India's magnificent art to be displayed all over the world this year

Syed Firdaus Ashraf in New Delhi

The National Museum, New Delhi, plans four major exhibitions all over the world to celebrate fifty years of freedom.

Dr Raghuraj Singh Chauhan, the museum's assistant director (exhibitions), told Rediff On The NeT, "We will present the glory of Indian art. The exhibitions will depict India's rich heritage across the world in this, the 50th anniversary of Independence."

Enduring Images will exhibit 150 masterpieces of Indian art and will be shown in museums all over the world.

Another exhibition, Indian Civilisation, will open on Independence Day, August 15.

Gods, Kings and Tigers---The Art of Kota, an exhibition with emphasis on Rajasthani art, will open at the Harvard Art Museum.

The Textile Exhibition, a tapestry of India's colourful fabrics, will open on Jawharlal Nehru's birthday, November 14.

As a curtain raiser to the forthcoming exhibitions, the National Museum is currently showing the Padshahnama. This exhibition, which will run from January 28 to February 28, displays the Padshahnama, the chronicle of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan compiled in 1656-57 by his calligrapher Muhammad Amin of Mashad.

"The 350-year-old work, painted with vegetable and manual dye, have retained their freshness and vibrant tone as they have not been exposed to light," says Chauhan.

This rare manuscript reached King George III (of The Madness of King George fame) in 1799. It has been preserved in the Royal Library at the Windsor Castle. This is the first time that the manuscript is being exhibited outside the United Kingdom. Many Mughal scholars have not seen this masterpiece before.