A Trip to Bikaner, Rajasthan

Several people had told me that Rajasthan was the place to go if I wanted to see Indian art. It was also an opportunity to experience travel by train Indian style. The train left Delhi late at night and was a general class sleeper car. This is India and it is warm here, so I won't need any heavy clothes, I thought. Whoops!





As the train continued west into the desert, the air became cold in the open-windowed carriage and by morning, it was close to a frost. Add to the lack of warmth, the bouncing, rocking and noise of the train and the cramped space at the top level of a three-bunk tier and, you may imagine, it was one long night!





Bikaner is a much smaller city than Delhi and much less intense. Yes, there were the autotaxi drivers offering to give us a ride; however, they were less demanding. We chose one driver who was very accommodating and brought us to the Shri Ram Hotel. Home at last!

As I knew we would be traveling to a number of places in a short time during the trip to India, I had sent my painting equipment to Ireland where I would pick it up later. For this portion of the journey, I relied on my camera to capture images that would have potential for painting in the studio upon my return to Taos.

Wonderful images were abundant. Just as in Delhi, people stopped me and asked to have their picture taken, like this young fellow on an early morning walk to town:




Or these camel drivers, the second of whom had to run into the picture when he saw I was taking a shot of the driver in the foreground:




And everywhere there were cows:




Architectural images:




And images of the old city:




We were lead through the old city by, Bilal, a fellow who befriended us at a small restaurant




Bilal also introduced us to local several artists. It was our last day in Bikaner and here was an opportunity I had been looking for: to meet with artists from India and find out about their approach to painting. Before leaving on this trip, I had been intrigued to see a painter from India in a movie called '1 Giant Leap'. In that movie, the artist was working on an oil painting of Ganesh, the elephant-headed Hindu god. Bilal lead us down a short alley to the artist's studio.




What I found in the studio was surprising. Indeed, everyone working in the studio was painting devotional images, just as I had seen in the movie. However, all the work was copy work from old texts. Any work that was original was not devotional; rather it was paintings of landscapes and people! So, at least in this case, my imagination about Indian art was jarred by reality.



Next: Sanchi, India - A Break from the Crowds

On to India

My flight to New Delhi, India landed late at night. I was met at the airport by my daughter Emily who was there to attend a friend's wedding and visit with her Indian boyfriend, Gautam Gupta. Immediately, Delhi reminded me of Shanghai - lots of traffic and lots of smoke in the air. What would the morning bring, I wondered?



Early Morning, New Delhi, India


Early the next morning, my mind stopped wondering. Delhi was indeed polluted. The air was so thick that the sun was a barely visible disk just slightly brighter grey than surrounding sky. Heading out into the city was the next jarring experience. The streets were packed with people and it seemed every few feet someone was demanding my attention for money, an auto rickshaw ride or to buy a brush or blanket or food or shoes or CD's. By the time I had walked to the train station, I was already close to my limit of tolerance when someone grabbed me by the arm to demand I take his auto richshaw. My body had an automatic reaction that, fortunately, I was able to stop just before it responded physically.



Train Station, New Delhi, India


Over the next few days, I learned the best approach to walking through the crowds: stay focused and don't acknowledge anyone even with the slightest eye contact. This advice came from Gautam and worked very well. People stopped asking and didn't even try. It was interesting to hear several people from India tell me the same thing and that even they did not pay anyone heed since there have been too many instances of fraud.

After a couple of days of adjustment, I got back to my plan of seeing traditional art. The first stop was the Jama Masjid. I brought my camera for the trip expecting to photograph examples of Islamic art and architecture. This art was there indeed. What was better though, was the unexpected. It was here that I had the first experience of people wanting to pose for their photograph. This was an enjoyable and unexpected cultural difference that was repeated at every stop in India.



Jama Masjid, New Delhi, India


The next day I visited the National Gallery of Modern Art. This museum was definitely worthwhile visiting and many examples of Indian artwork.



National Gallery of Modern Art


The discovery here was the paintings of Amrit Shergil who's figurative and portrait work was outstanding. Her work was amazing especially because all of it had been done before her early death at the age of twenty-nine.



Self-portrait, Amrit Shergil



Next: A Trip to Bikaner, Rajasthan