Bharat Bhavan

Bharat Bhavan
Bharat Bhavan entry gate in 2015
Formation February 13, 1982 (1982-02-13)
Legal status Foundation
Purpose Visual arts, performing arts, folk art, literature
Location
  • J. Swaminathan Marg, Shamla Hills, near Upper Lake, Bhopal
Main organ
 Bharat Bhavan Trust
Website bharatbhawan.org/index.html

Bharat Bhavan is an autonomous multi-arts complex and museum in Bhopal, India, established and funded by the Government of Madhya Pradesh.The architect of Bhavan is Charles Correa. Opened in 1982, facing the Upper Lake, Bhopal, it houses an art gallery, a fine art workshop, an open-air amphitheatre, a studio theatre, an auditorium, a museum tribal and folk art, libraries of Indian poetry, classical music as well as folk music.

Girija Devi performing at Uttar Pradesh Mahotsav, July 2015

History

A tribal art tiger sculpture from Bastar, Bharat Bhavan collection

The early 1980s, saw a burgeoning Indian arts scene and a renewed government focus on developing arts across the nation, through regional centres for arts in state capital cities. The initiative in Madhya Pradesh was taken by cultural administrator, Ashok Vajpeyi,[1] an IAS-officer in state Ministry of Education (1966-1992), who was behind the setting up of literary organization, 'Kalidas Academy' in Ujjain, which opened in 1983. Though some cultural initiatives lost steam in later years in many parts of India, one such project became a success, Bharat Bhavan (India House) in Bhopal.[2][3][4]

f India|Prime Minister]], Indira Gandhi. It was established and funded by the Department of Culture, Government of Madhya Pradesh,[5] though it is run by an autonomous a 12-member Bharat Bhavan Trust.[6] In the following decade, the institution grew to become an important cultural institution of India as it started attracting artists, scholars and students from Indore, Jabalpur, Mumbai, Kolkata and even foreign visitors.[2][3]

During its formative years, theatre personality, B. V. Karanth who headed the 'Rangamandal repertory', incorporated folk forms of the region into his work, staged many productions in Hindi, especially during his stint at Bharat Bhavan.[7][8] The "Bharat Bhavan Biennial of Contemporary Indian Art" started in 1986, followed by "Bharat Bhavan International Print Biennial" in 1989. The complex is most known for its art museum, Roopankar, which houses a permanent collection of tribal art, collected by J. Swaminathan in its early years,[9] and represents the best examples of tribal art in India.[10]

The 'Vagarth' centre of Hindi poetry and literature houses a library and archive of Indian poetry, classical music, and folk music.[11] It organizes, 'Katha Prasang' festival on Hindi literature.[12]

Overview

The complex includes an art gallery of Indian painting and sculpture, a fine art workshop, an open-air amphitheatre (Bahirang), a studio theatre (Abhirang), an auditorium (Antarang), a museum tribal and folk art, libraries of Indian poetry, classical music as well as folk music. Besides this, Bhavan hosts artists and writers under its artist-in-residence program at the "Ashram".[3][5] Over the years, it has become a popular tourist attraction.[13]

Some of the wings include:[5]

  • Roopankar - Museum of Fine Art: Gallery of contemporary folk and tribal art, and a modern art gallery. Graphic art workshop, and ceramics art workshop
  • Rangmandal - theatre repertory
  • Vagarth - center of Indian poetry, library, archive, and translation centre
  • Anhad - library of classical and folk music, audio and video archives, organizes dance recitals and classical music series like, Parampara, Saptak
  • Chhavi - center of classical cinema
  • Nirala Srijanpeeth - the chair for creative writing, founded by the Government of Madhya Pradesh [14]
Bharat Bhavan Bhopal Inside
Bharat Bhavan Bhopal Inside

References

  1. ↑ Vajpeyi later remained, chairman, Lalit Kala Akademi, India's National Academy of Arts (2008-2011).
  2. 1 2 Raza. p. 92
  3. 1 2 3 Abram, p. 385
  4. ↑ Sahni, p. 87
  5. 1 2 3 "Bharat Bhawan". Department of Culture, Government of Madhya Pradesh. Archived from the original on April 19, 2013. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Power struggle on at Bhopal's Bharat Bhavan". Indian Express. Sep 1, 2007. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  7. ↑ Rubin, p. 200
  8. ↑ "The genius of Karanth". The Hindu. Sep 15, 2002. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Untitled, it depicts personal spaces". The Telegraph. October 26, 2009. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
  10. ↑ Verma, p. 225
  11. ↑ "Bharat Bhavan (Bhopal, India)". Digital South Asia Library. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
  12. ↑ "'Katha Prasang' continues at Bharat Bhavan". Daily Pioneer. 22 March 2013. Archived from the original on 12 January 2015. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Bharat Bhavan". Lonely Planet. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Nirala Srijanpeeth". Bharat Bhavan. Retrieved May 12, 2013.

Bibliography

  • Don Rubin (1998). The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre: Asia. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-415-05933-6.
  • S. Gajrani (ed.) (2004). History, Religion and Culture of India: History, religion and culture of Central India. Gyan Publishing House. ISBN 8182050642.
  • S. H. Raza; Ashok Vajpeyi (2005). Passion: Life and Art of Raza. Rajkamal Prakashan. ISBN 8126710403.
  • David Abram (2003). The Rough Guide to India. Rough Guides. ISBN 1843530899.
  • Rashmi Sadana (2012). English Heart, Hindi Heartland. University of California Press. ISBN 0520269578.
  • Lalit Surjan; Vinod Verma (1996). Reference Madhya Pradesh. Deshbandhu Publication Division.
  • Peter Herrle; Stephanus Schmitz (2009). "Architecture and Contemporary Indian Indentity". Constructing Identity in Contemporary Architecture. LIT Verlag Münster. ISBN 3643102763.

Coordinates: 23°14′49″N 77°23′32″E / 23.2470°N 77.3923°E / 23.2470; 77.3923

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