A photo-op to promote the arts

When the Prime Minister receives visitors in his office, they are often shown shaking hands, or sitting, under a painting that appears to be the work of Russian artist Nicholas Roerich, though it might as easily be by the other great Himalayan painter, Serbjeet Singh. Aesthetics aside, it softens the prime minister's tough image and shows a more sensitive side. But mostly, it is a great way to showcase Indian modern or contemporary art. (Incidentally, the other work of art that keeps showing up in photographs of the prime minister is of a sculpture of a horse that has remained stationary since Manmohan Singh's time.) If I was Narendra Modi's advisor, I would keep altering the paintings in the background, if only to draw attention to a part of our national heritage that otherwise seems to be missing the government's attention.

Yet, Modi (and his government) seem to be on a mission to reclaim part of the nation's lost art heritage. While getting the Kohinoor back remains doubtful, Modi posing beside works of medieval sculpture stolen by smugglers that his government seems to have persuaded museums and other countries to return, bodes well for us. But if only he and his team would focus similar attention on contemporary art, it could so easily change the dynamics of the currently absent national art environment.

It is a mystery why we seem to devote all our energies so faithfully to the past, as if we have nothing in the present to be proud of. So, visiting officials and their spouses are packed off to view Humayun's Tomb, or Qutab Minar, they'll be feted with handicrafts and textiles, so it is a mystery why they are not also exposed to the country's finest contemporary designs and designers, and, pitiably, never shown anything by way of art. Given the number of delegations in town, why is it that while a visit to the National Museum is offered on their itinerary, the National Gallery of Modern Art is inevitably given the skip?

As India's best and brightest are being introduced to the world, the government's complete absence from the global art scene appears conspicuous. Its national body, the Lalit Kala Akademi remains in the news for its controversies rather than the greater good it might so easily do. While the Kochi-Muziris Biennale has taken off as a private endeavour with some support from the state government, the Akademi's polemic Triennale in New Delhi (it is proposed every few years) remains in stasis far beyond the frequency its three years merit. There is no national platform at various biennales around the world, whether in Venice, Gwangju, Berlin or Shanghai. Our state institutions rarely work with their counterparts elsewhere for exhibitions of the kind that the Festivals of India had once initiated with great success.

The change could begin right here, in New Delhi, should visiting heads of state be introduced to the fabulous collection of the NGMA, or of other private institutions (art needs to be seen beyond the narrow ken of the public or private sector). What an aspirational photo-op it would be to have visiting presidents and prime ministers hosted to tea or receptions at our cultural institutions instead of the more usual corridors of officialdom. President Pranab Mukherjee's residencies for artists and writers (among other prominent Indians) and recent publications on the art, architectural and natural wonders of the Presidential Estate have been extremely well received and helped bridge the gap between the head of state and its people. It only requires a little push for art to become more visible - Prime Minister Modi taking selfies with works by masters could be a great beginning.

Kishore Singh is a Delhi-based writer and art critic. These views are personal and do not reflect those of the organisation with which he is associated