Narratives for Indian Modernity

12 TO 22 MAY

INDIA INTERNATIONAL CENTRE, DELHI

Brij Mohan Anand, a self-taught artist from Punjab, who died 30 years ago, has been less known than his modernist contemporaries, such as MF Husain and VS Gaitonde. But the recent discovery of a vast cache of Anand’s work, in the attic of his Delhi home, has culminated in this exhibition. The works displayed showcased the artist’s experimentation across many media, including painting, illustration, scratchboard etching, poster and even book cover. Especially remarkable was his audacious intervention during the height of the Vietnam War, when he sent a New Year’s greeting card to several foreign embassies in Delhi. The card reads “Stop Burning Asia/The Death Is Shadowing You,” and shows a Native American carrying the world on his back. Another striking painting, split down the middle between dystopian and utopian ideals, provides a clear picture of Anand’s worldview. In his dystopian vision, a mechanical giant stands before barren land, a towering fire and a pile of severed heads. In the utopian one, a peasant couple stands before an idyllic pastoral scene.

~ Ahyaan Raghuvanshi