Painted Scrolls Depicting Freedom Struggle To Be Showcased At Rajpath On R-Day

Celebrating Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, more than 500 artistes have painted the 750 metres gigantic scrolls portraying the tales of valour of unsung heroes of India’s freedom movement.

The works of art done on the gigantic scrolls will form an integral part of the Republic Day celebrations 2022 at Rajpath.

The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) has conducted Kala Kumbh — artist workshops at Bhubaneswar and Chandigarh for painting 10 huge scrolls of about 750 metres under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, reflecting the essence of unity in diversity.

"The gigantic scrolls when displayed at Rajpath will garner interest of each individual to delve deep into the history of unsung heroes of India’s freedom struggle," said NGMA DG Adwaita Garanayak.

These scrolls analyse the potential of art as a means to express national pride and excellence with varied forms of art from diverse geographical locations of the country.

The celebration of the true essence of Ek Bharat Shresth Bharat was visible in these workshops where the rich diversity of our country in its cultural aspects was witnessed while portraying the heroic lives and struggles of unsung heroes of India’s freedom movement.

These have been diligently researched upon and painted enthusiastically by more than five hundred artists spread over two locations, Odisha and Chandigarh.

Aligning with the flagship programme of the Ministry of Culture, the aspect of collaborations and collective work has been outlined in these workshops.

At Odisha, the NGMA collaborated with Kalinga Institute of Technology and Silicon Institute of Technology in Bhubaneswar from December 11 to 17 and at Chandigarh the collaboration was done with Chitkara University from December 25, 2021 to January 2, 2022.

The scrolls painted in these workshops may be seen as an embodiment of all that is progressive about India’s socio-cultural identity which has been imparted prominence on the large scale scrolls.

At Bhubaneswar, the narratives have reflected the tales of valour and historical elements of India’s movement of freedom struggle focusing on Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bengal, north eastern parts of India and Andhra Pradesh with artistic expressions reflecting the indigenous forms of art such as Pattachitra, Talapatra Chitra, Manjusa, Madhubani and Jadu Patua to name a few.

At Chandigarh, the narratives have been a reflection of the tales of valour of unsung heroes from Ladakh, Jammu, Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan with artistic expressions reflecting the indigenous forms of art such as Phad, Pichwai, Miniature, Kalamkari, Mandana, Thangka and Warli.

These artist workshops have been a huge success and have been visited by several students at both the venues. NCC cadets have also witnessed the creative representations of India’s unsung heroes of freedom struggle at Chandigarh.

These scrolls will be placed artistically at Rajpath for the celebrations of Republic day, 2022. The strategic location of these scrolls would serve as an open gallery for all the citizens and it is intended to inspire people about the rich national heritage and legacy of Bharat in its true sense.