Heritage
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Whose History Is It Anyway?
Is history collective? Is it individual? Is it both? Or is it neither?
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Visual Arts Pedagogy in India – Past and Present
Of all arts, the best is Visual Arts It is conducive to attainments of virtue, wealth, pleasure and liberation Wherever it is established, at home or elsewhere, it is a harbinger of auspiciousness Chitrasutra, Vishnudharmottara Purana
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A Partition – of Hearts and Minds
I began to consider the way the earth must retain physical and intangible traces of conflict; memories of persons who have walked there, bled, died, become one with the universe. What are the conflicts for, both here and elsewhere?
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Between the Stage and the Streets : A Reflection on Women’s Dance and Identity
In August 2024 I had the opportunity to watch a Lavani performance at Divar, Goa. Titled ‘Lavani Ke Rang’, it offered a glimpse into the world of traditional Lavani artists through a story of an enigmatic and quirky theatre ‘Malkin’ from the Sangeet Bari tradition. She takes the audience on a journey of their theatre rules, traditions, private performances, and a practical outlook towards their art. The production attempted to throw light on the various unknown facts about the traditional performative art and give the Lavani artists the respect and space they deserve. Historically, the genre of the Marathi love lyric, […]
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Gatekeeping
Though I am embedded within the systems of the art world, I often question these inbuilt hierarchies, about who can enter and who is kept out.
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Heritage Matters
When I am invited to teach modules about art history and cultural heritage, I always remember the words of the late artist, professor and cultural advocate K G Subramanyan “…As we all know, India in a vast continent with a long history. It’s cultural heritage or what little remains of it, is still quite immense. So, the preservation and nurture needs to be a nationwide effort involving all the existing agencies, official and non-official, as well as the general mass of people. For they are the final custodians of culture; without them it will be one step forward and two steps […]