Survival of Pahari miniature paintings raises concern

RK Parashar 

Described as the “art of patience, native devotion and assiduity,” the Kangra School of Pahari miniature paintings called Kangra Kalam that once adorned the erstwhile princely courts of Himachal Pradesh is gasping for its survival. Kangra Kalam saw its dawn during the reign of Raja Goverdhan Chand of Guler (1744-73). Later, the rulers of various princely states in Kangra patronised the artists. 

However, it witnessed strong flowering during the reign of Maharaja Sansar Chand — a great lover of Pahari miniature paintings — who ascended the throne of Sujanpur Tira princely state in 1775. Pandit Seu, who came to Guler from Jammu in 1720, was the pioneer of this fascinating art, which is also described as an art of fine colours and seductive figures. However, Anand Coomaraswamy brought the Kangra paintings into limelight for the first time in 1910, when he visited the Kangra valley. After Independence, followed by the abolition of princely states, practitioners of the art, working in the courts of rulers of Guler and Kangra, strayed into the adjacent Chamba, Basholi, Jammu and Mandi areas to pursue their livelihood. Thus, various schools of Pahari miniature paintings were born. 

Kangra Kalam, the father of all schools of Pahari miniature paintings, has a strong thematic base. Several miniature paintings of this genre elegantly depict the historical, religious and traditional background of the royal courts of the erstwhile Katoch dynasty, which ruled Kangra. 

To begin with, Mughal influence was quite conspicuous on the Pahari miniatures, but the artists gradually adapted their style to the native surroundings. The mystique that once surrounded the Kangra Kalam once appears to be vanishing forever because the number of practitioners of this art has dwindled alarmingly.

The only original artist of Kangra Kalam now is Anil Raina who is selflessly engaged in reviving this pristine art, which depicts the hoary cultural heritage of Himachal Pradesh.

Having retired in 2017 as a monument attendant from the Kangra Museum of Art, Dharamsala, Raina owes his adroitness in this art to his mentor-father Chandu Lal Raina whose demise on May 5, 1994, had virtually orphaned the Kangra School of miniature paintings. 

In a desperate bid to revive this art, the state government in 1973 set up a training centre for young artists at Rait near Dharamsala through ‘guru shishya parampara’ with Chandu Lal Raina as its in charge. Padma Shri Vijay Sharma, a legendary artist of Chamba miniature paintings, too had a stint of training under the tutelage of Chandu Lal Raina. 

In all 35 artists from Chamba and Kangra were trained by Chandu Lal Raina at the centre. A similar training centre was opened at Dharamsala in 1983 which didn’t last long. Superb personification of 84 ragas in different forms is the most striking and exquisite feature of Kangra miniatures done by Anil Raina. Raina’s enthusiasm is obvious as he reveals that he had also completed fragmented pieces of ‘Dehra’ and ‘Radha and Krishna,’ both half done by his late father. 

Noticeably, herbal colours locally extracted from dried up flowers and herbs are typical of Kangra Kalam’s palette.  Brushes used by Anil Raina are made of squirrel’s hair. Some amateur artists use brushes made of turtle doves’ feathers. 

Anil Raina says that to promote the art of Pahari miniatures, outreach exhibitions in educational institutions, community halls and places of public access are a must instead of within the four wall of a museum. 

Seeing that Kangra Kalam has to be salvaged from extinction, the Kangra Arts Promotion Society (KAPS) was formed in 2007 with BK Aggarwal, IAS, as its founding president. VS Kokje, the then Governor of the state, inaugurated the KAPS centre at the Kangra Museum of Art, Dharamsala. The society was established with the aim to revive this art.

“This is an irony that workshops in the name of Kangra paintings are organized at prominent places but no artist from Kangra is invited. Only artists from other states attend such workshops,” an artist alleged. To give exposure to its artists, the KAPS, in 2014, organized an exhibition of Pahari miniature paintings at the Nehru Centre, London where they were widely appreciated.