The fort remembers

British-era military structures in the Red Fort are showcasing an unseen past

76-Raja-Ravi-Varma Picture perfect: A visitor poses in front of a raja ravi varma painting at the drishyakala art museum in the red fort | Aayush Goel

Along embroidered jacket in phosphorescent peach, socks in electric blue and strand-upon-strand of uncut emeralds in dazzling green. The 1930s oil-on-canvas portrait of the Nawab of Malerkotla, Muhammad Ali Khan Bahadur, is a striking study of western painting in Indian courts, where the portrait painter would highlight the lavish robes, stunning jewels and imperious postures of the royalty with photographic precision.

Not many know that Amrita Sher-Gill made two sculptures in her lifetime. One was lost; the second one is on view at the exhibition.

Or was it copied from a photograph? The full-length portrait does not mention the painter but credits Bourne & Shepherd Studio, the photo studio patronised by the nobility, Europeans and the upper middle class in colonial India. More conspicuous is the painting’s size. At 108x60 inches, the imposing portrait and its original frame together weigh over 200kg. It was, in all likelihood, meant to grace the opulent durbar halls of a palace.

For now, the priceless portrait hangs in Barrack 4, ensconced within the sandstone walls of the Red Fort complex in New Delhi. The barracks inside the Red Fort are British-era military structures built after the Rebellion of 1857. After the capture of the last remaining Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah II and the killing of his descendants, the British went on a rampage in the Red Fort. After looting the palace and destroying two-thirds of the inner structures, several buildings were given out to the troops. Huge tenements or army barracks came up where once harems, gardens and royal storerooms stood.  The act of building these barracks have been colourfully dismissed by post-colonial historians: "This fearful piece of vandalism...of the most splendid palace in the world" or  "some of the most crushingly ugly buildings ever thrown up by the British Empire". 

The army continued to stay in the fort’s barracks after independence. They only vacated the premises in 2003, and soon after, the Archaeological Survey of India embarked on a clean-up drive. “It was decided that the structures built by the British be preserved to ensure an authentic view of the Red Fort, while the ones built after independence by the Indian Army be demolished,” says N.K. Pathak, superintending archaeologist, ASI. “The museums which were housed in the Mughal-era structures inside the Red Fort were to be transferred to the barracks as they are airy and more spacious.”

Some of these barracks have now been converted into temporary museums. They were inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 23. Barrack 1 will host an exhibition on the First War of Independence, B2 on the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, B3 on Subhas Chandra Bose and the Indian National Army movement; B4 is an art museum in collaboration with Delhi Art Gallery (DAG) that will run till July 31.

Named Drishyakala Art Museum, Barrack 4 is a spectacular showcase of the art from colonial India (18th century till 1950). Dug out from the deep by DAG, there are 450 works on display, spread over 27,000sqft. These are rare paintings which DAG has never exhibited.

There are popular aquatint prints by Thomas and William Daniells, professional European artists who visited India in the 18th century to document life, landscape, costumes and architecture of the time. Also on display are works of luminaries like Raja Ravi Varma, Nicholas Roerich, Abanindranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose and Jamini Roy. Not many know that Amrita Sher-Gill made two sculptures in her lifetime as an artist. One was lost; the second one is on view at the exhibition. Unseen items from the ginormous National Museum collection will soon be shown at the barracks.

The interiors of these red-and-white structures are an intimidating sight; long wooden railings, cold hard stone flooring, round arched gables and huge glass panelled vinyl windows overlooking the ramparts of the imperial fort. Every day, some 4,500 visitors walk through its corridors and engage with these artworks. Art which is as good as antiquity. Art which is history and national identity.

Visitors well-schooled in modern history might experience a moment of fulfillment when they gaze at the Nawab. The former princely state of Malerkotla is a model specimen of communal harmony. During the 1947 riots, when all of Punjab was seething, Malerkotla was an oasis of calm. The Nawab’s portrait, with its opulence intact, in a reclaimed Barrack 4 almost feels like homecoming. Like a restoration in every sense of the word.

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