The exhibition is being inaugurated by Smt. Urmila Singh, Her Excellency, the Governor of Himachal Pradesh, on 9th of January, 2013, at 14:30 hours at the Club House, Bhagsu Hotel. Sh. Sudhir Sharma, Hon’ble Minister for Urban Development, Housing, TCP, will be the guest of honour for the exhibition.

The exhibition features paintings produced by students at the Chitera School run by the ‘Kangra Arts Promotion Society’ (KAPS) in Himachal Pradesh. KAPS is a not for profit Society working towards promoting Kangra Art and working to create a new generation of artists of this Pahari miniature painting style. The traditional Kangra Paintings represent one of the finest miniature painting styles from India.

The distinctive feature of this exhibition is that it features the work of a new generation of artists, which the Kangra Arts Promotion Society (KAPS) has been training in this traditional art form. Varun Rattan Singh, from KAPS informed that the society has been conducting such exhibitions at various places since past 3 years. Similar exhibitions were organised in Jaipur and London last year. KAPS believe the exhibition will generate interests among the people about an important part of Himachali culture.

Lord Evans is the former Managing Director and Chairman of Faber and Faber, Chairman of the Royal Court Theatre, as well as Vice Chairman of the British Film Institute. Lord Evans in his inaugural address lauded efforts such as the exhibition to promote the arts and culture and later spoke to media about his own involvement with artists, writers, filmmakers and publishers in England. Smt. Sangeeta Bahadur, Minister (Culture) and Director, of The Nehru Centre delivered the welcome address.

The distinctive feature of this exhibition is that it features the work of a new generation of artists, which the Kangra Arts Promotion Society (KAPS) has been training in this traditional art form. Five Benches, another not for profit organization from Himachal brought the exhibition to London. Five Benches is working towards expanding the scope of literary and cultural discourse in Himachal and helping promote Himachali culture in different parts of the World. The State Bank of India in the UK was the main sponsor of the exhibition.

The traditional Kangra Paintings represent one of the finest miniature painting styles from India. This great art originated in a small hill state ‘Guler’ in the Lower Himalayas in the first half of the eighteenth century when a family of Kashmiri painters trained in Mughal Style of painting sought shelter at the court of Raja Dalip Singh (r. 1695-1741) of Guler.

The new arrivals mingled with the local artists and were greatly influenced by the atmosphere of the hills. Instead of painting flattering portraits of their masters and love scenes, the artistes adopted themes of eternal love between Radha and Krishna. The paintings were naturalistic and employed cool, fresh colors. The colors were extracted from minerals, vegetables and possessed enamel-like luster. Verdant greenery of the landscape, brooks, springs were the recurrent images on the miniatures.

Five Benches and KAPS believe the exhibition will be a huge boost to this new generation of artists and will help breathe new life into this beautiful and significant part of Himachali culture. Anuj Kapoor from Five Benches Society thanked the Chief Guest and all the guests at the inauguration and mentioned that the exhibition illustrated how collaborations between small societies could produce significant results at relatively small costs and bring genuine value to communities and the broader society they service.

Sh. Vijay Sharma is not only an artiste par excellence but he has also enriched this art by writing many books on technique and historical perspective of Kangra and Basholi paintings. Kangra Arts Society also thanks him for providing his expert guidance to the Society in training young artistes so that tradition of great Kangra painting does not die down with passage of time.

Sh. Vijay Sharma is associated with the Society since its inception in 2007 and we hope that he will continue to do so.

Launching of website by the Chief Minister

The website aims to provide authentic information about Kangra art, profiles of master artisans, paintings art gallery,  information about Chitera Art School and updates on the events organised by the society.

Chief Minister Shri P.K. Dhumal along with Mr. B.K. Aggarwal
taking a look at paintings on display

कांगड़ा आर्ट प्रमोशन सोसायटी के बैनर तले मैक्लोडगंज में स्ट्रोक्स आफ कांगड़ा नाम से कांगड़ा चित्रकला पर आधारित दो दिवसीय प्रदर्शनी का उद्घाटन शनिवार को परिवहन एवं पर्यटन मंत्री जीएस बाली ने दीप प्रज्वलित कर किया। दो दिवसीय प्रदर्शनी 17 जून तक चलेगी।
प्रदर्शनी का आयोजन मैक्लोडगंज स्थित क्लब हाउस में किया गया है। प्रदर्शनी को बाद में 19 से 21 जून तक धर्मशाला स्थित कांगड़ा संग्रहालय में लगाया जाएगा। इस अवसर पर बाली ने कहा कि इस तरह के प्रयासों से न केवल राज्य की आर्थिकी एवं पर्यटन का विकास होगा बल्कि सैलानियों व कलाप्रेमियों को इनके माध्यम से अपनी प्रदेश यात्रा को चिरकाल तक संजोए रखने में मदद मिलेगी। उन्होंने कांगड़ा आर्ट प्रमोशन सोसायटी को व्यक्तिगत तौर पर दस हजार रुपए देने की भी घोषणा की। सोसायटी ने जो कला स्कूल खोलने की योजना बनाई है, में पर्यटन विभाग हर संभव मदद करेगा। उन्होंने इस मौके पर विभाग की ओर से पचास कलाकृतियां खरीदने की भी घोषणा की।
कांगड़ा आर्ट प्रमोशन सोसायटी के चैयरमैन एवं कांगड़ा के मंडलायुक्त बीके अग्रवाल नेकहा कि पिछले एक वर्ष से इस चित्रकला के पुनर्जीवन के लिए जो प्रयास किए जा रहे थे। प्रदर्शनी में 11 कलाकारों की 80 कलाकृतियां शामिल हैं। उपायुक्त भरत खेड़ा ने बताया कि कांगड़ा आ‌र्ट्स प्रमोशन सोसायटी जल्द ही अपनी वेबसाइट आरंभ करने जा रही है। प्रख्यात चित्रकार विजय शर्मा ने इस अवसर पर पहाड़ी चित्रकला के इतिहास पर प्रकाश डाला। इस अवसर पर डोलमा गेरी,योगी महाजन,रणधीर सेखड़ी,मनोज कुमार,अरूण विष्ट सहित काफी लोग मौजूद थे।

After sinking and craving for survival for long, Kangra’s trademark art form gets a fresh lease of life

The Kangra School of Painting— Kangra Kalm— has been described as the ‘art of patience, labour and native devotion.’ Attributed to this school is the art of miniature paintings, described as an ‘art of delicacy of line, brilliancy of colours and minuteness of details.’ Originating during the reign of Raja Goverdhan Chand of Guler (1744-73), this 260-year-old art had almost reached the verge of extinction until the newly established Kangra Arts Promotion Society (KAPS) initiated efforts to preserve it.

Kangra divisional commissioner and KAPS president, B.K. Agrawal, stressed for a joint effort by art lovers to preserve the Kangra Miniature Paintings. Strokes of Kangra, an Exhibition of Kangra Miniature Paintings at Mcleodganj, was a step in this direction. A part of this endeavor were 11 artists, including national award winner Vijay Sharma of Chamba, Anil Raina, Mukesh Diman, Preetam, Dani Ram, Om Sujhan Puri and the only woman artist Anu Priya, who exhibited their 80 Kangra paintings.

Agrawal said that in an effort to revive this art, a special painting school would be opened here under the patronage of KAPS, which would provide financial benefits to the painters, besides promoting this art. KAPS would provide stipend to the budding artists during their one-year training in the school and they would be provided proper market for their paintings after the completion of the course.

KAPS would hold two major annual exhibitions, one each in the state and a metropolitan city like Delhi and Mumbai, in order to provide market to these artists. He informed that Kangra paintings worth Rs 50,000 had been sold at the first exhibition organised by KAPS at McLeodganj.

Describing the Kangra painting as a lyrical blend of religion and romance, Agrawal said that renowned Sanskrit poet Jai Deva’s Geet Govinda, The Bagwat Purana, Bihari’s Satsai, Keshav’s Rasik Priya and Kavipriya had been illustrated by these artists. The Nayaka Bheda, the Baramasas of miniature paintings depicting the twelve months, were the height of the creative imagination.

Agrawal added that these great miniatures constitute a valuable record of ancient culture of Vashnava faith Krishna Avtara. The universal feelings of love and romance were conveyed through ideal and spiritual love of Radha and Krishna.

The artists have captured moonlight, the rain-rich clouds, white swans against the dark sky, lotus pools and lovers’ pavilion and the love messengers like Chakva-Chakvi. Anand Coomaraswamy brought the Kangra paintings into the limelight for the first time in 1910, when he visited the Kangra valley. The state government, in a bid to revive the art by starting training centers for young artists through the Handloom and Handicraft Corporation and the Himachal Academy of Art Culture and Languages, also started training in this art in the 70’s through guru shishya parampara but failed to achieve the desired results.

After the death of the renowned Kangra painting artist Chandu Lal Raina, on May 5, 1994, his son Anil Raina and Satya Prakash made copies of masterpieces. The practicing artists of the school could be counted on the fingertips now.

Art scholar Dr Eberhard Fischer held a show of Kangra paintings in the Museum Rietberg, Zurich, for three months. Under the guidance of Dr Fischer, the Department of Art Culture and Languages had to set up a gallery for Kangra paintings at the Kangra Museum, which didn’t materialise due to lack of patronage from the Government. It’s hoped that with its sincere efforts, KAPS would certainly help to revive this art in the days to come.