By IANS
New Delhi : Rajput king Maharana Pratap on Bidi Company’s calendar of 1934, the poster of a play titled “Brandi ki Botal” and many more rare works of art are on display at the Osian’s art exhibition here.
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose atop a horse, Gandhiji’s funeral pyre, and a royal procession of 1902 in front of the historic Jama Masjid in the old quarters of Delhi are among the 300 pieces of art on display at the exhibition titled “An Historical Epic – III: India in the Making”.
The rise of revolutionary fervour and heroism is depicted through numerous documents, song synopsis booklets, posters and lobby cards on Bhagat Singh, Chandra Sekhar Azad, Subhash Chandra Bose, Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi and Baba Saheb Ambedkar.
Supporting them are lithographs of Sukhdev and Jatindra Nath Das — and images of Bharat Mata (Mother India).
“My patriotic heart pushed me to come up with this innovative exhibition which will link people with their forgotten history and culture,” Osian’s founder Neville Tuli said.
“The content may be available in text books but it is presented here in a distinct way so as to attract people towards their roots. A country of billion people needs more art exhibitions,” Tuli told IANS.
A visual treat for art connoisseurs, the exhibition is the third in a series of archival exhibition from the Osian’s permanent collection that were held through the year to celebrate the 150 years of India’s first war of Independence.
The exhibition will be on till Aug 25 at the India Habitat Centre.
“The aim is to connect the present generation with that of the yester years. Our youngsters need visual information and art exhibitions like this would certainly help them know about country’s past,” Tuli said, while showing an art piece featuring Netaji and his contemporary Laxmi Saigal.
Through this exhibition, Osian’s Centre for Archiving, Research and Documentation seeks to recount the history of India from 1880 to 1950 using alternative visual narratives.
The exciting collection of paintings, sculptures, lithographs, watercolours, original calendar art, collages and cinema publicity materials on display represent a kaleidoscope of India during the last 70 years before independence.