Kangra paintings 'neglected' despite PM Modi's push

Lalit Mohan

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Dharamsala, December 26

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is promoting Kangra art at international level. He has gifted pieces of Kangra art to foreign dignitaries during his visits abroad.

However, within Himachal there is no government institution that is making endeavours to promote and preserve the Kangra art. People associated with protecting Kangra art rue that little effort has been made by the government to protect the miniature painting styles that were made famous internationally by artists of the area.

Raghav Guleria, who has been making efforts to protect Kangra art, says Haripur-Guler was the birthplace of Kangra miniature painting style. The art touched its zenith in the 18th century when Nainsukh and Manaku, sons of illustrious Pandit Sau, a painter of former Guler state, created masterpieces of art which are now exhibited in Reitberg museum in Zurich, Switzerland, in London museum and Boston museum in the USA, he adds.

Guleria says the government of Himachal through the Government of India should try to bring back art pieces created by Pandit Nainsukh as they were part of the culture of Kangra. The government can also deploy artists to create replicas of paintings of Pandit Nainsukh and display them in a museum dedicated to Kangra art. This will attract international tourists to the place, he adds.

Professor Akshay Runchal, who founded the Kangra Art Promotion Society in Dharamsala, says the society has trained about 40 artists in Kangra miniature art. He adds, “We have also created a private museum for Kangra art in McLeodganj.”

“However, it will be good if the government patronizes the Kangra miniature art. One way of doing it can be to include it in the curriculum at the school and university level. The Central University of Himachal Pradesh (CUHP) can also start a course on Kangra art. It would help protect the art and provide a platform for research on Kangra miniature paintings,” Runchal said.

Kangra miniature paintings, though influenced by the Rajasthan miniature paintings, evolved as a unique form of art under the aegis of rulers of the former Kangra state. However, without any government patronage the unique art form is dying a slow death.

The uniqueness of Kangra miniature paintings is that 19 natural colours generated from locally available sources are used to create the painting. The colours are typically associated with the Kangra form of art. They are created from stones and plants found in Kangra valley. It takes about a year to create the required colours as they can be generated only from natural sources existing at particular times of the year.

Besides the natural colours, gold is also used in the paintings, giving them the required shine. Another unique feature of Kangra form of art painting is the use of natural poison that protects it from decay and natural paper that is created from the bio-waste of pine trees.

The natural poison used in the painting is generated from waste of slow fire (known as Dhuna in local language). Fallen wings of Turtle Dove, a local migratory bird, were also used for creating the brushes used in the paintings.

Evolved under Kangra rulers

• Kangra miniature paintings, though influenced by the Rajasthan miniature paintings, evolved as a unique form of art under the aegis of rulers of the former Kangra state.
• Kangra miniature paintings were unique as 19 natural colours generated from locally available sources were used to create the paintings.
• Besides natural colours, gold and natural poisonwas also used in the paintings.