Arts display whetted the appetite

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33965, 4 October 1975, Page 6

Arts display whetted the appetite

The glimpse of India’s art. literature, and handcrafts, shown b\ the .New Zealand-India Society at a one-night display on Thursday. was just enough to whet the appetite for more.

The .small collection of picture reproductions, books, raw silks, brassware and jewllery, representing tradit i o n a I and modern creative work, came from many parts of the sub-conti-nent. Outstanding in the display was the print of a portrait • of a woman by the talented Rajsthani artist. Chandmohan. who painted the origina between 1738 and 1748. j The delicate and finely; detailed picture was typical of his individual style.

Mrs Nalina Rama, a grad-| uate of the University off; Bombay and an artist, said r in her commentary on the reproductions that this picture was the oldes. repre-; sented in the show. The artist had used paint 1 made from powdered flower i petals, leaves and roots,!: i which were chemically pro-[ cessed to give a variety of* colour tones and lasting*' ■ qualities. Another superb print,: from Rabinchanath Tagor’s*’ portrait of his mother, hadll

I been done in brown and: gold-tone inks in the origi- I nal, she said. The modern impressionist I reproductions, though sim-l ilar to those done by modern artists anywhere, had a’[ touch of the brush that identified them subtly and I surely with India. The picture reproductions * and the books, which cov*ered the arts, jewellery, fab-ric-making and the Indian way of life, were part of a lean exhibition from the ILok-Milap Trust of India.

CONTRABAND Fabrics and handcrafts (were shown by way of a [skit. Two young women sat jon a trunk “in a third-class railway carriage going from Benares to the nearest port of embarkation for New Zealand.’’ When the train guard came along they could not find their tickets and he became suspicious about the contents of the box. As he searched it, out came rolls of beautiful raw silks in plain colours and contemporary designs, gold embroidered velvets and cottons. Batik scarves, a brass wine jug and — hidden among the folds of fabrics, hand-crafted necklaces and bracelets. Then the officious ticket ‘collector, having tried to ■ snatch the wine jug for himself, found more “con-1 traband” in the way of Indian curry powders, chutneys and papads. The audience was so fascinated by what came out of the trunk that hardly a thought was spared for the girls when they were ordered firmly off the “train.” In reality, all the goods ■ .had been legally imported I (from India to Christchurch 1 *by Mrs Indrani Bedi for her;’ boutique. I