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Kangra Art School preserving miniature paintings
by Akhilesh Bharti

        Dharamshala: Kangra Art Museum in Himachal Pradesh is making an endeavour to save the miniature paintings showcasing Kangra art form in a special way. The single art school of its own kind is being run in the museum for children and youth aged between 14 to 30 years. It is training many youngsters in Kangra Art form and also enabling them for self-employment. These art students are learning basic techniques of Kangra Art and getting familiar with this extra ordinary centuries old art form and its beautiful color combination and representation techniques. The art classes were started here in the year of 2002 with the efforts of department of language and culture and the district administration, when a scheme from the centre government was approved to promote the Kangra Art and to teach this art. Located in Dharamshala, Kangra Art museum has treasured the artefacts and paintings dating back to the 5 century. There is a separate gallery in this museum that is devoted only to the Kangra paintings. "Kangra art is a world renowned art form, it has brought fame and glory to the whole country. But because of a long hiatus this art form has lost its sheen," said Ramesh Chandra, a curator of Kangra Art Museum. Students at the Kangra Art school, meanwhile, are enjoying learning basic techniques of this art form and increasing their familiarty with this centuries old art form. "I am making a Kangra painting, these are miniature paintings. These paintings are extremely detailed piece of work. Most of these paintings are devoted to Radha-Krishna. We use natural colours only while making these paintings," said Monu Kumar, a student. Kangra paintings also known as Pahari painting, were patronised by Rajput rulers between the 11th and 19th century.

        The most popular theme of Kangra painting was inspired by the eternal love pair Radha-Krishna. A striking feature of Kangra Art form lies in the use of different shades of green. These paintings present feminism in a very elegant fashion, as features depicted are usually soft and subtle. Greenery and naturalism is strongly depicted in Kangra paintings. In 2003, this school did a wonderful job by coming forward with a unique idea of teaching this art to 10 deaf and dumb children. Visitors to the museum also visit the sale center and purchase the paintings of these students. "We had heard about the Kangra paintings, that's why we came here to this museum to see these miniature paintings. We saw children learning these paintings, we went inside to see these paintings and picked up one piece of art," said Alen, an Australian tourist. The Kangra Art Promotion Society is doing wonderful work to get Kangra art recognized and appreciated.
-Dec 25, 2008