Mughal-e Dilli

“Dilli hai dilwalon ki”,a tagline that has been given by Delhiites. But in recent times, Delhi seems to have dwindled in the charm it always had. It is the Mets the pollution that the colours of Delhi are hidden.

An exhibition called Bahaar-e-Dilli is being organised with an aim to showcase springtime in Delhi during the late medieval and early Mughal periods. The paintings by Bahaar Jain  portray lush gardens laid out in perfect symmetry, trees clothed in tender new leaves, flowers in every colour of the rainbow, the temperamental sky now pewter and now cerulean.

Bahaar believes that Delhi is gorgeous during the spring months. “There are so many flowering trees like Silk Cotton and Chinaberry. The winter flowers are still around. The weather is benevolent. Add to that the fact that I am a major Indian history buff”, she says.

Safdarjung’s watercolour

The whole concept in the exhibition, she reveals, “I am very fond of Indian History and find that my topics of painting are invariably connected to it. I like to create reimagined scenes of what the past would have been like through my paintings.”

The exhibition is one such endeavor. “I have painted Delhi in the way it would’ve looked in its past years of glory - flourishing Mughal gardens, unblemished Islamic-Hindu style buildings, and bright colours of spring. I take inspiration from an 18th century Indian watercolorist, Sitaram, who travelled across India with Lord Hastings as his painter.”

Bahaar Jain

Bahaar has used a lot of bright colours in your work, she explains the reason by saying that one can’t really paint spring with dull colours or even in monochrome adding, “It would be a shame to try to depict the season of blooming flowers and cotton candy clouds in black and white. I wanted the effect of throwing open your windows after a long, foggy winter to bright flowers and birdsong.”

When it comes the challenges, she reveals that there weren’t any challenges as such but adds, “Painting on a deadline while having a full time job was a little bothersome, but not enough to be a deterrent.”

She goes on to call Delhi as a “ treasure trove for the curious and the creative”. “She’s (Delhi) been the capital to  kingdoms of different religious/ social beliefs, rulers of which all wanted to leave their mark and in the process left behind buildings that still stand as witness to their times”, she says.

She later goes on to add that she was proud of the way Delhi is today as a modern capital and in the way the monuments Are preserved even today.

Recently a lot of politics has ventured into art, her view on this stance was that she doesn’t bother about outward things when it comes to art. “Painting is very essential to me- it is my meditation. I paint what I want to and how I want to,” she adds.

A lot of artists nowadays indulge in a fusion of painting and  the painter was all for it saying, “I think it is great! You can’t bind creativity within realms of styles and rules. I personally derive inspiration from Indian Miniatures and find that it brings a certain freshness to my work.” She then adds that if  Anyone is making an effort to learn our ethnic art forms- whether Pattachitra or Pichwai or Tanjore- to use in their art has her  respect. “It is our job as artists to keep our heritage alive”, she points out.

As someone studying to become a psychiatrist/ neuroscientist, she says, “I have learnt enough to know that the way your brain interprets experiences is special to you and trying to copy or fit in with the masses just defeats the purpose of a beautiful mind.” Hands on a concluding note, she offers a word of advice to all the budding artists, she says, “Create what makes you happy and gives a voice to your imagination.”

The exhibition would be ongoing till June 30 at the India Habitat centre.