Art beyond canvas - why they painted what they painted

A poor young artist from a village of Bengal remained in close contact with Jamini Roy for almost two decades. His name was Basanta Jana. Jamini Roy kept most of his paintings. Both had almost identical style. But Basanta Jana's paintings almost vanished from record! What really happened?

Jamini Roy is one of the most famous artist even this day in Indian world of modern art. But did he paint anything new? Did he set a new movement in motion? What prompted him to paint in the folk style? Was it his deep concern for the neglected and dying art form of the Santhal Tribes or Kalighat Patuas or a pure quest for a winning strategy for the market?

Rabindranath Tagore began to paint at the age of 67. Long after he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Until then he did not paint beyond the doodles on his manuscripts. But when he painted, he demolished every rule and convention in place. His paintings opened a radically new horizon in Indian art. But there were mysterious elements in his color palette. This episode talks about the mystery behind the legend's artistic creations.

Gaganendranath Tagore, nephew of the legendary poet, Nobel laureate, Rabindranath Tagore, was a great artist. In some section of art lovers in India, he is taken for a cubist. But did he indulge in cubism? Why do we know him? Is it only because of his wonderful paintings and cartoons or there was some other aspect too?

Abanindranath Tagore, the nephew of the legendary poet Rabindranath Tagore, brought in a radical change in the style of art in the early twentieth century India. Even if in today's context, his paintings appear to be old fashioned and less appealing, his turning away from the western perspective driven art was a shocking creative rebellion at that time. This episode talks about the Bengal School of art that shaped the form of Indian Art for ever.

After the death of Raja Ravi Varma, entered the Bengal School. But Bengal School did not celebrate the art of the British. It fell back on the Mughal Art. Bengal school came up with an original art form of India. But what prompted the flag bearers of Bengal school to revolt against the colonial art forms? What made them the rebels of art? What made the legendary Tagore family the breeding ground of revolutionary world views?

One tight slap by Siraj Ud-Daulah changed the course of history in India and British colonialism began! The would-be-Nawab slapped the great Marwari Banker, Jagat Seth in a fit of anger and the revenge of the Banking community invited the East India Company to settke score.

From the status of struggling merchants, East India Company turned into a tenant of the Mughal land in India. Hardly a thousand rupees per year! And a secret intelligence report made some anonymous man at some faraway port landed at the table of the British officials. Even if innocent occurrences apparently, yet these two events transformed formed history of a sub-continent.

East India Company was just a bunch of merchants looking for a living by buying and selling goods like any private company opening an outlet round the corner. But how is it that such insignificant Englishmen ended up colonizing and entire sub continent? This episode is about history, not art history. But it is important to understand the fabric of British India before we dig into the anatomy of art during that period. In this episode, the values of currency mentioned are based on the current value of Pound.

Ravi Varma was a phenomenon who turned into a runaway success during his lifetime. Among a lot of company artists educated in the art colleges established by the British, Ravi Varma stood out in the crowd with his distinctive creations. He is a household name even this day. But why? What did he do differently? Moreover, does it make sense doing it today? If an artist paints like he did, will she be as famous as Ravi Varma became?

While there is a general perception among most Indians that the British stripped the country of its riches during its two hundred years of colonial rule, was there some priceless contributions too in their part that made Indians what they are in the following days?

Mughal art was the the product of patronage of the emperors. The style was peculiarly, neither Persian, not native Indian. Artists worked under strict guidelines of the Mughal School of painting evolved through hundreds of years. Did it allow creative freedom to the artists?

Indian paintings without Mughal influence had the spirit of contemporary art way ahead of the west. This episode explains the nuances of Pahari art in particular.

Tribal arts are traditions surviving more than a millennium. Tribes do not paint them for money. Why do they do it then? Is it art really? And in today's commercialized world, tribal arts appear on various merchandise too. Large corporate buyers enforce customization as per their brand image to be used as gift items. Is it corrupting the ethnic originality of the art forms?

The great mural tradition of India seen on the walls and roofs of caves and temples of Pallava, Chola and Pandya dynasty were painted under strict rules and guidelines. The patrons were the kings and royals. Their faith and belief and ego reflect on the ancient images. The question is, can we call them art?

Paintings at the Ajanta Caves have captured the world in awe since the day those were discovered. In this episode we are discussing about the unique aspects of Ajanta paintings that render them stand out as exception among all the paintings done in the world during the period between 200BC to 600CE.

Thanks to the Greek influence as well as Hindu idolatry, a radical transformation happens in Indian style of art. Frozen moments are born.

The first flash of great art, the Ashoka pillar was subjected to a great vanishing act. It resurfaced as what it is, after almost a thousand years! How and why?

The earliest testimony of true artistic creation in the Indian subcontinent was the emblem of an empire that vanished from history for two thousand years! This episode is about that emblem.

In this episode we discuss about various aspects of the challenges women encounter as artists. Why? We also try to explore the root causes.