists provided visual clues, such as

dramatic gestures, or objects, such as attributes, weapons, or crowns, to identify the key

characters [Connelly & Joan, 1996]. They style of dress provides another clue: classical drapery

indicates a history or mythological theme, but nudity is rarely a feature of historical tales.

Historically, as in the West, art in India has been also supported by temple or state (princely

court)-e.g., magnificent Chola bronzes, Ajanta murals or exquisite Mughal or Rajput album

paintings.

Myths and Mythologies: An integral part of Indian paintings

It has been observed that Indian psyche always has been overpowered by the myths and

mythologies during the various eras. We use the word mythological to signify the study of the

outcome of the imagination of the people, which take the form of tales. These tales when told or

written, needed interpretations in the visual medium, and hence these were carved or painted so

they brought a higher impact and acceptance among public. Myth is defined as an ‘utterance' or

‘word’ [Petersen, 2010], often a tale recited in association with a religious ceremony, and later

preserved. The myth required elemental characters, themes and symbols and focused on the

events of the past- the creation of the world, the origin of man and the gods etc.

Indian rich history denotes many such examples starting from the world famous Ajanta Murals

where the life stories called Jatakas and other incarnations of Budha are depicted so beautifully

and elegantly with astonishing effect of artistry.

Bagh CavesThe scenes in Bagh were not all religious but, a great parallelism with the last phase of painting

in Ajanta had also occurred here. There were pictures, which seemed to evoke Kalidasa's poems

even more than in Cave 17 in Ajanta [Collins, 1982].

The scene, showing musicians and dancers referred to above, is full of a strange rhythmic

vitality. The whole composition is upheld by the gravitation of all the figures towards the pivot

of the dancer. And there are the girls of Kalidasa's poems, with 'wine jar hips', on fragments of

walls.

In the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, there is a palm-leaf manuscript of the Ashtas-basrika

Prajna- Paramita with eighteen miniatures in the text dealing with this cult of early medieval

Buddhism [Petrakos, 1977]. The covers are intact. The small paintings show scenes from the life

of the Buddha, and other Buddhist divinities.

There was a manuscript, with Jataka scenes, in the collection of Mr. Ajit Ghosh of about 1100

A.D. Then there is a palm-leaf manuscript of the Mahavira, of the 12th century, in the Bharat

Kala Bhavan, Benares [De, 2002]. There are little palm leaf and, later, paper manuscripts, about

the lives of Mahavira, the founder of Jainism, and of his other incarnations. Of these, the Kalpa-

Sutra of Bhadrabahu is the most popular. The themes are taken from the Svetambra Jain myths.

As they were mostly painted in Gujarat, or in the areas of Rajputana near Gujarat, they have been

grouped under 'Gujarati painting' by the late N. C. Mehta. And as they were written in the

colloquial 'Apabrhamsa' (corrupt) language and not in Sanskrit, Later, they have been called

'Western India Miniature Paintings' [Wood, 2005].

Murals: The Wall PaintingsThe same themes are dealt with again and again. Mahavira as a child is lying by his mother.

Mahavira is seated under a tree against a rocky landscape, while the god Indra takes his royal

robes and gives him monastic clothes and so on.

Later the Vaishnava Balagopala Stuti, full of the moods of the love play of Krishna and Radha

began to figure in such paintings [Dehejia, 2019]. An interesting development took place almost

simultaneously, in the eastern and Western parts of the country. This development consisted of

firstly the production in Gujarat of the illustrated manuscripts on the Palm leaf of the Jain

canonical works [Brown, 1937] and secondary, the production in Bengal and Bihar of illustrated

Buddhist manuscripts on palm leaf during the rule of the Pala kings.

One of the important recent critics of Indian art has aptly said that even when our artists illustrate

a poem or story, 'the picture no more illustrates the verse than the verse describes the picture:

both express the sentiment (rasa) of the moment chosen' [Gray, 1951. The picture, or the

expression of vision, through colour and line, releases Rasas, while words suggest meaning and

may lead to Rasas. From this point of view, a painting or a sculpture may, perhaps, be

appreciated by writing a parallel poem about it. But the pictorial situation of each painting is

important, if it is integral to its form, to its adumbration of mood, its composition, and if it

stimulates our body-soul [Kramrisch, 1951].

Jain Miniatures

Miniature paintings began taking shape in India in the 6 th – 7th C.A.D. These paintings

developed through centuries. Miniature artists conveyed realism that survived a far particular

vantage point when Mughals in 6th C.A.D. influenced the political horizon of India. These

paintings get a momentum under Mughal rulers of Malwa, Deccan and Hindu Rajas of Rajasthan

also gave their Benefaction on this sublime art form. The Initial instances of the Indian miniature

paintings are linked to the Pala School, dating back to the 11 th C.A.D. It highlighted the

figurative use of colour in the paintings, which was derived from tantric ritual [Fleming, 2009)].

The other characteristics include using elegant line, modelling, and forms by expressive and

delicate variation of pressure, employing natural colour for paintings human shin etc.

Jain school has developed its own style. Main features of this school are heavy gold

outlines, strong colours, and attenuation of dress to angular segments, ladies figures in different

style, enlarged eyes and square shaped hands [Brown, 1937]. Its influence can be seen on

Rajasthani and Mughal Paintings.

Patua TraditionPatuas traditionally worked by travelling from village to village with paintings of epic stories

done on scrolls. In each village, they would sing songs narrating the stories on the canvas while

unfurling their work at the same time, creating a dynamic oral tradition enhanced by visual art.

The majority of their subjects were religious in nature and both Hindu and Muslim tales were

depicted, the most famous being parts of the Ramayana and the lives of popular Islamic saints

[Zimmer, 1946]. Their objective was not to sell their artwork. Instead they made their living

from donations for their performances, often making appearances at local fairs where people

came from many villages, increasing their audience base. Often a family or individual singer had

a single part which they would perform. Though the stories that were painted were repeated from

artist to artist, each singer wrote their own melody to create a signature style. The two religions

depicted in their work expressed themselves in the lives and culture of the patuas as well

[Jefferson, 2014].

Malwa Paintings under Sultanate and After

In 1206 A.D., a Muslim Sultanate established itself in Delhi under Qutb-ud-din- Aibak, a

General of Muhammad Ghouri, who defeated Prithvi Raj Chauhan, with his twin capitals in

Qila-i-Rai Pithora in Mehrauli, near Delhi and Ajmer [Michell & Zebrowski, 1999]. There had

been an independent Islamic Kingdom, the Bahamani from 1347 A.D. in the Deccan, with its

capital at Bidar. This state disintegrated and five smaller Sultanates were founded on its ruins:

Bidar, Berar, Bijapur, Golconda and Ahmednagar [Khare & M.D., 1981].

There is an illustrated Jain Kalpa-Sutra in Mandu of 1439 A.D. The paintings in this manuscript

have the usual flat red backgrounds, and three fourths faces with the 'further eye', but different in

so far as the old ferocity of the Janis is disappearing, with more curvaceous lines in the definition

of the figures [Majumdar & R.C., 2006]. The elements are not so compressed in space. And there

is a 'wriggling skyline'.

Paintings in Mughal & Rajasthani SchoolsIn 1526 A.D., Babar became the master of Northern India and founded the great dynasty, The

Mughal dynasty, which was effectively to guide the destinies of the country for almost two

centuries. Mughals were greatly influenced by Persian culture. They introduced the art of

miniature paintings at their courts under Persian influence with the aid of Persian artists

[Goswami, 2011]. A number of Indian painters were trained under the Persian masters; that gave

rise to a more original outlook which favoured Indian types, Indian Scenes, and realistic-

sensitive portraiture and this resulted in the famous school of miniature paintings [Goswamy,

2014].

Mughal School has its own style of miniature paintings. This school of paintings bloomed with

courtly scenes and each Mughal emperors introduced their own distinct style. Mainly court

scenes were dedicated in splendour. The hilly landscapes were usually as the the back drop

[Neeraj & Nīraja, 1991].

Many school of paintings evolved in Rajasthani miniature school of paintings. The four

main schools are Mewar, Bundi-Kota, Marwar and Jaipur. The most imperative Marwar centres

were Bikaner and Jodhpur. Rajasthani miniatures are the most eminent among paintings

flourished under the patronage of courts [Sodhi, 1999].

The important paintings of the Chaurapanchasika style seem, says Anand Krishna, to be 'a

direct outcome of the Mahapurana- Mirgavat School'. These relate to the Hamza Namah

illustrations, especially in representation of the female form. The late sets of this group, for

example, the Gita Govinda illustrations in the Prince of Wales Museum, Bombay, almost seem

to protrude into the Chavand Ragamala of 1606 A.D. of the Mewari style, and therefore the

Chaurapanchasika illustrations must be related to Mewar [Lee & Chandra, 1963].

During the period of her regency (1565-69 A.D.), the poem entitled Tarif-i-Hussain Shahi, in

praise of Sultan Hussain [Srivastava, 1983], was written and illustrated. The paintings in this

manuscript show the unmistakable mixture of the Persian and Deccan pictorial elements, with

some influence of the Mandu Nimat [Sodhi, 1999].

Painting in Pahadi Miniature School

The style of miniature paintings which flourished in Basohli, Jammu, Garwal, Chamba, Kangra,

Guler and Mandi in the end areas in the North- West has been termed as the Pahari School of

miniature paintings. In the states of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir Scholars have

categorized Pahari paintings on the basis of geography and family style [Goswamy, 2014]. The

contribution of Raja Sansar Chand was invaluable in the development of this miniature art.

Pahari paintings have been widely influenced by the Rajput Paintings because of the family

relations of the Pahari rulers with the Royal court at Rajasthan [Goswamy, 2011].

In the latter half of sixteenth C.A.D. the Pahari art appears to come out of its obscuration

in the last phase of seventeenth century, Basohali style developed in the hills of Jammu, under

the patronage of King Kripal Pal (1678-1763 A.D.) in the 18th C.A.D. Kangra art reached its

pinnacle and some of the most beautiful paintings were created [Nivedita & Commarasway,

1945].

Comparing the Pahari miniature art of this period with Mughal art one can see that despite its

bright outer form, the former is not as sublime, liberated and radiant as the latter in regard to

subject matter. The Pahari art has expressed our ancient literature and music, through colours and

lines to such an extent that it has no parallel in the world. As opposed to the Mughal art, the

Pahari art has a flow and poetic beauty [Beach, 1992]. The Mughal art has become limited

mainly to the portrayal of the nature but the imaging of Pahari art is able to give it an aesthetic

excellence [Singh, 1981]. In the Pahari School of paintings expression of sentiments, rhythm in

line and colour and diversity of subject matter are unique in the Kangra style.

Lord Krishna’s legend was a very popular subject for the Pahari Painters. Besides themes

taken from mythological legends and epics like the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the

Bhagavata Purana, the Krishna Lila and the Gita-Govind and Paintings of Devi [Kossak,

1997]. were also painted. Both male and female costumes in Pahari Paintings were influenced

by the fashions at the Mughal court from times to time. [Srivastava, 1983].

Ragamala Paintings

Raag Deepak, in Ragamala by Sahibdin 1605

Basant Ragini, Ragamala, Rajput, 1770

Bhairavi Ragini, Ragamala, an album painting in gouache on paper, 1610

Ragamala paintings are a form of Indian miniature painting, a set of illustrative paintings or

"Garland of Ragas", depicting several of the Indian musical modes called ragas. They stand as

a classical example of the amalgamation of art, poetry and classical music in medieval India

[Goswamy & Fischer, 1992].

Ragamala paintings were created in most schools of Indian painting, starting in the 16th and 17th

centuries, and are today named accordingly as Pahari Ragamala, Rajasthani or Rajput

Ragamala, Deccan Ragamala, and Mughal Ragamala [Richards, 1995].

In these painting each raga is personified by a colour, mood, a verse describing a story of a hero

and heroine (nayaka and nayika), it also elucidates the season and the time of day and night in

which a particular raga is to be sung; and finally most paintings also demarcate the specific

Hindu deities attached with the raga, like Bhairava or Bhairavi to Shiva, Sri to Devi etc. The

paintings depict not just the Ragas, but also their wives, (raginis), their numerous sons

(ragaputra) and daughters (ragaputri) [Chandra, 2007].

The six principal ragas present in the Ragamala are Bhairava, Dipika, Sri, Malkaunsa, Megha

and Hindola and these are meant to be sung during the six seasons of the year – summer,

monsoon, autumn, early winter, winter and spring [Das, 2019].

Art in the Lahore Court under Maharaja Ranjit Singh Maharaja Ranjit Singh is the builder of Sikh Empire. Maharaja Ranjit Singh Made a

laudable contribution in the field of art in the Lahore court. Maharaja Ranjit Singh was a great

follower of Sikh Religion (Khalsa) and his faith in Sikh Ten Guru’s who further built a large

number of Gurdwaras in North India. Maharaja Ranjit Singh Keen interest in the Sikh Paintings

evidently laid the foundation of Sikh School of Painting which began to develop during his

reign [Majumdar, 2007].

Apart from this type of work manuscripts were also illustrated, the illustrations work

also developed during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. No doubt the illustrations on the Sikh

sacred writings were on Mughal Pattern but the legendary and mythological subject Matter also

became the source of illustration on sacred writings. Many new versions of Janamsakhis were

prepared which were decorated with illustrations 28 Pandit Raja Ram Tota Gulgushta-e-

Punjab folio No. 170 Punjab Archives Patiala [Chandra, 2007]. The itinerant groups of

Kashmiri scribes and painters to whom one owes the production of countless manuscripts in the

northern plains had similarly, started illuminating the sacred text, and illustrating the

Janamsakhis in the 18th century creating their own somewhat painting themes in the Lahore court

in this period are mostly “Sikh themes”, Among the Sikh themes would easily count sets of

idealized portraits of the ten Gurus from Guru Nanak Dev Ji to Guru Gobind Singh Ji and

extensive series of paintings or drawings fox upon the Janamsakhis of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, This

subject of paintings already emerged in the Pahari Traditional Paintings Guru Nanak Dev Ji

[Nightingale & Swallow, 2005].

Kalighat Patachitra

Kalighat painting or Kalighat Pat originated in the 19th century Bengal, in the vicinity of

Kalighat Kali Temple, Kalighat, Kolkata, India, and from being items of souvenir taken by the

visitors to the Kali temple, the paintings over a period of time developed as a distinct school of

Indian painting. From the depiction of Hindu gods, god, and other mythological characters, the

Kalighat paintings developed to reflect a variety of themes.

The birth of Kalighat painting, an adapted version of patachitra, which evolved as a culture of

cosmopolitanism grew in Calcutta, was a natural development as the artists reacted to the new

values of their society. The Kalighat Patuas are rightly considered as “The First Moderns,” for

the unprecedented way in which their work responded to the new [Pinney, 2004].. Kalighat pats

proved that folk artists could adapt without losing their artistic roots in rural culture. From then

on, reactions to patuas and their work, from British merchants and travellers to Bengali

intellectuals and Modern artists, evidence the changing attitudes towards folk art in Indian

culture [Kolay & Roy, 2015]. In the early 20th century, Indian folk art preservation came

through a dual effort, where artists adapted to new circumstances while politicians and

organizations tried to re- instil the value of folk art in Indian culture. The ideals of folk culture

were closely tied to India’s fight for independence through the Swadeshi movement performing

stories from the Hindu epics and mythologies.

Bazaar Paintings: Raja Ravi Varma and Calendar ArtRaja Ravi Varma contribution in nineteenth century is remarkable. He worked on a tradition

called oleographs which have added a new dimension to the way Indian culture express their

faith [Uberoi, 1990]. These images were developed from chromolithography and became very

popular. Through his religious images he could give iconography to god and goddesses we

worship today. These prints further paved way to calendar art, which was not very expensive and

easy to circulate. Every house today has images which reflect their faith and his art has unified

all faiths together.

Though his portraits brought him fame, Varma increasingly painted subjects in Indian

mythology. His representations of Hindu gods and goddesses and characters in the epics and the

Puranas reflected his absorption in Indian culture. His paintings, including Harischandra in

Distress, Jatayu Vadha, and Shri Rama Vanquishing the Pride of Sea, captured dramatic

moments from Indian mythology. His depictions of Indian women drew such appreciation that a

beautiful woman would often be described as looking “as if she had stepped out of a Varma

canvas” [Jain & Thomas, 2007].

Bengal School

The Bengal School of Art commonly referred as Bengal School, was an art movement and a

style of Indian painting that originated in Bengal, primarily Kolkata and Shantiniketan, and

flourished throughout the Indian subcontinent, during the British Raj in the early 20th century.

Also known as 'Indian style of painting' in its early days, it was associated with Indian

nationalism (swadeshi) and led by Abanindranath Tagore (1871-1951) , but was also promoted

and supported by British arts administrators like E. B. Havell, the principal of the Government

College of Art [Stewart, 2009], Kolkata from 1896; eventually it led to the development of the

modern Indian painting.

Bengal School was born out of the endeavour of artists like Abanindranath Tagore and Nandalal

Bose to infuse an element of Indianness in art. One must not forget that Bengal, as was the

country as a whole, soaked in the Swadeshi spirit. Bengal School works were typified by their

size, which was invariably small format and were tempera on paper and often in wash technique.

Lord Krishna instructing Arjuna. The Bhaghavad Gita is a 700-verse Hindu scripture in Sanskrit

that is part of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. Illustration by Surendra Nath Kar, 1914

They also drew on Chinese, Japanese technique or Persian miniatures and saw a range of works

from mythical to nationalistic themes. “Abanindranath and Gaganendranath Tagore from the

Tagore family led the movement and were top class artists [Roy, 2014].

Bengal school artists continuously applied the narration through the traditional Indian myths and

mythology, traditional storytelling through Nationalist fervour. They aroused the feeling of

patriotism through means of their romantic subject matter highly toned with narrative effect

[Sarkar, 2014].

Results and discussionIn this study, a descriptive mode of study has been implied and an analytical approach was

considered the most. It consist all the important features which are very appropriate for this

study. It also consist visit to the libraries, art exhibitions, galleries and meeting with the

concerned artists. A description is attached in references.

In the course of this study, authors analysed the works of various rich narrative legacies other

artists who creatively pursued the narrative genre with their diverse approaches and use of

altogether different mediums. It all started from world famous Ajanta mural as a starting point

and main focus was built from Bagh caves onwards as the time period adopted in this study.

Author slowly moved to the Jain, Buddhists miniatures, wall paitings, patua scrolls and famous

Mughal and Pahari miniature traditions. In the meantime, author also took the Sultanate and

Maharaja Ranjit Singh time period as a important aspect of this study.

In India, however, artists not only pretend to the follower of God and religion in order to make

themselves acceptable to influential coteries, committed to the artistic expression, but, also to the

expressive style development. It is of course essential that the Indian artist should express

himself in the rich traditional idiom. But at the same time he cannot tear himself away from his

heritage which is severely spiritual. This aspect we surely confronted in the works of Raja Ravi

Varma and Bengal School.

There’s little doubt that someone like Abanindranath Tagore was a classy painter. But, that

doesn’t imply that some of the other Bengal School artists did not possess individualism. Their

recognition would probably have increased, but the Modern Art movement also took off soon

after,” comments renowned artist Jogen Chowdhury. “That’s probably one of the reasons for

the viewers not taking to the narrative or decorative style of this clutch of Bengal School

artists.”

India's message to the world as T.S. Eliot says somewhere is that without spiritual knowledge

man is an incomplete being. It is left to the Indian artist to demonstrate the truth of this statement

through the medium of his own work. India's greatness lies in her artistic heritage which is

deeply spiritual" In the ancient times it was religion that inspired the Indian artist who was more

a rishi than a mere craftsman. The Titereya Upanishad says: Sivo bhutva sivamaschyat i.e.

"Worship Siva only after you becoming Siva".

The present-day artists tend to dismiss religious art as an irrelevance if not an incongruity on the

ground that being almost wholly illustrative and hence promotional it serves no -purpose in an

age of secularism, scepticism and scientific enquiry. To say that religious art at its best was

concerned only with the propagation of a particular set of denominational dogmas and

superstitions is to miss the real power and passion that produced it. The artists of ancient India

were more messengers of God than missionaries of religion. To them it was more a spiritual

realisation than a visual experience—more an invocation to god than an imitation of Nature.

They no doubt observed the world around them but with their eyes closed. They did not work

with models before them. They understood the structure of the human body without dissecting it.

Their sense of the whole came, not from an analysis of the parts but from their intuitive

perception of the rhythm of life. After the initial perception came Canons and Conventions.

So, focus obviously shifts to the artists in from of new waves arriving during the Bengal School

and after that, settling down and into the due course creating some new trends. These new

trends certainly provided a new direction to the budding artists who would have liked to make

their name in the field of painting. Authors believe that these artists certainly took the Indian art

scene to its appropriate culmination and gave ample direction to proceed ahead with a great

zeal.

ConclusionTreatises such as the Kamasutra, the Chitralakshana, the Silpasastras, etc., deal with

technical aspects. But what constitutes genuine religious art is, not theme or technique but the

artist's own sense of involvement in and commitment to the totality of vision with which he can

identify himself spontaneously.

Every house today has images which reflect their faith and art has unified all faiths together.

During the times of revolutions and celebrations artists have joined hands with society with their

art, be it any form painting, printmaking or public art. Since, it’s a universal resonance and talks

about notion and idea of aesthetic beauty.

This is power of art that it without being loud it connects to people. Before learning to speak we

learn to see and identify things. Hence, visuals are so important. Though all languages, be they

verbal or visual have certain basic similar characteristic. They serve need of human expression

and communication. Art in terms of visuals speak to our inner self in such a way that a small

child of age two can identify what is there in painting of Madonna and child. He would instantly

answer love. An eternal and immortal world is made on the drafts of language which deals with

pictures.

Art has the power to unite people in their faith of life. This I believe probably happens because

art has faith in imagination, exploration of the world beyond known, power to touch sentiments

as bhavas and bring rasa to existence of being. Language is among those important things which

human beings have derived to acquire knowledge. The dimension of expression is still limited

with literature. Art music dance have it’s own necessity and speciality of expression as literature

has. Education in art is important for mans knowledge and it enhances his aesthetic experience

and modes of expression. This education should be imparted from the formative years of a child.

Then only we can have a society which is articulate, empathetic, creative, philosophical and

definitely self-sustainable.

Perceptions of Indian art have long been mired in Orientalist theory. The West has

wanted art from India to "look Indian," but most contemporary Indian artists have come to

realize that "Indianness" is not in itself an artistic pursuit. They have broken away from that

expectation. In a sense, they are saying, "Know me! Know my ancestors, my fears, what I read,

what I see, what I hear, Storytelling is an important element of India's traditional character and

the narrative impulse continues to be a motivating muse for contemporary artists.

Conflict of InterestAuthors claim no conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgement Authors express their deep gratitude toward artist Padamshree B. N. Goswamy, Prof. Ram

Viranjan, Dr. Gurcharan Singh, Dr. Pawan Kumar, Dr. Anand Jaiswal to allow for personal visit

and sparing their valuable time for this study. Chief Librarian Dr. Manisha Guta, Govt. College

of Art, Chandigarh, Director, Govt Museum and Art gallery, Chandigarh, Librarian, Mr. Tejpal,

Dept. of Fine Arts, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, National Gallery of Modern Art, New

Delhi.

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Original Kalighat Pattachitra Indian Painting Goddess Lakshmi Signed Folk Art

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