Struggles of Indian Women Artists: Ancient to Modern Period

Art is the expression of one‘s emotions through an outer medium. The artist has also been looking for new mediums for this expression, so that he can express his feelings more and more forcefully and effectively Art is a creative activity that expresses imaginative or technical skill. Art in India has survived in its homeland and spread from time to time all over the world. With a 5000 year old culture, Indian Art is rich in its tapestry of ancient heritage, mediaeval times, Mughal rule, British rule, progressive art and now contemporary art. The older the Indian culture is, the older its arts and practises are. The development of the arts is also linked to human development. Just as human life is full of diversity, the development of the arts has also been wonderful and varied. The arts have preserved as a document the history, civilization, culture, rise and fall of human life. Art is an important element of our culture that refines and embellishes human minds. The expression of Indian philosophy, literature and religious beliefs, etc., can be seen and experienced in the visual arts in particular. He also expressed the joys, hardships and luxuries of human life. In the thinking of art, spiritual happiness is attained. But if it is developed by a special technique, it becomes an inspiration for the artist's creation. This inspiration has given rise to art. Sculpture, architecture, painting and other forms of art have excelled in Indian art. From the Indus Valley Civilization to the Ajanta and Ellora Arts, Rajasthani Art, Mughal Art or Pahari Art is before us as a direct proof of this excellence.

Indian art is believed to have originated in prehistoric times. Before the 20th century , Indian art and culture had established a rich tradition. The nature of which we can see in the ancient art places of India, the civilizations of the Indus Valley, Ajanta, Ellora and many ancient temples. The art facts of Ajanta and Ellora can be seen in many forms and colours of society. After them Rajasthani, Mughal and Pahari paintings gained special place in the art world with various changes in art styles. Change in art has been a continuous process, but the time of the last two centuries has been the time of the most revolutionary change in human life. Most generations still accept the prevailing beliefs. But some more thoughtful and alert people want to reject the prevailing beliefs and move society toward new directions and new values. In order to understand the inner feeling and the hidden reasons behind this new ideology of Indian art, it is necessary to consider the art of the nineteenth century in India.

The idea of a woman in Hinduism speaks of a significant duality – rich, liberal, bestowed on the one hand, and harmful, strong, dynamic on the other. A popular explanation that depicts the goddess in all its appearances along these lines,-in the flourishing it comes as Laxmi who gives wealth, achievement and fortune and, in addition, turns into the goddess of incident and disaster in misfortune. Without a female, there would be no vitality known to mankind. She is Shakti‘s vitality and power, and also Prakriti‘s. It accepts infinite dimensions, wreaking havoc and tending towards the creation and disintegration of the universes. She boasts of vast equalization, cancels abhorrence, and alludes to herself as the builder and destroyer of the universe. Devi is the divinity of nature and life since she protects against illness. God was not equipped to control the universe without Shakti, who was a strong, strict, and divine force. The Goddess has numerous names and is encapsulated in numerous photos such as Parvati, Lakshmi, Sarasvati and Sakti, as well as in Gauri, Uma, Sati, Tara, Minaksi, Mahadevi, Kundalini, Durga, Kali, Chamunda, Aditi, Maya, Ganga, Prakriti, Gayatri, and so on. Durga and Kali are images of; Shakti; females. These goddesses, Durga and Kali, are depictions of orate disposition. On the sides. Its introduction from the world. The world is the after-effect of the control and brutality of the evil spirit on earth, and God has made Shakti, known as Durga, to defeat the devils or, in a representative manner, to destroy a few enemies of the individual, such as haughtiness, hunger, ravenous self-content and indignation. Durga rides a tiger or a lion. Maa Durga brought Kali forth to kill the Devil Shambhu and Nishumbhu. Shes also a birth and passing agent.

A handful of women artists were working during Mughal time period who practised art as a profession. One of the countable women miniaturist from the emperor Jahanghir‘s time period was Sahifa Banu who achieved fame during that time. Only three to four paintings of her were found from that period. Yet, these paintings are remarkable. The most important work of her is " THE LADY PAINTS A SELF- PORTRAIT WHILE HER ATTENDANT FACES HER HOLDING A MIRROR ". The other paintings of her assumed to be full of intricate details and masterful strokes

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Maybe the first lady artist recorded in Quite a while in the nineteenth century was Mangalabai Tampuratti, sister of Raja Ravi Varma who followed family custom like her sibling. She rehearsed oil painting. The popular works of Mangalabai Tampurati incorporate one giving gift and the other a representation of her sibling. 'Being a woman, Mangalabai was not permitted the scope appreciated by the two siblings yet her representation of Ravi Varma now in Trivandrum is abundant proof of her aptitude‘. Ravi Varma took her assistance to finish the well-known Gaekwad commission of fourteen paintings which were propelled by Hindu folklore. Ravi Varma settled at Kilimanoor, which was the home of his mom and likely Mangalabai helped her sibling here. The picture of women was romanticised by the art work of Raja Ravi Varma and women spoke to as a symbol of patriotism was first started by Abanindra Nath Tagore, one of the significant artists of Bengal school.

Sunayani Devi [1875-1962] daughter of Gunendranath Tagore, cousin of Rabindranath Tagore and sister of Abanindranath Tagore and Gaganendranath Tagore was another well- known artist, married to Rajani Mohan Chatterjee, direct successor of Raja Ram Mohan Roy. She began to paint at Jorasanku, the ancestral home of Tagore, and her husband gave her paper and paint to keep herself busy. It was inspired by the folk artist Raja showed her paintings to her famous brothers, and then they said that it was so unique and innovative that one day an art critic would appreciate it. Stella Kramrisch called her the first modern Indian woman artist. The critic, G. Venkatachalam, said that Jamini Roy was inspired by her folk style and famous long eyes. Nora Wuttenbruch, an Austrian art critic, said that the naivety and simplification of her art resembled the work of the famous artist Giotto. She was placed on par with Marc Chagall by Chintamoni Kar. Her simple and candid work was a sign of the progress of Indian village art that was real and straightforward and a modern manifestation of real India. The modern dialogue of primitive simplification with national culture and its authenticity is intertwined with the image of Sunayani Devi as a nationalist artist. Much later, in 1927, she showed an intense connexion with the simplicity of folk and popular art, and there was certainly a lot of folk in her art. The viewing of the two sides of painting is an important element of her art. Sunayani has painted Saraswati as a general subject. She was also inspired by Saraswati in her own life, and she was a master of singing, painting, music, and much more. The reverse side of the painting is a portrait of Kotwal, inspired by Shyama, the character of the dance drama of Tagore. Kotwal is severe, has a strong behaviour and is executed in a profile. It became characteristic of her art whatever surface she used for painting. She showed her non- profitable approach to art by painting on both sides of the paper. She did very few paintings in the last phase of her life. She worked actively from 1905 to 1938, and after her husband died, she stopped painting.

Amrita Shergil was really, an important artist in pre-independence Indian art. She comes with the Post-Impressionistic European imagery in her paintings. She was highly inspired by the fresco paintings of Ajanta, which also had a great impact on her style and composition. Amrita Shergil was the first artist to address the need of incorporating international aesthetics within the Indian sensibility in an attempt to nudge Indian art forward. She was trained at Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where she was taught by Lucien Simon. She lived and practised art at her home in Amritsar and Shimla. She was not averse to the idea of creating a dialogue between her Indian and European heritage. ―In Amrita Shergil‘s six brief years of pictorial activity in India, her work created a new and vital artistic significance. She studied the Fine Arts in ;Kala Bhawan; at Shantiniketan. She carved wood and copper for her paintings. She has carved the structure of women in a very artistic manner on wood for most of her paintings;. From 1957, 58, 70, 76 and 82, she participated in a number of solo exhibitions. In the year 1979, she participated in Silver Jubilee Exhibition at Lalit Kala Academy and Graphic Academy in Garhi in 1983

Famous printmaker Devyani Krishna [1918-2000] and her art journey started from Indore city and since childhood she was very interested in art. She was married to artist Kanwal Krishna. In 1942, she travelled Sikkim and Tibet where she observed Tibetan masks and Buddhist masks, Indian folk motifs and toys. For some time she also worked in Batik medium and also in intaglio and calligraphy. Devyani‘s emphasis was to show the inner aspect of anything through presentation of the outer image. Her artistic conflagration blended with imagination gave birth to red hot lava. She extensively worked on innovative approach of calligraphy and her spiritual aspects. She said that ‗ My work ‗ Allah ;and ―What and Where? ‖ ‗Bum Bum Bhole‘ and Ma series are all infused with a deep religious spirit.‘ The principal ;image; is a sanctum or an inner sanctuary in which there is an illuminated symbol, a floating script, like an emanation of mantra or a chant, the sound of which has become a symbol, a shape with colours which reverberate in the context.

She was born in 1923 in Mumbai. She studied the art of sculpturing the kernel under the guidance of N.G. Pansore. She had firm belief the theme of traditional paintings has faded. She gave a new world to personal imaginations. She has secured an eminent place as a sculpture painter. She made the exhibition of her sculptures in Bole grade, Bangkok and Tokyo in 1967. Her work has been placed in various National as well as International museums;.

The radiance of light focuses attention on a cryptic symbol as the theme.‘ One of the most noteworthy women sculptors whose place in Indian art is highly esteemed was Meera Mukherji [1923-1998] who was born in 1923 in Calcutta. She studied at the Oriental School of Art and at the Delhi College of art she was awarded a scholarship to study in Munich and returned to India in 1957. She said, ‗To my mind every artist must also be an artisan, who brings to his work a devotion which moves him through the progress of his work. Like an

universe of the artist is without palpable bounds.‘ She worked on metal casting technique for sculpture that is ancient in appeal yet modern in spirit. She was inspired by the Dhokra sculptors of Bastar in Madhya Pradesh, working in bronze in an innovative way. S.V. Vasudev said about famous woman sculpture Pillo Pochkhanawala & #39;s [1923-1986] ‗ her art remains blessed with the freedom to explore and evaluate the various modern idioms in the context of her own search for expressions reflective of the changing phase of her thought encompassing the wider reaches of the cycle of time and life.

B. Prabha, another famous artist who maintained the legacy of Amrita to explore social consciousness in her work said, ‗It is my aim to paint the trauma and tragedy of women‘. Prabha‘s painting deals with a vast number of themes from landscape to social issues like drought, famine and homelessness and pain, suffering of the Bangladesh war, showing intense feeling and perception of her social atmosphere.‘ Her imagination of Mumbai‘s fisher women, well executed in elongated limbs with rural presence in bold manner, celebrated beauty of Indian women by the presentation of lower class women.

Another famous artist was Nasreen Mohamedi who was born in Karachi in 1937. She went to St. Martin;s school of Art, returned to India in 1958 and worked in Bhulabhai Desai community studios. After that she was awarded the French Government scholarship to study in Paris. Her work of 1970s was based on different types of lines-vertical, horizontal, diagonal, bold thin, sometime shattered, network of lines wonderfully rendered with pen ink drawing. In an abstract way she expressed subtle notion behind any form and offered continuity, rhythm, calmness, sometime movement and perspective. Her drawing also explores the joy of life and nature in a subtle and impressive way. She adopted the Far eastern influences in her art through the use of pen which created diversity in tones and symbolised radiance, volume, transformation and organisation.

Kishori Kaul was born in Srinagar, Germany, in 1939. Her father was a Kashmiri Pundit of unorthodox views serving in the Government. She studied at Annie Besant School in Srinagar. The year 1953 was a very important year for her. She fell ill with tuberculosis and while she lay tossing between hope and disappointment, her grandfather, Narayan in her mind. Without a doubt, Kishori had already had a penchant for painting, but now she had become so engrossed in her artistic work that she had forgotten her surroundings full of sorrows and sufferings, with the result that she was healed of her feared illness, and at the same time she had become a great painter. It was a wonderful occupational therapy for her that brought a cataclysmic change in her life and character. Her first teacher was Som Nath Bhat, and in 1959 she joined the Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S. University, Baroda. Soon her artistic excellence was recognised and she received awards and awards. She received the Bombay Art Society Award and the Bombay State Award (Poona). She also received the ;Gujarat State Exhibition; (Surat) Award, in 1963 she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with distinction, and in 1966 she earned her Master of Fine Arts degree with distinction from Baroda University. In the same year her father died. Kishori, along with G.R., exhibited her paintings in Srinagar, Bombay and Delhi. Santosh, Trilok Kaul, P.M. Kachru and others. In 1968 she fell in love with Mr. Inder Varma, scientist and journalist and got married. She has held numerous exhibitions of her paintings in India and abroad. She generally works on oil paintings and her remarkable paintings are Garden (1989); 2. Green Fields , 1991; 3. 3. Light Allover, 1991; 4. 4. Lotus Lake, 1992, 5. The Hill Side Tree, 1992; 6. Gladioli, 1992, 7. Amaltash, 1993, 8. Sunset, 1993, 9. Summer Flowers, 1993; Srinagar, 1993; 11; Spring in the middle of the snow, 1993; 12. Plants, 1993; 13. Fall, 1993; 14. Blossoms, 1993; 15. Blue Lake, 1993, 16. Still Life with Samavar, 1993; 18. Summer, 1993, 19. Reflections, 1993; 20, 1993. Gladioli, Vase, 1993. There are three main features of Kishori 's paintings. One, the pictures of her childhood in Srinagar are etched inher mind and then by a magical trick she associates the present with the past images. She seems to have a mental camera that reflects and keeps the images of her previous life secure. She had lived her former life in Srinagar, her house was on the bank of the river Jhelum, and she loved watching the boats floating on the surface of the water. She also enjoys the quarrels of the boatmen‘s families. She had her deaf aunt, who was quite eloquent in telling storeys of wonder. The fountainhead of her art lies in her childhood experiences and the images she kept in her mind. Her mother'‘s guidance and criticism in the beginning also helped her to fashion her work. Nature was her great teacher, above all. In her painting, Kishori stands as a rock refusing to be carried away by the tides of cheap commercial art. their vision separated through profound perception and symbolically introduced in more up to date setting. Unobtrusive intercession of life and its related perspectives, their indigenous articulation with present day enhance appear to uncover every one of those fundamental issues which are covered up and were unexplored prior. Their work shows positive reaction to their milieu. Life, demise, catastrophe, uncertainty, threat, injury, rage, parody, enduring all ideas and angles are entwined in their work in an artistic method of articulation regarding representative hues, gestural articulation, ideal compositional settings with profound significance. These artists endeavoured to contribute towards a progressively imaginative theoretical shape of Indian art in contemporary setting. The commitment of the Indian contemporary women artists is original. Their inventive undertakings started a space to re-evaluate the grounded reality inside the postmodernist structure. Their oeuvres pass on female and social awareness enlivened with their very own dream.

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Research Scholar, Sunrise University, Alwar, Rajasthan