Doordarshan’s: The Paintings of India

Director: Benoy Behl

1. Enchanted Ajanta
2. Crossroads of the World (Covering the 11th / 12th-century monastery murals of Ladakh and Lahaul-Spiti)

January 14, 2005 | 6.30 pm
Little Theatre, National Centre for the Performing Arts, Mumbai

Films on the History of Art by Benoy K. Behl
Doordarshan’s: The Paintings of India

The Paintings of India by Benoy K. Behl is a series of 26 documentaries made for Doordarshan, on the tradition of painting in India, from prehistoric times till the present day. This series addresses the entire subject for the first time and includes filming of ancient painted caves and temples and in museums across the world. Many sites of mural paintings have been photographed and documented for the first time in this project, all over India and also in other countries in Asia.

Film I: Enchanted Ajanta: (30mins)

The exquisite paintings of Ajanta are the fountainhead of the classic tradition of painting of India and of the whole of Asia. The artistic impulses and traditions which were born at Ajanta also traveled southwards out of India to Sri Lanka, and from there to other countries of South-East Asia. Simultaneously, the art of Ajanta moved along the trade routes to inspire painters in Afghanistan, Central Asia and China and from there to Korea and Japan. Ajanta is indeed an enchanted place, where one of the greatest traditions of the art of the world flowered, and spread its seeds all over Asia.

Film II: Crossroads of the World (covering the 11th / 12th century monastery murals of Ladakh and Lahaul-Spiti): (30mins)

This film presents the exquisite paintings of the early monasteries of Ladakh, Spiti and Kinnaur. During the Second Diffusion of Buddhism in the trans-Himalayas in the 11th to the 13th centuries, 108 monasteries are believed to have been made in the trans-Himalayas, from Ladakh, Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur to Western Tibet. These were painted by Kashmiri painters who were invited for the purpose. These monasteries of the Second Diffusion became the backbone of Buddhism across the trans-Himalayas. These paintings show the continuation of the grace and beauty of the tradition of art, which begins at Ajanta, and help to clearly establish the fact of the uniform and widespread styles of Indian painting, and the continuity of the tradition through the centuries.

The renowned filmmaker and photographer, Benoy K. Behl, will introduce each film before their screenings, and an interactive discussion with the audience will follow after the screenings.