Basohli paintings

Much is said about the Basohli School of painting while discussing the Indian miniatures. Yet very few people of the State know either its history or the specifications. The reason is that in post independence era, the painting of this school received scant attention and appreciation. Perhaps owing to the fact that Basohli is situated far away from the cultural centers of India like Dehli, Jaipur, Luknow and Banaras etc. Very few people know that a Basohli school of painting is largely influenced by the Mughal School and in part by Rajasthan school of painting. Actually, this school depicts both strands when we examine any piece of exquisite painting. Traditional schools of painting in our country it has won fame for its individual peculiarities.
The Basohli School of painting developed with the decline of the Mughal Empire soon after the death of Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707. During the days of this ruler, Mughal School of painting was face to face with decline because the Emperor did not evince any interest in art, culture and painting. It was during the days of this Emperor that master artists and painters began leaving the royal court and seek patronage at the courts of smaller satraps who flourished far away from the centre of the Empire. Local chieftains took the fugitive artists under their patronage. Two types of miniature art developed in Basohli. One was the regular miniatures which may be called classic painting. The second was eroticism in miniature.
It is well known that the most popular family closely linked to the history of painting during the Mughal or immediately after Mughal period is of Padhas of Basohli. Padha Kunj Lal, a native physician of Basohli was presented several invaluable Basohli paintings by the contemporary raja.  The raja also got his portrait made by the court artistes as a royal favour.  The Padha House kept close guard on the rich heritage booty they ultimately raised in Basohli making it impossible for the  Afghans, Sikhs and the British to snatch it away from their private repositories. These are reported to be exquisite and classical in pattern, design, colour combination and themes. Connoisseurs of art came from far off places within and outside the country to have a look at these treasures and recorded their appreciation.
There are many families in Basohli besides Padhas who have nurtured the specific Basohli art and won a name for themselves. But official recognition always eluded them. The lament of these artists is that neither the State Government nor any of its cultural organizations ever took serious note of this exquisite school of painting. Only scant recognition was given to the inheritors of this art. Many of the painters had to do some odd jobs to make both ends meet. Normally if it were a foreign country, these painters would have been recognized as the cream of society, given the highest award in art and painting so that with patronage coming from different sections of society they would have been encouraged to pursue their art without seriously jeopardizing their effort for survival. Of course, the State Government awarded Dheeraj Kapoor and his wife in the years 2009 and 2011, with Dheeraj getting the first prize for a miniature in 2010.  Dheeraj and his wife, both having produced some pieces of fine painting, have held exhibitions at the Lalit Kala Academy, New Delhi. However, this has not helped them live a life of comfort because for day to day survival they have had to take up some petty Government job. Had these artists been in a western country, they would have become fairly prosperous and would have been living a life of luxury. Reflecting on the condition of painters of Basohli School, a female budding painter gave the graphic description as this: Think of the material used.  A Basohli painting requires hard-to-find Veale paper or even ivory sheet, special brushes made of squirrel hair, feathers of Kalmunha bird and colours laboriously derived from dried-up leaves, flowers, beetle wings and khadiya earth.  For ornamental purposes, we use 24-carate gold and pure silver.  Then consider the deftness and precision required to produce one miniature portrait in which you can single out each single hair of a subject with a magnifying glass.  And how do you reckon that indescribable element of a painting which elevates it to a work of art?  In return, the money we get is hardly enough to pay my son’s play-school fee.
It would be in line with the traditional encouragement of art and painting which is the history of our civilization that Basohli painters are taken under the patronizing wing of the Ministry of Culture and a handsome yearly or monthly remuneration is sanctioned in their favour for serving the cultural fund of the nation.

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