A Slightly Different View

TNN, "Splendour of Alwar art captured in book" - The Times of India - India
Thursday, February 5, 2009

New Delhi: It was a date with history. A date to discover legacy created more than 600 years ago in Rajasthan.

Neeru Misra's book, "Splendours of Rajasthan Paintings - Gulistan of Alwar School'' is a rare work of art. The book was released on Wednesday by ICCR president Karan Singh, in a function presided over by Pavan K Varma. Reproducing works of art almost 600 years after their original composition is no mean feat.

`Gulistan' was created in Rajasthan's Alwar court and was composed by celebrated 13th century Sufi saint, Sheikh Sa'adi. A mix of Persian and Mughal miniature traditions, the paintings and the manuscript belong to late 18th century. The commissioning of the manuscript started in 1844 and it was finished in 1853 during the time of Raja Banni Singh of Alwar.

Misra, who took almost three and half years to complete her research on the book that included frequent visits to Alwar, maintains that the town's history has not been explored or aptly documented till date.

A trained art historian and guest faculty at the National Museum Institute's Art of Miniature Painting, Misra included 18 paintings with 12 main stories in her book.

"These stories tackle issues of good governance and good ideals of that time. These are written very satirically by Sa'adi,'' she says.

Releasing the book, Singh said he was surprised by the discovery of Alwar in this art form. "I didn't know Alwar had a school of painting. The extraordinary colours are so fresh,'' he added.

Singh said, Misra's book not only rekindled interest in Indian art, but was also a salute to the fading culture of India. The Alwar school and Sa'adi's work, he said, were well represented in the book.

"Sa'adi's work is not really known to large number of people, nor does anyone read his work. He was a sufi, so always had a slightly different view of life and never got carried away.''

Elaborating the Persian influence on Indian culture, Singh said, "We need to rediscover the impact Persia left on India. Even in Kashmir, the Chinar, zafran, kahva, carpet making -- all came from Persia''.

Commenting that India is at a crossroads of sorts, Singh asserted that while it has always been a great originator of culture, the country has also accepted various streams.

"The Persian-Sufi stream is one such important stream in the growth of Indian culture,'' he said.

[Splendours of Rajasthan paintings : Gulistan of Alwar school /
DK Number: DK-190692
ISBN: 9788173047886
Author: Neeru Misra.
Imprint: New Delhi : Manohar Publishers & Distributors,
Physical Description: 184 p., 17 leaves of plates : col. ill. ; 25 cm.
Year: 2008
Price: USD 70.25

Picture from http://tinyurl.com/dfwtbg].