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The Hindu
24-04-2025
- General
- The Hindu
How an erstwhile princess is on a mission to revive Kishangarh miniatures
Almond-shaped eyes, aquiline features, elongated faces with defined chins and noses, earthy tones, panoramic landscapes and stylised clouds — these are some of the things that set apart Kishangarh paintings from the other miniature traditions of India. Drenched in bhakti and sringara rasas, these miniatures originated somewhere around the 17th Century in Kishangarh in Ajmer, Rajasthan. Rulers such as Raj Singh and Sawant Singh set up court ateliers led by Bhavanidas and Nihal Chand and patronised this art form. However, diminished patronage over the years has seen miniatures and traditional visual art forms relegated to the realm of handicraft. Centuries later, Vaishnavi Kumari, who traces her lineage to the erstwhile royal family of Kishangarh, has taken upon herself the task of reinventing the art form to suit the contemporary milieu. In 2010, she set up Studio Kishangarh, where she works with artists to create paintings that merged traditional aesthetics and modern sensibilities. 'We do acrylic on canvas, work on wasli (handmade) paper and take up landscape themes. We might take inspiration from a Pichwai painting and interpret it in our own way, using gold and silver embellishment. We recently had a show 'Ishq Chaman' based on the poetry of Raja Sawant Singh. The poem talks about devotion and we created allegorical paintings on love and devotion for god,' says Vaishnavi Kumari, the curator and founder of Studio Kishangarh. Vaishnavi graduated from NIFT and pursued her Master's in art history from SOAS University, London. 'Middlemen buy unique haathi-ghoda paintings at very low prices from artists. These are sold as souvenirs. That set me thinking. In museums and auctions, you see work that is highly valued, and I wondered why we were not producing that kind of quality. Traditionally, a patron influenced the kind of work done in karkhanas (workshops). For example, you see hunting scenes in Kota paintings, because the ruler wanted those depictions. Nainsukh (1710-1778) painted most of his works for the local ruler Raja Balwant Singh of Jasrota in Himachal Pradesh. That encouraged me to set up an atelier and offer contemporary patronage,' says Vaishnavi. A couple's rendezvous in a lush green garden against the picturesque backdrop of mountains, dense flora and fauna and a distinct blue sky is an aesthetic marvel, and a typical Kishangarh miniature. This style is also synonymous with Bani Thani — known as the Indian Mona Lisa, a combination of grace and beauty, supposedly painted by Nihal Chand, as instructed by then ruler Raja Sawant Singh. It is said that the Raja and Bani Thani were lovers, and they are the nayak and nayika in several paintings. Among the most famous of Kishangarh paintings, 'Boat of Love', is on display at the National Museum, Delhi. Inspired by Raja Sawant Singh's poem, the painting depicts three scenes featuring Radha and Krishna — atop a hill, crossing the river seated on a boat accompanied by attendants, and amid dense foliage. Through her work in the atelier with her artists, Vaishnavi wants to educate people about the art tradition. 'What you see is just the first layer which is the aesthetic — the women are beautiful, the figures so lyrical… but there is a deeper meaning. Bani Thani wasn't just a beautiful woman. She was an accomplished poet and an amazing musician. Sufism and Haveli Sangeet were major influences at the time and we want the viewers to discover all these facets to these paintings. Raja Sawant Singh was a Bhakti poet and wrote in Rekhta, a precursor to the Hindustani dialect, among other languages, under the pen name of Nagari Das. A pushtimargi, belonging to the Vallabhacharya sect, he wrote devotional poetry for Krishna and Bani Thani,' she adds. Once Vaishnavi returned from London, she discovered many families that had been painting for generations. She brought together a few of them for two reasons — better livelihood opportunities and the chance to develop a unique aesthetic. 'We have a core group but we also work with other artists. When we started, we were doing handicrafts — we painted apparel. I explore a lot of media. Even though I give ideas, the exploration is by the artists. Also, each painting is the collective work of two or three artists — one does the basic drawing, the other adds the flora and fauna elements, the third might add an iconic element like the Kamadhenu. They enjoy working on a new visual vocabulary,' says Vaishnavi, who is trying to strike a balance between the old and the new. Vaishnavi Kumari, who traces her lineage to the erstwhile royal family of Kishangarh, has taken upon herself the task of reinventing the art form to suit the contemporary milieu
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
North Korea (sort of) welcomes tourists again
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The "hermit kingdom" of North Korea is coming out of isolation, finally welcoming Western tourists again, after sealing its borders at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Last week, a limited number of tour operators led visitors into the special economic zone of Rason, a remote city near the Chinese and Russian borders – and the only place in the socialist nation where free-market activities are allowed. Tourists from Australia, the UK, Jamaica and Germany were able to enter in time for the celebrations of late leader Kim Jong II's birthday – and the re-establishment of tours opens the door to much-needed tourism revenue. North Korea was one of the first countries to shut its borders in reaction to the spread of Covid-19 in January 2020, and it's been the last to re-open them. In the past year, the government has only allowed "some official business delegations and Russian tourists to enter the country", said ABC News, while keeping its frontiers "sealed to the rest of the world". But North Korea is "desperate for foreign currency", said Hazel Smith, a professor at London's SOAS University, who has lived in North Korea. They need it "not just for oil, but for basic technology like irrigation or health services," she told NBC News. Before the pandemic, the country received "hundreds of thousands of Chinese tourists", said the broadcaster, who provided up to $175 million (£138 million) in extra revenue in 2019, according to the South Korea-based news outlet NK News. "The return of tourists could help reshape North Korea's reputation, shifting it from a 'dangerous country' in the eyes of the international community to a potentially 'safe' travel destination," Dr Yee Ji Sun, a researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, told The Independent. The new tour itineraries include visits to a local brewery, a foreign language school and a taekwondo academy. But Pyongyang, the capital, remains closed to all but Russian tourists. Local markets are also off-limits to tourists, due to "lingering concerns over Covid", said the paper, while strict health measures, including temperature checks, are still in place at various locations. The US prohibits its citizens from visiting North Korea, after the detention and death of 22-year-old American student Otto Warmbier in 2017. But some are still managing to get inside the secretive nation. Justin Martell joined last week's small tourist delegation, becoming the first American known to step foot in North Korea since the onset of the pandemic. The Connecticut-born filmmaker was actually in North Korea when the US travel ban came into effect – and, by then, he had already visited the country 11 times. To bypass the ban, he has spent about a year obtaining expensive dual citizenship from Saint Kitts and Nevis, a Caribbean nation. "I didn't want to stop coming," he told CNN. "I didn't want the conversation to end." Inside North Korea, "pandemic paranoia remains deeply entrenched", said the broadcaster. "There seems to be a rumour that Covid-19 got into the country via a balloon sent from South Korea," said Martell. But he says that, last week, he didn't encounter any of the once typical anti-US hostility. The children who approached him at a local school "didn't care about politics", he said. "They wanted to know about music, sports – what life was like in the US. They wanted connection."
Yahoo
04-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
North Korea reopens to tourists just in time for late leader Kim Jong Il's birthday
It's the late leader Kim Jong Il's birthday celebrations, and everyone's invited. For the first time in more than five years, foreign tourists can visit North Korea, albeit to the city of Rason, one of the secretive communist state's least visited places. Koryo Tours, a tour operator based in Beijing, announced this week it had reopened bookings to see the city after North Korea sealed its borders in 2020 during the Covid pandemic. For about $720, the tour includes four nights in Rason, a city in the country's northeast near the borders of both China and Russia. Visitors will also get two nights in the Chinese city of Yanji. The first tour is set to take place between Feb. 12 and 18, during which time major celebrations are planned for the birthday of the country's late leader Kim Jong Il, one of North Korea's biggest holidays. The national holiday, known as the Day of the Shining Star, is typically celebrated Feb. 16. with large public displays, including parades. North Koreans also bow to statues of Kim Jong Il, the father of their current leader, Kim Jong Un. And though the country's capital, Pyongyang, remains closed to tourists, 'there are a lot of people who have been waiting to go to North Korea,' Greg Vaczi at Koryo Tours, told NBC News on Tuesday. He added that 20 tourists will be able to enter in time for the birthday celebrations. North Korea is 'desperate for foreign currency,' said Hazel Smith, a professor at London's SOAS University, who lived in North Korea for two years. 'Not just for oil, but basic technology like irrigation or health services.' Before the pandemic, the country hosted hundreds of thousands of Chinese tourists who provided up to $175 million in extra revenue in 2019, according to the South Korea-based news outlet NK News. However, the United States banned citizens from traveling to the country after the death of American student Otto Warmbier in 2017. The 22-year-old stole a propaganda banner from a hotel during a visit to Pyonyang in January 2016 and was later sentenced to 15 years hard labor for committing a hostile act against the government. The University of Virginia student was returned to the U.S. in a coma the following year and died shortly afterwards. The latest tour promises to take tourists to the 'must-see sites in Rason,' which is known as North Korea's special economic zone. The city has operated differently from the rest of the country since 1991 and has been used as a testing ground for new economic policies, the country's first mobile phone network and the first card payment system. Among other attractions, Koryo Tours said, tourists can visit the 'Sea Cucumber Breeding Farm and Paekhaksan Combined Foodstuff Processing Factory.' They will also be offered the chance to open their own North Korean bank account during a stop at the Golden Triangle Bank. From the Three Countries Border Viewpoint, visitors will also be able to view neighboring China and Russia. Last month, another travel agency, Young Pioneer Tours, also announced tour packages to Rason. But there's a chance the tours may not go ahead as planned. Smith said the country, which once welcomed thousands of foreign visitors, would view the tours as a test. 'They're always cautious, but I think they will be super, super cautious now,' she said. 'This is one way of doing it, having a tour operator which they trust, which is professional.' As Rason does not have an international airport, the only way to get there is a drive across the Chinese border. 'The Chinese checkpoint at the Sino-Korean border is not ready yet to receive foreigners,' Vaczi said. 'We have to wait until the Chinese are ready to receive [them].' This article was originally published on
