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Category: Art

Bangalore: Exploring the multi-layered history of the city

Published in Free Press Journal; Date: 14.02.2018

If the soul of a city is uncovered by walking the streets, then definitely it holds true for Bangalore as it reveals itself beyond its IT hub and impersonal glass buildings. Kalyani Majumdar explores the multi-layered history of the city.

As you look past the traffic and catch sight of rows of pink and yellow flowers against the clear blue sky, for a second you forget the traffic, and savour the moment. Welcome to Bangalore/Bengaluru.

Rise of a modern city

Bangalore came into significance in 1537 AD, when Kempe Gowda I, a feudatory of Vijaynagar Empire laid the foundation of the city by building a mud Fort, wherein people of different vocation had their settlements. After him, it changed many hands from the Marathas to the Mughals, followed by Hyder Ali and then his son Tipu Sultan and finally, the British Empire. They have all left their imprints on Bangalore. However, Bangalore flourished as a city once the British took over. It started with the shifting of British Headquarters from Mysore to Bangalore in 1837. Gradually, the city witnessed a steady development of wider roads, boulevards, railway lines, improved post and telegraph facilities, and buildings.

A royal experience

A grand view of the Bangalore Palace; Photo credit: Kalyani Majumdar

As you approach the Bangalore Palace, it is hard to miss the close resemblance of the exterior with the Windsor Palace in England. It is a magnificent Tudor-style structure facing a beautiful garden and has royalty written all over its façade. The plot was bought by King Chamaraja Wadiyar’s guardians in 1873. The palace was built in 1887. Once inside it is hard to miss the bright yellow-coloured ballroom with its decorated columns, ceiling and arches. After taking in the splendour of the ball room walk up a wooden staircase to the Durbar Hall. The huge room with its embellished interiors, huge chandeliers and a beautiful collection of art is indeed a rich experience. The corridors have exhibits from Maharajas hunting escapades. One of the courtyards has a beautiful coloured-tile bench gifted by an erstwhile Spanish royal. It is highly recommended that you walk the lane lined up with trees on your way to the exit.

From South Parade to M.G Road

It is not just now that M.G Road in Bangalore is famous for being the centre of social life. Even during the British era, it had a similar character and was known as South Parade. The building that now has the office of Deccan Herald was once where the popular Funnel’s Restaurant stood. Next to it, is the iconic Higginbotham book store. It has been there since 1905. Recently, it revamped its interiors and now it has reopened with a colourful interior and the façade looks bright as well. The book store has a fantastic collection. There is certainly a sentimental factor attached to this bookshop that has catered to generations of booklovers and still continues to do so. It is lovely to see how the old and the new has blended effectively on this particular stretch. Across the road, alongside the metro station there is a lovely boulevard. The walkway is almost half a kilometer and is lined up with white and pink bougainvillea. It is so refreshing even though it is right next to a busy road.

The roads from the past

Book Society on St. Marks Road; Photo credit: Kalyani Majumdar

At the intersection where M.G Road meets St. Marks Road, you can see a gothic building with etching in bold letters that say, ‘Book Society’. It was built in 1912. Part of the building is now the Hard Rock Café and apparently, sometime back it also had a HMV record store. As you continue further on St Mark Road the prestigious Bowring Institute is on view. From there you can easily negotiate through wide streets to reach the Museum Road, lest you are not wearing comfortable shoes. In 1865, part of the Cantonment Jail building on this road, now Good Shepherd Convent, served as the Government Museum, before it was shifted to its present location on a beautiful neoclassical structure in Kasturba Road, in 1878. Nevertheless, the road retained its name, thus keeping alive a part of history. Also, on the same road right next to the Post Office stands a 150-year-old tiled-roof building that serve as the office of the senior superintendent of post office.

Cubbon Park

A statue of Queen Victoria stands at one corner of the Cubbon Park; Photo credit: Kalyani Majumdar

If you approach Cubbon Park from Kasturba Road then you will come across a statue of Queen Victoria standing at the corner of the Park, facing the busy street, perhaps wondering how much the city has changed since 1906. The Cubbon Park was established in 1870 by John Meade and the landscaping was done by Richard Sankey. It is a lovely place to park yourself under a tree with a book.

Imprints from the past

The Glass House at Lalbagh Botanical Garden; Photo credit: Kalyani Majumdar

At the entrance of the Lalbagh Botanical Garden there is a peninsular gneissic rock, dated to about 3,000 million years, making it one of the oldest rock formations on the planet. And atop the rock is the Kempe Gowda tower. Hyder Ali laid its foundation in 1760. It was a pleasure garden till William New, a gardener from Kew in London came to Lalbagh in 1858 and turned the place into a scientific research centre and maintained a regular inventory of the trees. He lived in a small cottage inside Lalbagh which is now the Lalbagh library. In 1874, John Cameron took over as superintendent of Lalbagh. He too did many experimental cultivations within the garden. He proposed the idea of a Glass House. It was built in 1889 inspired by the famous Crystal Palace of London. It houses many flower shows and is a must-see.

Outside the Lalbagh gate, there are stalls selling fresh fruit juice in the morning. One might wonder, if this was perhaps the spot where Cameron enthusiastically distributed seeds of new vegetables that he grew, to the passing farmers. We do owe him Chayote, a popular vegetable in Karnataka. Stories such as these crop up when one steps out on the streets of this city to listen to the echoes from the past and weave them into an urban narrative.

October 14, 2019
Remembering the great Indian bard
On the 157^th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore we take a moment to remember the polymath as he continues to ignite our creative consciousness and inspires us to see the world from a fresh perspective. KALYANI MAJUMDAR pays homage to the Nobel Laureate.

Published in Free Press Journal; Date: 06.05.2018
On the 157^th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore we take a moment to remember the polymath as he continues to ignite our creative consciousness and inspires us to see the world from a fresh perspective. Kalyani Majumdar pays homage to the Nobel Laureate

“Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high

Where knowledge is free,

Where the world has not broken into fragments…”

These profound words were written by Rabindranath Tagore in 1910, and even today these words remain relevant. Tagore is the only known personality who has penned the national anthem for two countries. The Jana Gana Mana was chosen for India and Aamar Shonar Bangla was selected for Bangladesh.

Tagore believed that humanity was the highest spiritual practice and he believed in the idea of ‘One World’. Thus, it is no wonder that his works have an immense capacity to transcend nationality, religion, geographical regions and has the natural ability to touch every soul. Tagore was one of the prominent faces of the Indian Renaissance. Not only did he changed the landscape of Bengali literature, but also redefined modern Indian art, and presented Indian literature, philosophy and culture to an international audience.

Movie clip from Charulata. The movie is based on Tagore’s novel Noshto neer (broken nest).

The early years

Rabindranath Tagore was born in a highly educated and influential Bengali-Hindu family to Debendranath Tagore and Sarada Devi in Jorasanko Thakur Bari in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in British India in 1861 on the 25^th day of Baisakh, which according to the Gregorian calendar usually falls either on the 7^th or on the 9^th of May. His family owned lands and estates mostly in East Bengal, which later became Bangladesh.

He was never interested in the formal education system that was prevalent at that time and dropped out from school. His interest in art and literature developed from a very young age as his family was progressive and was leading the way in culture, art and literature in Bengal. But it was Rabindranath Tagore, who was destined to shine through as the brightest star among all the Tagores. His father was an extensive traveler and young Tagore travelled with him for months at stretch to different parts of India. These travels left a lasting impression in the young mind of Tagore that found expression later on through his writings.

Tagore with Einstein

A polymath

Rabindranath Tagore did not limit himself to one form of creative expression. Apart from writing poetry, short stories and novels, he was a great essayist, dramatist, song writer, composer and painter. When gramophone was introduced in India, he recorded his songs. He was an exceptionally curious man who wanted to learn as much as was humanly possible in one life. Some of his very popular short stories include Kabuliwalla, Khudita pashan, and Bhikarini.

Apart from his short stories, his novels Ghare Baire (At Home and Outside) and Nastanirh (Broken Nest) were made into fantastic films by none other than Satyajit Ray, the latter was called Charulata. Both had strong female protagonists. It is said that no one understood women as beautifully as Tagore did. In 1913, he became the first non-European to win a Nobel Prize for Geetanjali—a collection of poems that was originally written in Bengali and were translated to English by Tagore. He never stopped exploring new avenues of self-expression. Tagore was in his sixties when he started painting. He was not formally trained in fine art, but that did not stop him from pursuing painting and he used his sensibilities and visual vocabulary to develop a distinct style of his own.

A global phenomenon

Tagore was inspired by both Eastern and Western philosophies. As an avid traveler, he had a keen understanding of different cultures and till his last days even with his failing health, he continued with his travels. He had visited around thirty countries in his lifetime, including Japan, Mexico, United States, and England to name a few. He wanted to spread his idea of ‘One World’ and gave lectures in universities in different countries. He was on a constant quest to facilitate a dialogue between the East and the West based on concepts of humanity, freedom and creative expression. He met some of the world’s greatest minds including Albert Einstein and shared ideas with them.

An educationist

Tagore’s pursuit to impart knowledge without the barriers of nation, geography, race or religion continued as he went on to set up a school at Santiniketan with the aim to focus on humanity and its creative expressions based on a Guru-Shishya method of schooling system. His father had bought a large stretch of land around 136 km from Kolkata and had established an ashram with a temple. Tagore shifted there in 1901 and set up an educational institution that was experimental. The classes were held under trees, close to nature. Later on, he turned it into the Visva Bharati University.

The personal tragedies

In Tagore’s life he had to confront several deaths of his near and loved ones. He lost his mother when he was very young and he found comfort when he identified his mother’s love in nature. But then the untimely death of his sister-in-law, Kadambari Devi, left him devastated. She was his muse and an anchor for the budding writer that he was, then. The loss was reflected in many of his stories, songs and poetry. Between 1902 and 1918 he lost his wife, father, son and two daughters. Despite facing these personal tragedies in his life, Tagore never lost the optimism that life had to offer. Instead of drowning into the sea of sorrows he channeled his energy towards creative pursuits.

It was on 7th August 1941, that Tagore breathed his last. He died in Jorasanko Thakur Bari, the place where he was born and had his first tryst with writing. Tagore wrote a poem Aaji hote shoto borsho pore (100 years from now), wherein, he was curious to know who would be his readers after 100 years. Perhaps, when he wrote that poem, he didn’t know that even after 76 years since Tagore’s demise, he continues to live through his writing, music and ideas in the collective consciousness of people from around the world.
October 13, 2019
Of bodies, armour and cages

Art installation by Shakuntala Kulkarni; Photo courtesy: Chemould Prescott Road

What does physical protection mean and what are the solutions? These are some of the questions that Shakuntala Kulkarni explores in her recent project.

Text: Kalyani Majumdar

Published in Domus India; Date: October 2012

If only we could walk around the city with a house-like structure around us then we would have protected ourselves from the assault that our physical form is subjected to every day. The constant invasion of personal space is unavoidable in the over-populated Indian cities and Shakuntala Kulkarni has been working on this idea and her recent exhibition at Chemould Prescott Road gallery titled, Of bodies, armour and cages showcased cane armours and costumes that could possibly be used as mediums for protection when walking around in the cities. She has brought historical armours in the modern context but has given them the format of elaborate period costumes and dresses from different times and cultures. Shakuntala is fascinated by the idea of armours made of cane as even though it is masculine, rigid and stiff yet the cane armour has a sense of fluidity and is linear, fragile and has a feminine quality about it.

Interestingly, her project has conflicting theories as while the armour is protecting the physical self, at the same time it is also restricting the body from exploring and being flexible. The feeling of claustrophobia is clearly reflected in these cane structures. Shakuntala has worked with metals, wires, rubber and leather in her previous projects but somehow none of those mediums worked for her this time. She has always been fond of cane but she never thought of exploring it for her projects. She added, “When Dinesh Pardeshi, a cane worker from the city burnt the cane to give a particular shape to it, the yellow colour of the cane changed to a brownish-black, which I really liked. Initially it was just the visual liking, but then I really fell in love with this material because of the possibilities. And I went by how the cane spoke to me.”

The cane armours look very delicate and yet they are very strong. Shakuntala worked on the mechanics of the costume. In this project, her work explores outside the realms of photographs and two-dimensional medium to another form of visual space. As part of her art performance she wore the cane costume and walked around the city and she could experience the feeling of being caged and it was difficult to move and the discomfort caused by the armour set limits to her movement, which again represented the limitations that the society imposes on women. When she narrates her experience of wearing the costume, she said that sometimes her hand or her fingers would come in the way while wearing the costume, and it translated to a feeling of binding oneself. The entire costume also involved accessories — bangles, rings — made of cane in order to protect the parts of her body that were exposed. Another interesting fact that Shakuntala observed was that when the cane armour was dismantled and lying on the floorit formed different shapes  crabs, flowers and lamp shades  and the same when assembled to form the costume imbibed a different aura. The project involved her walking around the city and standing amidst the unplanned urbanisation and re-development of the city and here her armour acts as a metaphor for the issues that are plaguing the city. The armour symbolises a medium for protection of the physical space at one level, and also represents the resistance of the physical form towards the ad hoc changes in the urban fabric at another, but this entire process of protection has trapped the form itself in a cage-like structure.

October 13, 2019
Why Oise in Northern France is a revelation

Even though Oise in Northern France, not far from Paris is usually missing from most travel itinerary, it is a revelation as KALYANI MAJUMDAR found out after visiting this picturesque place with its landscape, people and history.

Published in Free Press Journal; Date: 01.04.2018; My article has been translated by a French Magazine Courier International. Click here to read it in French

The serene beauty of Sacy-le-Petit in Oise; Image credit: Kalyani Majumdar

As I bicycled my way through the expansive undulating green flatland on both sides of the road that met the blue sky, it seemed like an endless horizon. When I decided to undertake immersive travelling through volunteering on sustainable and organic farms across France, I had no idea what was in store for me here in Oise.

Digging into the history

The geographic location of Oise in Picardy region is strategic to many important events in history as it has always been the passage to Paris and thus played an important role in communication during the two World Wars. Occupied from September 1914 to March 1917, ravaged by the battles of 1918, this peaceful region has had its share of bloodshed and war.

It was also the first French department to be liberated, and even the signing of the Armistice took place in Compiègne Forest in Oise on 11 November 1918. Moreover, this region is also associated with the sugar embargo of the 19th century. During the Napoleonic war in the 1800s, the British had blocked the French trade routes with the Caribbean Islands which led to massive shortage of sugar in France. As a solution, Napoleon I introduced sugar beet to counter the sugar embargo. The fertile lands of Oise grew it in abundance and the region grew rich. Whether you are a history enthusiast or a nature lover, there is something here for everyone.

Unmissable dungeon

Donjon de Vez; Image credit: Kalyani Majumdar

Located in the middle of Oise, Donjon de Vez is hard to miss with its imposing grey structure that is surrounded by lush green landscape. It is a medieval dungeon dating back to Gallo-Roman period. Initially, it was a structure mainly made of wood and stone that was built to protect the Gauls against the invasions by the Barbarians, of which nothing is left today. In 1214, Raoul Ducheim, who later Latinised his name and came to be known as d’ Estrees, re-planned, fortified and restored the structure.

He added the three-storied living quarters, some of which still remains. In 1360, his great-grandson Jehan de Vez added the pentagonal-shaped tower. The terrace consists of machicolations and perhaps it was the primary defense system. At its present state, it is maintained by Caroline and Francis Briest. Because of their efforts they have given a new lease of life to the structure. It showcases permanent art installations—sculptures, paintings and stained glass artworks. Especially on a nice sunny day one could easily spend few hours at the Vez.

Sacy-le-Petit

The expansive flatland in Sacy-le-Petit; Image credit: Kalyani Majumdar

Sacy-le-Petit is a commune in Oise and dates back to pre-historic and Roman period. One can either drive down from Paris or board a train from Paris to Pont-Sainte-Maxence. There are taxis available at the station. The winding roads are dotted with houses made of red bricks mostly. The villages of Picardy region has a distinct culture and architectural style that can be seen in this commune as well. Before visiting this place while looking through images I had come across a photograph from 1940, of an abandoned French tank sitting on a farmland in Sacy-le-Petit, being inspected by the Germans.

It is the same commune, yet its serene beauty belies the gruesome bloodshed that this region has seen. From May to July would be the best time to visit this region when the flowers are in full bloom in the gardens, and farm lands are green. Sacy-le-Petit is majorly an agricultural area. There are inns and hotels available here for a comfortable stay. The popular places to visit nearby includes Compiègne.

Chateau de Sacy

Chateau de Sacy; Image credit: Kalyani Majumdar

I was fortunate to volunteer at the Chateau de Sacy in Sacy-le-Petit during the same week as the festival of L’Oise Verte et Bleu, L’événement Grandeur. It is a festival to celebrate and discover the culture of Oise that includes outdoor activities, local culinary feasts and so on. Chateau de Sacy is situated in the middle of a large organic garden and is surrounded by a lovely collection of tall trees. The chateau is steeped in history and is closely linked to the history of Sacy-le-Petit. In the 19th century, Claude-François and Madeleine-Félicité Dupressoir had decided to take over this house and brought along things that were dear to them from their old castle, items such as, woodwork, trumeau, fireplaces and plates, the balustrade Louis XIV.

Later on, as the region became rich by growing sugar beet during the sugar embargo they turned the two farms and a garden into a chateau. The current occupant is Hermine Williams, who inherited the house and is a descendant of Madeleine-Félicité and Claude-François Dupressoir. There are organised tours of the Chateau de Sacy that should not be missed. Cycling and walking are the best way to see the sights and mingle with the friendly locals. Every weekend there is a flea market nearby, and is a great opportunity to immerse into the local culture.

Perhaps the fact that this region of France has remained free from tourist traps, that it is still in its pristine form. For me, even now, Oise is embedded in my memory. It still continues to stir my imagination as I can still feel the wind in my hair and remember the intriguing stories that I have heard, some of which are now part of my story.

October 11, 2019
Printmaking in Bengal

The ongoing exhibition at Project 88 on Prints from Bengal: Modernism in Colonial India explores the process of printmaking in Bengal and its role in understanding the socio-political climate in British India of the early to mid-20^th century. Kalyani Majumdar brings the story.

Published in Free Press Journal; Date: 10.06.2018

Ramkinkar Baij, Untitled, Woodcut on Paper, 5 x 7.5 inch

An active art space now, Project 88 was once a century-old metal printing press, situated in Colaba, Mumbai. So, when the art gallery decided to organise an art show on prints from Bengal, it came full circle with its own history. The exhibition explores the nuances involved in printmaking as an art form, by some of the stalwarts from the art world who changed the modern Indian art scene of the twentieth century.

Art as an expression

Artists have often used art to express their observations especially during the time of unrest, human suffering and oppression. Hence, when one looks at the series of prints exhibited at Project 88, it provides a keen understanding of the social life of Bengal and also the political scene in colonial India. The artists whose prints are exhibited at the gallery are, Gaganendranath Tagore (1867 – 1938), Mukul Chandra Dey (1895 – 1989), Ramendranath Chakravorty (1902-1955), Ramkinkar Baij (1906 – 1980) and Rani (Dey) Chanda (1912 – 1997). They were all born in the undivided Bengal in British India and were all associated to Santiniketan.

Ramendranath Chakravarty, Untitled, 1935, Woodcut

They grew up during a period when Bengal was going through a lot of political and social upheavals. These artists saw the unrest caused due to partition of Bengal in 1905 on communal lines. Followed by the shifting of the capital from Calcutta to Delhi and its repercussions, they played their part in the Swadeshi movement and attempted to find an Indian identity in colonial India. Apart from Gaganendranath Tagore, who died in 1938, the other artists also saw the, Bengal famine, communal violence followed by the partition of Bengal and the Indian independence. These events had great impact on the artists’ works. Also, all the five artists were highly inspired by the 19th century Bengal Renaissance and that too played an important role in how they communicated through their art.

From Bichitra Club to Kala Bhavan

Founded in 1915 by the Tagores in their Jorasankho house in North Kolkata, the primary aim of Bichitra Club was to explore different styles of printmaking and painting. Bichitra, which means, variety, was spearheaded by the three nephews of Rabindranath Tagore — Gaganendranath, Samarendranath and Abanindranath. They had turned the south veranda of the Jorasankho house into a club, fashioned on the concept of an art salon. The club offered classes on printmaking, painting, music, pottery, carpentry and so on. Rabindranath Tagore defined it as the model school and its members and students also had Pratima Devi and Sunayani Devi from the Tagore family as students. It was here that the printmaking techniques were explored in a manner that saw the emergence of woodcuts and lithographs as art forms.

Gaganendranath Tagore, Metamorphoses, 1917, Lithograph on Paper, 17 x 11 inch

The practice of printmaking as a fine art medium became extremely popular with the establishment of Kala Bhavan in 1919. It is the fine arts faculty of the Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan. And, it was none other than Nandalal Bose, a student of Abanindranath Tagore, and also the creator of the logo for Bichitra Club, who made printmaking a popular art form in Kala Bhavana. Ramendranath Chakravorty, Mukul Chandra Dey, Rani Dey (Chanda), Ramkinkar Baij were all trained at Santiniketan.

Tagore’s satirical depiction of urban life

Artist Gaganendranath Tagore had special interest in lithography, and even went on to set up his own lithographic press in 1917. He was anti-colonial and had no qualms to express it openly through his art. His prints exhibited at the gallery shows, caricatures that made satiric commentaries on colonial Indian urban life. One of his works on display, titled, Metamorphosis: Don’t disturb me now, I am about to become a sab show a Bengali babu pretending to be a European, as he is shown wearing a trouser on top of his dhuti. Through his humour, he would often take on the corrupt politicians and showcase the hypocrisy that existed in the Indian society. Even today, Tagore is considered one of the finest and influential modernist printmakers, India ever had.

Depiction of rural and tribal life

The prints by Chakravorty, Dey, Baij and Chanda at the exhibition, depicts the rural and tribal (santhal) life. Ramendranath Chakravorty began his formal art education in Government School of Art, Calcutta/Kolkata in 1919, but in two years he left for Santiniketan for the newly established Kala Bhavan. It was here that he found his mentor, Nandalal Bose. Chakravorty’s ability to capture the rural Bengal life can be seen clearly in his wood engravings. His work, Untitled, woodcut from 1935 is one such example. His works often expressed a duality, wherein, it finds influences from both the revivalist movement in Bengal and the Swadeshi Movement that was rising during that period. However, he was always keen on exploring techniques prevalent in Japan and Europe.

Mukul Dey, Filling the Pitchers, Hand Coloured Dry point Etching on Paper, 6 x 8 inch

Mukul Chandra Dey, was one of the prominent member of the Bichitra Club. In 1916, he went to US to learn the technique of dry-point etching. He came back to Santiniketan in the 1920s. His exhibit at the gallery titled, Filling the Pitcher looks hand-painted as the artist has used a variety of tints and smudges to define his subjects.

Ramkinkar Baij went to Santiniketan to become a sculptor and painter, however he also found interest in the process of printmaking. He connected easily with the tribal lifestyle and throughout his lifetime his works revolved around his tribal subjects. In one of his prints at the show, the Vande Mataram chant is inscribed on the top along with a partially visible face of a man and on the foreground the print has jagged uneven broken shapes. His monochromatic woodcuts has dynamic characteristics, combined with a certain ruggedness that makes his prints stand out from the rest.

Rani (Dey) Chanda, was Mukul Dey’s sister. It was Rabindranath Tagore who encouraged her to pursue art. She went to Santiniketan and studied painting, music and dancing. She was imprisoned for anti-British activities for a while. In 1932, Mukul Dey published a portfolio of 25 linocuts by his sister. Her prints are a beautiful contrast of black-and-white compositions creating a dreamlike effect of rural Bengal. Whether it’s the huts in moonlit night or a boat riding the waves, she created magic with her perfect lines and balance of black and white.

Event Detail:

When: On till June 16

Timings: 11 AM to 7 PM

Venue: Project 88, Ground Floor, B.M.P. Building, Narayan A Sawant Rd, Azad Nagar, Colaba, Mumbai

(Image credit courtesy: The artist, Galerie 88 & Project 88, Mumbai)

October 10, 2019
Art Deco: The Mumbai connection

When a design movement called Art Deco flourished between the two World Wars in Europe, it made its way to Mumbai around the same time and found many takers in the city. Kalyani Majumdar delves into the story.

Published in Free Press Journal; Date: 03.09.2017

Did you know that Mumbai has the second largest number of Art Deco buildings in the world right after Miami? For most people, it comes as a surprise. Possibly the reason could be that Mumbai is mostly synonymous with the Gateway of India that is an Indo-Saracenic architecture or the famous CST (formerly the Victoria Terminus), a neo-Gothic architecture. So, where are the Art Deco buildings? There is no doubt that Mumbai cityscape is dotted with iconic architectural masterpieces from the colonial period, and walking around South Mumbai is like visiting a museum displaying different architectural styles. However, if you pay attention on the built structures while walking around the Oval Maidan, Marine Drive and Colaba it is not difficult to spot these Art Deco buildings with their signature design elements such as symmetry, geometric designs and decorative motifs on the façade. Curiously, one might even wonder what it was about Art Deco-style that it found so many connoisseurs in the city. To understand that we need to dive into the history of Art Deco.

A movement that started in France

Art Deco derived its name from the French words “Arts Décoratifs”. It was an exhibition that was held in Paris in 1925 called the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes (International Exposition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts). To get selected for the exhibition the works had to be modern that was without the influence of past design-styles.

Originally, the exposition was to take place in 1915, but was postponed due to the First World War. To a great extent the War had a strong influence on Art Deco’s popularity. The devastation and loss due to the war had left everyone disillusioned of the future. The horrors of war were being expressed through many new art movements that came up around the 1920s such as Cubism, Surrealism and Fauvism. Literary works by Ernest Hemingway and Scott Fitzgerald give us a fair idea of the society of that time.

With socio-political changes taking place in Europe and around the world, the exposition was a success. Art Deco found many takers as there was something very appealing about this style that was modern and had moved away from the formal design styles that was prevalent till then. Post World War, the world was looking for optimism and that was exactly what Art Deco represented with its simple geometric lines, decorative motifs that brought in inspirations from around the world, and the use of vibrant colours. It was heralding the machine age with the use of technology.

The designs could be replicated easily, thus bringing down the manufacturing costs along with the introduction of stainless steel, plastics and other unconventional materials. Apart from architecture, this design movement influenced jewellery, automobiles, and furniture designs as well. In the world of architecture Art Deco was fast becoming popular all around the world with the US giving the world the two iconic Art Deco buildings of that era, the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building. As Art Deco rose in popularity the world over, it had surely become an international movement from its French origins.

Art Deco found its way to Mumbai

The time when Art Deco was taking over America, especially Miami, another city across the globewas fast becoming the second home for Art Deco to flourish in. It was none other than Mumbai. It was on the world map as an important port city for British India. Every new trend that was prevalent in the West found a home in Mumbai. In the 1920s the well-heeled and educated Indians from the city that were making frequent trips to Europe brought back the Art Deco style with them back home.

Between 1920s and 1940s Art Deco graced the South Mumbai landscape, especially the residential buildings on Marine Drive that came up on the newly reclaimed land around the same time, thanks to the Backbay Land Reclamation Scheme. With its optimistic and modern designs that had moved away from the imprint of colonial design-styles such as the Gothic and the Victorian, the Mumbai home owners wanted to do up their properties in the Art Deco style. Art Deco was vibrant and had a global appeal. It was the trend everyone wanted to be part of. Thus, in India just like in the rest of the world, Art Deco made its presence in a big way.

Apart from the geometric patterns and the need for symmetry, one also observes nautical elements being part of the Art Deco buildings in Mumbai. One can see the new age design elements on buildings such as the Eros Cinema right across Churchgate station that was completed in 1937, or the decorative motifs on the façade of the iconic Regal Cinema in Colaba that was opened to public in 1933. Another notable Art Deco building is on the Mahatma Gandhi Road in Fort — The New India Assurance Building. It has bas reliefs depicting rural life in India, but what catches your attention first are the two huge statues on the façade that appears of Egyptian origin. It is indeed a long list of beautiful Art Deco buildings that exist in the city.

So, next time when walking on the streets of Mumbai do pay attention to the buildings that you pass by, you might stumble upon an Art Deco hidden somewhere in the urban cluster of high rises that stands as a testimony of the era that was popularly known as the roaring 20s or the Jazz Age.

October 10, 2019
Haunting Notes from Mumbai

KALYANI MAJUMDAR explores Sarnath Banerjee’s ongoing exhibition, which brings a trove of stories from the supernatural realm that engages with the city of Mumbai.

(Published in Free Press Journal; Date: 26.05.2019)

Every city has its fair share of ghost stories. I remember when I first arrived in Mumbai, I was told stories by people coming from various walks of life about certain buildings and roads in the city that are associated with apparitions. The Spectral Times is an exhibition of works by the Berlin-based renowned artist and graphic novelist, Sarnath Banerjee at Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum (BDL). The exhibition brings forth stories that take the visitors through a wonderful journey into the temporality of haunting, wherein, the past and the present seems to overlap. The exhibition is curated by Tasneem Zakaria Mehta, Managing Trustee of BDL, and co-curated by Himanshu Kadam. This is part of the museum’s decade-long series, Engaging Traditions, which invites contemporary artists to engage with its archives and history.

The exhibition space

From the entrance of the BDL Museum, and through the hallway on the ground floor you make your way up a flight of stairs onto a hall that leads you to a room with an interesting choice of lighting that creates a strong contrast of dark and light, very different from the rest of the museum space, lending it a feel of an old painting or a photograph with chiaroscuro lighting. It has a cabinet filled with a collection of objects such as a man’s head, a book on Arabic surgeries and so on. There are few chairs arranged in a circle for the visitors to sit. The exhibition area is divided into three sections. The next section of the room showcases Banerjee’s artworks. The illustrations combined with sound installations narrating fictional tales that mostly have an eerie ending, creates an engaging environment. The exhibition commands full engagement of all your senses as it is recommended that once you listen to the narratives, you must revisit the artworks, and see the characters come alive and you as an onlooker become a part of the process of storytelling. The third section of the room is separated with a black curtain, you step in the section and sit on one of the chairs arranged facing an old radio. While you sit and listen to another story with an anticlimactic ending with the storyteller being a woman with the severed head, you can’t help but take in the surrounding of the room with a derelict spiral staircase at the corner that has lost its functionality with time and you wonder how the theme of the exhibition fits the museum space as the past keeps reasserting itself through the stories. Narrated in the form of a magazine interview, Birjis Bari, a fictional reporter continues to provide us scintillating tales through the news periodical, The Spectral Times.

Magic of storytelling

The exhibition uses the radio component and takes us back in time when the only source of news, entertainment and information was radio. Now, we have videos for everything, however listening to a story in a radio provides us the freedom to imagine the characters of the story, the atmosphere and everything else. It has its own magic.

Illustrations and narratives

Although almost all the stories have eerie endings each story also depicts city life and its people. For instance, there is a couple that meets at Dom’s Guesthouse. Even though they belong to the city and yet they ritualistically make it a point to spend few days at the guesthouse and experience the city as two strangers. Of course, there is a spectral angle to this narrative as well. Then there is Shehri Adamkhor that recounts the story of a man, who has shifted cities and is trying to quit smoking and talks about his cannibalistic behaviours. The narration is laced with dark humour. Then there is an artwork titled, Milk Colony, that has a narration revolving around the Aarey forest wherein several auto-rickshaw wallas share their experience of spotting a ghostly figure that appears out of nowhere and sings a very famous Hindi movie song. However, there are some stories that are more unsettling than the others, like the Fidaly Mansion.

After spending a good amount of time soaking in the dramatic atmosphere accompanied with the narratives, when you step out of the room into the hall with its bright light and merge into the sea of visitors to the museum, there is a sort of longing for that atmosphere that you just left behind in the room with its spectres and their tales. You are forced to wonder about this inherent fascination that we have for apparitions and the unexplained phenomenon. Is it the ghost narratives that are merely reasserting itself in our stable present that makes it unsettling for our logical understanding of concepts that are linear? Or, are we just fascinated by the idea of temporality of haunting, through which events and people return from the limits of time and mortality? Perhaps, both!

Event details:

On till May 26, 2019

Timings: 10 am– 6 pm (Wednesday closed)

Venue: Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Ranibaug, Byculla East, Mumbai

October 9, 2019