15/05/2026
Growing up, I was deeply intrigued by ancient India. I could spend hours gazing at and admiring paintings of India (Eg: William Simpson’s depictions of Banaras to Hiroshi Yoshida’s Agra). This fascination led me to reading ‘Art of India (1526–1858)' recently, which opened a window into the dreamy Mughal art history. The vibrant colours and sheer opulence inspired my imagination.
A collateral memory 💭: When I was 14, I was fascinated by Princess Jahanara after briefly reading about her somewhere, and I channelled that restless curiosity into writing historical-fiction “letters.” I would imagine an India glimpsed through a window lattice, a world suspended between history and fantasy. I wished to time-travel to that era, at least for a day (Not as a woman, though, because that would be tough, so maybe as a bird. Parrots will be caged, so maybe as an eagle perhaps🦅). If I could paint, I would have tried to capture it all on canvas. But I can’t paint/draw to save my life. Yet I love colours so intensely that I keep buying watercolours just because they make me happy. When I feel low, I shake my unicorn pen filled with blue-purple-pink glitter water, or play with my transparent LED sensory water ball. My emotional-support stuff. Colours make life infinitely happy!
Recently, I spent a few hours at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Delhi, and it was meditative. Learning about the distinct styles of different schools of Indian art was deeply enriching; from Gaganendranath Tagore to Raja Ravi Varma, from Jamini Roy to Ramkinkar Baij and K. C. S. Paniker. Each artist with a unique visual language and the way they used colour, brushstrokes, patterns, composition, and light to tell stories made me think of the diverse repertoire of Indian art history.
Another collateral memory💭: We studied Ravi Varma’s paintings as part of our Malayalam curriculum in school. I still remember printing out Raja Ravi Varma paintings for a project, and years later, my uncle unexpectedly handed me the remaining prints while clearing out his desk!
Among all the works I saw, my absolute favourite was Thomas Daniell’s painting of Banaras. It almost felt cinematic; It felt as if I stood closer, I could almost listen to the splash of oars against the Ganga, the chatter of locals, and the soft, cool breeze. An equally favourite experience was the miniature paintings🔎! Especially Prof. Bireshwar Sen’s! Photography was not allowed inside the gallery, so I made notes of everything that captivated me. I’m sharing here a few paintings I loved, screenshots taken from the official website.
