Book covers vast landscape of history of Indian art

Children's writer Mamta Nainy profiles Indian Art by covering a millennia of artistic expression in her new book as it time-travels chronologically through the many art schools and artistic periods.

Billed as the first comprehensive guide for art enthusiasts - young and old, "A Brush with Indian Art" showcases exquisite full-colour photographs and illustrations of some of the most celebrated Indian artworks.

From cave to contemporary paintings, it's like a walk through the history of Indian art.

According to Nainy, the book is about stories, which have been plucked from the many art traditions in India.

The book, published by Puffin, has interesting anecdotes and colourful trivia.

One of these is related to the Ajanta Caves.

"The tale goes that anyone who tries to deface the paintings in any way or reproduce them is struck by bad luck. Mysteriously many attempts to make copies of these paintings and then exhibit them in museums have been highly unsuccessful," Nainy writes.

"In most of these cases, either the museums at which they were to be exhibited caught fire and the canvasses were destroyed, or the curator went insane!" she says.

The extravagant Mughal miniature paintings provided inspiration to many future artists and schools, and they continue to inspire even today, the author says.

"If it hadn't been for the Mughal rulers, such extraordinary art wouldn't have emerged or been developed in India. It seems that the Mughals were as passionate about art and architecture as they were about warfare and expanding their territories," the book says.

The British, says Nainy, had different aesthetics with regard to art, and the Indian artists knew that if they were to survive, they'd have to start understanding and painting from the British point of view.

"Hence, the artists moved to a more realistic sort of painting style, which meant that they tried to draw exactly what they saw, for these paintings were as much for documentation purposes as they were for artistic ones," she says.

"They tried adapting to the ways of the British, and what came out of that was a mix of Indian and European art styles. Not surprisingly, the painters used familiar techniques from the Mughal paintings and then joined them with the features of a Western style of painting."