But for the most part, one notices a serious dialogue between the manifest and the symbolic veils of mysticism. The artists' search for image and expression transforms itself into a sublime level of consciousness.

It is thus that we see a range of abstract images. The pictorial expression of the innate harmony to be discovered in the cosmic order can be seen in the play of colour and abstract forms of the Neo-Tantrics. Then there are delicately floating forms in an abstract by V.S. Gaitonde that demand to be viewed with a Zen-like contemplation. Others like Raza's work fix on a point of meditation.

Some of the artists like J. Swaminathan or the miniaturist Bireshwar Sen have sought to capture the liberating, uplifting experience of spirituality through forms from nature - mountains, lakes, rocks, birds. Swaminathan and K. C. S. Panicker use symbols like serpents, trees and iconographic elements akin to musical notations evoking a range of emotions and associations as much as an articulate world does in every day speech or language.

India has traditionally been home to major religions of the world. In the works of the artists on view here, one gets an idea of the buoyant pluralism that has been a marked characteristic of the cultural context of this country. Religious figures who have been known as men of peace, men who have suffered for humanity have been appropriated by artists through the decades.

Jesus Christ, Buddha, Chaitanya have been great sources of inspiration to the Indian artists, irrespective of their personal beliefs. And so we have Jamini Roy painting the martyrdom of humanity in the form of crucified Jesus in his distinctive folk-inspired work.

Abanindranath Tagore paints Huan Tsang's arduous trek across a difficult terrain in search of an ideal with poetic sensitivity. Similarly, Buddha's life and Buddhist themes have inspired many of the paintings. Nandalal Bose has captured with lyricism Chaitanya's mystical experience. M.A.R. Chughtai has portrayed the blissful dance of life through the figures of Radha and Krishna.

In the case of other artists like Benode Behari Mukherjee, there is an attempt to define the sense of holiness in an ordinary, everyday act like a visit to the temple. Nicholas Roerich evoked the subliminal nuances of the mountains as if suggesting the eternal path of spirituality. His inner eye tried to define in image the soul and vitality of the lofty mountains that he painted. The spiritual experience has thus been a driving force in Indian creativity in its myriad representations. This specially curated exhibition attempts to highlight this unique aspect of our visual culture for our viewers through this perceptive conglomeration.

PROS RAJEEV LOCHAN
Director
National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi