Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Thousands of artworks, valued at hundreds of crores of rupees, in possession of Bharat Bhavan are at risk due to the incessant rain lashing the city for the past three days.
Bharat Bhavan’s permanent collection comprises more than 2,000 paintings of which nearly 500 are by top artists.
They are displayed at Modern Art and Rangdarshini Galleries by rotation with those not on display placed in the Bhavan’s store. These valuable artworks are not insured.
Among the institution's most treasured holdings is MF Husain’s painting, Mother Teresa, which was purchased for Rs 1 lakh in 1982 when Bharat Bhavan was inaugurated.
According to art experts' estimates, its current market value is in crores. Besides, 20 print series works of MF Husain are also kept in store.
The Bhavan also possesses artworks by celebrated painters like Sayed Haider Raza, V S Gaitonde, Satish Gujral, Tyeb Mehta, Manjit Bawa, Naren Nath, Gulam Mohammed Sheikh, Abdul Qadir, Akbar Padamsee, and PL Dhawan.
The roof of the Modern Art Gallery is leaking at several places and the walls are damp.
Water has collected on the floor. In some cases, water is dripping close to electricity lines, enhancing risk. If the rains don’t relent, the situation may worsen.
Among the paintings on display at the gallery are Sudhir Patwardhan’s The Street Play, Gieve Patel’s Two Men street, Arpana Caur’s Homage to Junagadh, Sachida Nagdev’s Storm and Rains and Ram Kumar’s Manchu-Pinchu.
Bhavan management has removed some of the paintings from the gallery to protect them from damp walls.
Besides the Modern Art Gallery, the graphic and ceramic studios are also in poor condition. Bharat Bhavan’s building was maintained by Capital Project Administration till 2022. Since then, Bhavan management is looking after its maintenance.
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“Repairs are undertaken from time to time. We try to make sure that none of the valuable exhibits is damaged in any manner.
Insuring the paintings is not an option as the paintings are so valuable that even the entire budget of Bhavan will not be enough to pay the premium.”
- Prem Shankar Shukla, chief administrative officer, Bharat Bhavan
