KAHANI: PAINTED NARRATIVES OF INDIA

What if a painting is not merely an image to be admired, but a story waiting to be heard?

New Delhi [India], October 23: Across India, painting traditions have carried the memory of communities, the power of mythology, the rhythms of everyday life and the changing realities of the world. Yet, when these works enter galleries and museums, their intricate visual languages are often celebrated while the stories they tell—and the artists who create them—remain less visible.

Kahani: Painted Narratives of India, presented by Sameksha at the IILM Centre for Arts & Ideas (Sanatan), New Delhi, seeks to change the way we encounter these works. Curated by Minhazz Majumdar, who brings over three decades of engagement with India’s folk and tribal artists, the exhibition brings together nearly 60 works by 22 artists across ten painting traditions. It invites audiences to look beyond colour, pattern and form to discover the narratives, cultural memories and creative individuals that give these paintings their meaning.

At the heart of Kahani lies the understanding that painting and storytelling have long been inseparable. From scroll painters who traditionally unfold their works while singing, to paintings created for rituals, festivals and domestic spaces, these visual practices have served as ways of remembering, communicating and interpreting the world.

In The Origin of Pattachitra, Mantu Chitrakar revisits a narrative associated with the beginnings of the Pattachitra tradition. In Bada Dev ki Kahani Saja Ped keNeeche Sunte Huye, Gond artist Vijay Shyam portrays the act of storytelling beneath a Saja tree. These works offer an entry point into the exhibition’s central idea: that a painting often holds a narrative extending far beyond what is immediately visible.

Across traditions including Medinipur Pattachitra, Kalighat painting, Madhubani, Phad, Warli, Jogi art, Gond painting and Mata ni Pachedi, artists draw upon inherited visual vocabularies to tell stories rooted in mythology, spirituality, community and lived experience. Each tradition carries its own histories, practices and ways of seeing, while remaining open to individual interpretation.

The exhibition challenges the notion that folk and tribal painting belongs exclusively to the past. The artists represented in the exhibition demonstrate how inherited traditions can remain dynamic, responsive and deeply engaged with the present.

Artists such as Pushpa Kumari bring questions of women’s rights, female foeticide and environmental concerns into the Madhubani tradition. Mantu Chitrakar has expanded the narrative scope of Pattachitra to include global events, human rights crises and social justice. Anil Chaitya Vangad draws upon Warli ritual knowledge and ecological understanding while engaging with contemporary events. Kalam Patua’s work continues to advance the Kalighat tradition through a contemporary artistic sensibility.

These practices reveal traditions not as fixed forms to be preserved unchanged, but as evolving languages through which artists interpret their times. Myths and inherited narratives coexist with questions of environmental change, social realities and collective experience. The past becomes a resource for engaging with the present.

A defining concern of the exhibition is the visibility of the artist as an individual creator. As traditional painting practices reach wider audiences through galleries, museums, design and popular culture, there is a risk that their makers become anonymous representatives of a collective heritage.

Kahani brings individual artistic authorship into focus. The artists represented here are not simply custodians of inherited practices; they are interpreters, innovators and storytellers in their own right. Their training, imagination, personal experiences and creative decisions shape how traditions are carried forward.

The participating artists bring distinct journeys to this shared conversation. Kalyan Joshi, an internationally recognised master of Rajasthan’s Phad scroll tradition, has received major honours, including the National Award and Raja Ravi Varma Award. Sangita Jogi, a second-generation artist from the Jogi tradition, is also the author of The Women I Could Be. Sanjay Manubhai Chitara continues the sacred textile tradition of Mata ni Pachedi, while his sons Sumit and Vivek bring contemporary ideas and visual references into the practice. Venkat Raman Singh Shyam draws upon Pardhan Gond mythology while reflecting on global events.

Their individual practices demonstrate that continuity does not mean repetition. A tradition survives because artists continue to interpret it, question it and find new ways to make it speak.

With Kahani: Painted Narratives of India, Sameksha and curator Minhazz Majumdar invite audiences to approach folk and tribal art through a deeper engagement with the stories behind the images and the people who bring them to life.

The exhibition encourages visitors to consider not only what a painting depicts, but also what it remembers, whom it represents and how its meaning changes through the artist’s interpretation. By bringing works and their makers into a shared conversation, Kahani offers a way to appreciate India’s painting traditions beyond their aesthetic appeal and to recognise their continuing relevance in contemporary cultural life.

At a moment when traditional art is finding new audiences and contexts, Kahani makes a compelling case for looking more closely, listening more carefully and acknowledging the artists whose creativity keeps these narratives alive.

WORKSHOP AND PROGRAMME DETAILS

As part of Kahani: Painted Narratives of India, Sameksha will host a series of public programmes that extend the exhibition’s focus on living narrative traditions through presentations, workshops, a film screening and conversations with artists and practitioners.

Thursday, 23 October | Presentation: Pattachitra Scroll Song with Mantu Chitrakar.

Friday, 24 October | Workshop: Pattachitra Scroll Painting Workshop with Mantu Chitrakar. Registration required.

Tuesday, 28 October | Madhubani Workshop and Conversation: Madhubani Workshop with Pushpa Kumari from 3:00–4:30 pm, followed by Pushpa Kumari in discussion with Minhazz Majumdar from 5:00–6:00 pm. Registration is required for the workshop.

Thursday, 30 October | Film Screening: Legacy of a Painter (27 min), presented by Nutan Manmohan, followed by a conversation with Minhazz Majumdar.

Registration is required for the workshops. Interested participants may register through the link or QR code shared by Sameksha, or call the gallery for details.

Legacy of a Painter tells the largely untold story of Jangarh Singh Shyam, the Gond Pardhan artist from central India. The film follows his journey from ink drawings to large murals, and his rise from village artist to international recognition. It is presented by filmmaker and journalist Nutan Manmohan. As part of Kahani: Painted Narratives of India, Sameksha will host a series of public programmes that extend the exhibition’s focus on living narrative traditions through presentations, workshops, a film screening and conversations with artists and practitioners.

ABOUT THE CURATOR

Minhazz Majumdar has spent more than three decades working with India’s folk and tribal artists. Her curatorial engagement centres on understanding the narratives, cultural contexts and individual creative practices that shape these traditions. Through Kahani: Painted Narratives of India, she brings attention to the relationship between visual storytelling, inherited knowledge and contemporary artistic expression.

ABOUT SAMEKSHA

Sameksha is an art gallery and programme space within the IILM Centre for Arts & Ideas (Sanatan), New Delhi. It provides a platform for artistic reflection, dialogue and education, supporting established and emerging voices through exhibitions, residencies and mentoring initiatives. Since its first exhibition in August 2025, Sameksha has presented eight exhibitions representing diverse art forms and artists.

EXHIBITION DETAILS

Exhibition: Kahani: Painted Narratives of India
 Curator: Minhazz Majumdar
 Venue: Sameksha, IILM Centre for Arts & Ideas (Sanatan), 60 Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg, New Delhi
 Dates: October 23 – November 30, 2026
 Artists: 22
 Works: Nearly 60
 Painting traditions: Ten

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