The other day, Deepak, one of my young friends from Varanasi dropped in and we went into raptures just talking about the various good things that are peculiar to Varanasi, beginning with the reigning deity Lord Vishwanath and the Ganga ghats, goodies like special kesar jalebis, matar ki kachori, chaat along with exquisite sarees, pink meenakari jewellery, Ramnagar ki Ramlila, and of course paan and bhang. Now, make no mistake, both he and I agree that parts of Varanasi are very dirty and make it difficult for anybody to love it, but still there is so much to the place — culturally, artistically, aesthetically and spiritually that at the end of the day, we were beginning to sound like a tourism brochure!
The Indo-Gangetic plains of Uttar Pradesh have traditionally being fertile in more than one way: the civilisations they have held in their lap have given birth to some amazing arts, including classical music — the Purab ang of Hindustani classical music for one, the Banaras baaz of tabla playing for another, the thumris and dadras and ghazals of Awadh, the Lucknow ang of Kathak dance and its mind blowing chikan embroidery, the slightly raunchy Nautanki-style of folk theatre, and the Dum-style of Awadhi cuisine, the brassware from Moradabad and carpets from Mirzapur and Badhoi. And of course, the Banaras Hindu University, Allahabad University and the Aligarh Muslim University as seats of learning, playing their part of this long heritage. Not to forget the more obvious Taj Mahal and the pietra dura stone inlay work of Agra. The list is indeed long.
Given this background, contemporary and modern visual art can’t be too far behind and chronicling this journey is Shubhi Publications’ latest offering Variegated Vista — Painting, Sculpture and Printmaking in Post Independence Uttar Pradesh by Dr Shefali Bhatnagar. The publication is really a lifetime’s work and has been done in a detailed yet easy-to-read and access manner. The book is the first-of-its-kind and traverses the hitherto unexplored territory and takes into account all developments in the context of art and artists’ vision and is definitely one the most authentic and comprehensive treatise on modern art in UP. Dr Bhatnager’s background as an academic and professor of art stands her in good stead, as she is able to organise the facts, and delineates important and major artists’ work and contribution with illustrations. It has been lovingly handled and treated almost like a passionate obsession.
The text is able to trace and consolidate an almost kaleidoscopic overview of the art from the region and gently allows art lovers to wade through the timeline, to experience the steady evolution from an agrarian folk culture with its traditional and hierarchical mindset to the state of present-day experimentation and innovation. The process captures the multifarious culture of this region reflected in its art and how artists from the farthest corners of India have come and settled here and enriched its art with the fabulous outpouring of their traditions to evolve synergies that are as versatile as the artists themselves.
Another publication on an individual artist Sarla Chandra — a journey of four decades, supported by the PSU Powergrid Corporation of India, is a lavishly produced volume tracing her voyage in four segments. Written by senior critics from all over the country, it is vibrantly illustrated and has images of her works over the decades. Sarla Chandra’s sensibilities are refined and her aesthetics quite in place in both her paintings and this book.
Not often are artists in a financial position to chronicle their journey or able to find sponsorship to create publications like this. I have seen so many artists struggle to even print a measly catalogue that I would often tell them to do CD catalogues. Publications on the arts, both visual and performing, are mostly labours of love with neither the publishers nor the authors hoping to get rich on them and so both need all the kudos for putting their heart on the line for the art.

Dr Alka Raghuvanshi is an art writer, curator and artist