Celebrating the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav with Kala Kumbh- artist workshops, the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Defence has successfully created painting scrolls measuring approximately 750 metres.
Artists from across the country attended the workshop and created the gigantic scroll representing the tales of valor of unsung heroes of India’s freedom movement. It will be an integral part of the Republic day celebrations this year and will be placed artistically at Rajpath.
Aligning with the flagship program of the Ministry of Culture, workshops were organised in Odisha and Chandigarh where artists from different states gathered and made paintings on the theme in various styles of the art form. At Odisha, NGMA collaborated with Kalinga Institute of Technology (KIIT) and Silicon Institute of Technology (SIT) in Bhubaneswar from 11th to 17th December and at Chandigarh the collaboration was done with Chitkara University from 25th Dec 2021 to 2nd January 2022.
“NGMA has organised these workshops with the aim of amalgamating varied forms of visual and performing arts of the country to represent the true essence of unity and diversity in India. I believe that the gigantic scrolls when displayed at Rajpath will garner interest of each individual to delve deep into the history of the unsung heroes of India’s freedom struggle and would also draw attention towards the unified visual aspects of modern, indigenous and contemporary arts of India”, said Adwaita Garanayak, Director- General, NGMA.
Ten gigantic scrolls of approximately 750 metres portray the tales of valour and legacy of the unsung heroes of India’s freedom struggle.
At Bhubaneswar, the narratives have reflected the tales of valor and historical elements of India’s movement of freedom struggle focusing on Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bengal, north eastern 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 valor 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.
The scrolls reflect traditional forms of art as well as contemporary expressions, which showcase the essence of rich cultural and artistic heritage of India while also analyzing the absolute sacrifice and contribution of our unsung heroes.