DNA Jaipur 10th Anniversary: A cultural metamorphosis

When the going get tough, time appears to move really slow. During good times, both on the professional and personal fronts, you feel that time is flying too fast! Such has been my journey in the field of art.

While Rajasthan has a lot to offer in terms of its rich heritage and culture, its people hadn’t really explored modern art around 10-15 years ago. The residents of Jaipur did not appreciate contemporary art. But that was a decade ago. As Jaipurites travelled across the world,  they began appreciating creative arts too. There was a big change in their lifestyles, interiors and sense of dressing  — people moved from the traditional to the experimental space.

The prosperous few of the city, who earlier hoarded gold and real estate, are now willing to spend on art as well. 

We also saw a big thrust in tourism that gave a boost to all sectors. The number of tourists visiting Rajasthan has risen manifold. After 2007, all heritage monuments — including the majestic Amber Fort , Nahargarh and Jaigarh — have been restored to their original glory. The department of Tourism and Archaeology has played a major role in bringing alive our cultural heritage with cultural and music festivals in Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur and now in Ajmer too. Albert Hall, Jawahar Kala Kendra, Ravindra Manch and many other cultural centres regularly host entertaining programmes for free. The Jaipur Literature Festival has risen to great heights and popularity. Many game sanctuaries and theme parks have been established over this period. Right at the beginning of this glorious decade, Gallery Artchill was established in the west wing of the Amber Fort. This area had remained shut for over three decades. We drove out the bats and created an art palace of sorts, which has become a popular art destination for the common man as well as art connoisseurs. 

The global phenomenon of placing art in public areas reached the city too. Exploring this concept helped incorporate contemporary art into our existence. We started looking at art for experience rather than with just a utilitarian outlook, which resulted in better appreciation of art. Artchill too experienced increased viewership and appreciation as people started accepting multimedia art and discovered the relevance of large installations too.

Professionally, the art fraternity got a very fertile ground to thrive from a platform like Amber fort, where art was exposed to the masses. This gave a break and promoted many brilliant contemporary artists. In 2008, Artchill also opened its first modern museum within its space in the west wing of Amber Fort to permanently display old masters’ works in one of its sections. Here, one could see original Jamini Roy, Paritosh, Gue, Hebbar, Chughtai, PN Choyal, Kinker and many others. The struggle of most artists ended as instead of going all the way to galleries in New Delhi and Mumbai and incurring high expenses, they could showcase art and get good exposure and sales at home.

Jaipur is very tourist friendly. Smart malls with all amenities have come up, slip lanes have been developed, encroachments removed. Ola and Uber have also made life easy for most of us! Even our highways are in good order; I have travelled extensively by road in Rajasthan, driven on smooth roads to Ajmer, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Bundi and Kota. Our cities are now much cleaner. Stray dogs and cows have been removed, rehabilitated and are looked after. 

Rajasthan has a great pulse. Its cities are worth living in, I wouldn’t live anywhere else. If only we all learnt to save water, conserve and create electricity, engage in organic farming and stop honking, all Rajasthanis will be content with their lot.

I have been an avid reader of DNA right from the start. Time has flown and now I really marvel at its investigative national-local news coverage. Media is the most important agent in bringing awareness, and hence, change in any society. DNA did just that impartially. As I always say,  DNA rocks with all its indomitable spirit. My heartiest congratulations to the DNA team for its debut decade!

The author is an art gallerist and curator