The best memories are not captured. And thats what the security advised me as we entered the Axis Bank gallery at the Museum of Art and Photography that houses the current exhibition titled the Kanchana Chitra Ramayana of Banaras curated at the Museum of Art and Photography. The beautiful book by Tulsidas showcasing the mighty Hindu epic comprised of 1100 pages, 80 of which have been displayed at this showcase. The beautiful pages all framed by a golden border are succinctly lit up. Patronised by the royal court of Banaras this exhibition is curated by the late Kavita Singh and Parul Singh. While the miniature painting style originally brought to India by the Mughals and extensively features their Mughal gardens looked very splendid featuring the main characters of the Ramayana, the Garuda pakshi, who has a celebrity status in our house at the moment and all the other milestones in India’s greatest epic. The create your own miniature painting was a rather cute touch felicitating the gallery exhibit!
On another floor is an exhibition by the British artist Alexander Gorlizki, along with Riyaz Uddin and Pink Studio Jaipur, that takes a rather fantastical spin on the old world paintings from the gallery’s collection. This feature title “What the Camera cannot see” brings out whimsical elements into serious moments. Again the quirks are so mirthful and joy-ridden that it had us in splits as we went from one screen to the other. Black and white photos with flamingoes and what not, that usually would not been there come together and become magical on another note. Again holding forth aplenty is the third exhibit that says Visible/Invisible showcasing women and their glories, dooms, challenges in great alacrity. I for one was happy to spot Jamini Roy’s, Raja Ravi Varma’s exploits and some lesser to me known artists.
On the whole the Museum of Art and Photography located in the heart of Bangalore, opposite the famous Cubbon Park has its heart in the right place. Funded totally by the tech-giants of the city, there is a Kiran Mazumdar Shaw auditorium, the Infosys foundation gallery, the Wipro gallery among others, boasting of donors both famous and anonymous. It is a state-of-the-art gallery unlike its nemesis run by the government on the other side of the street. For a minute I wasn’t sure if I were in India at all. The galleries are interspersed by research laboratories that work on art, rather work on conserving art. The museum shop selling wares by Jamini Roy, was way too expensive, but then a slice of art is expensive no matter to the doer or the seeker! The infrastructure at the MAP could well put Moma to shame, though much more meagre in size. The exhibits were fun to the next level and mostly Indian, except for the Gorlizki, however he was so much fun too. I sure hope the museum turns out its curations just as often as we feel like visiting, or has classes for art aficionados like us, mastering Varma’s style may just be what we like.
P.s. I was also served a reminder on why this blog makes sense, celebrating words without pictures, makes the gram totally lost and them readers win!
Vedasri Siddamsetty 