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Time of India
25-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Awadh's heritage & French connection
(Left) A portrait of Jahangir (1617) by Abul Hasan; a painting of Akbar from Akbarnama (Source: Victoria & Albert Museum, London) The story of Awadh, and Lucknow in particular, is incomplete without the mention of its French connection. While many see tangible elements like the La Martiniere, only a few know that the French came to Lucknow much before it. Shailvee Sharda explores the bond... Awadh's heritage & French connection The beginning Lucknow's French connection owes its genesis to the times of Mughal Emperor Jahangir (1605-27). References from the 'Akbarnama' – the chronicles of the reign of Akbar penned by one of his 'Navratnas' Abul Fazl – are often cited to suggest that Jahangir came to Lucknow during the lifetime of his father and founded Mirza Mandi to the west of Machhi Bhavan. In his Latin book 'De Imperio Magni Mogolis Sive India Vera Commentarius'. Dutch geographer and director of the Dutch west India Company Joannes De-Laet is also said to have described Lucknow as a 'thriving centre of trade'. It is believed that during those days, the French merchant obtained a permit for one year to conduct commercial trade in the region. The merchant made great fortunes in the city and spent a good part of it in building a mansion described as Franc's Quarter near the Machhi Bhavan. However, when he did not pay taxes to the Mughal court, the permit was cancelled, and the trader was deported. The mansion was confiscated and given the name of Farangi Mahal as it was built by foreigners. During the reign of Aurangzeb, the Farangi Mahal was given to Mulla Qutubuddin, a scholar who developed the place as a seat of Islamic teachings. His successors still have a copy of Aurangzeb's 'farman' (dated Apr 9, 1694). 'It says 'yak haveli faranki' (one Frenchman/foreigner's home) in Awadh's Lucknow is to be handed over to Sheikh Mohammad and Mohammad Saeed (sons of Mulla Qutubuddin). Mulla had taken a representation to Aurangzeb entailing the martyrdom of their father and the family losing a roof over their head,' says Adnan Abdul Wali Farangi Mahali, whose mother's ancestor was Saeed. Adnan says that the story is mentioned in 'Baniy-e-dars-e-Nizami', a biography of their family member Mulla Nizamuddin by Mufti Mohammad Raza Ansari Farangi Mahali. The incident finds mention in Meer Sher Ali Jafri's book 'Aaraish-e-Mehfil'. Frenchmen in the court The third Nawab of Awadh Shuja-ud-Daulah was grand wazir of Mughal emperor Shah Alam II who participated in the Battle of Buxar (Oct 1764 alongside Mir Qasim, the Nawab of Bengal). After the fall of the French in Pondicherry in 1761, French Army officer Jean Baptiste Gentil managed to make it to the court of Mir Qasim. After the debacle in the Battle of Buxar, Gentil offered his services to Shuja-ud-Daulah. In her book, 'The Lion and the Lily – The rise and fall of Avadh', author Ira Mukhoty indicates that Gentil could speak Urdu fluently. She also notes that 'he was instrumental in brokering peace for Shuja… and returned to Faizabad where he was a steadfast and loyal presence and a generous friend to needy Frenchman wandering the country'. She says that the Nawab encouraged Gentil to create a corps of French soldiers. Gentil also set up an art atelier that produced some of the very first examples of European influence that later became 'Company Paintings'. Another Frenchman close to Nawab Shuja-ud-Daulah was architect Charles Emmanuel Canaple who helped the Nawab strengthen his artillery. In the five years in which Canaple worked for the Nawab, he built 36,000 guns, established a large cannon foundry and cast 74 pieces of cannons of different sizes. He also built a huge star-shaped fort in which 30,000 men worked daily and it was seen as a rival to Calcutta's Fort William. By 1773, the outer wall and covered path remained to be completed and according to Gentil, the English were furious that construction of such a fort had been allowed. They returned to their native places in France after the treaty of 1775, clause three of which compelled Shuja's successor Asaf to dismiss all Frenchmen from his service. Another Frenchman in the Court of Awadh was Colonel Antoine-Louis Henri de Polier. He was an adventurer, an art collector, military engineer and British Army soldier who worked under Robert Clive. His French origin impeded his growth in ranks of the Company and therefore he agreed to be deputed into the survey department of Shuja-ud-Daulah on the recommendation of Warren Hastings. In the course of his job, Polier created a niche for himself in Awadh, amassing fortunes via private trade and by assisting Shuja-ud-Daulah in military transactions, especially during the Nawab's fight against the Jats, which involved a siege of Agra's fort. His dual role caused embarrassment for Hastings and compelled Polier to resign in 1775. From France, with love After the demise of Shuja, his son Asaf-ud-Daulah made Lucknow his joined the company again in 1781 and came back to Awadh first in Faizabad and then in Lucknow. Here, he developed an interest in collecting manuscripts and paintings. It was here in 1783 that he met well-known British painters William Hodges and John Zoffany, with whom he developed a long-lasting friendship. Polier figures prominently in Johann Zoffany's famous painting 'Colonel Mordant's Cock-match' (1786) along with another Frenchman in Lucknow, Claude Martin, Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula and others. As an ambitious collector, Polier acquired precious manuscripts, miniatures and calligraphies. He commissioned countless new pictures and made a decisive contribution to the flowering of Indian miniature painting in Awadh. The genre's best-known representative, the painter Mihr Chand, created several notable artworks for Polier. But the most influential Frenchman in Awadh was Claude Martin, who left the French army after the fall of Pondicherry in 1960, deserted to the Bengal Army and was eventually posted in Awadh. In the words of Ira Mukhoty, '(In Awadh) he spent 25 years hanging on to this most lucrative province despite many attempts to dislodge him from there. He used bribery, corruption and extortionate usury to amass a truly gob smacking fortune. Historians described him as being a border crosser, social climber, chameleon and collector.' While others left, Martin became a permanent figure in Awadh's identity through timeless buildings and endowment. Queen of Awadh sleeps in paris Lucknow always lured the British, and therefore, the then British Resident of Lucknow alleged that Awadh was being misgoverned, and banished its ruler Wajid Ali Shah to Calcutta for the rest of his life. In contrast, Shah was seen as a peace-loving ruler of varied interests and refined tastes. Instead of putting his beloved subjects in the adversities of war, he chose to leave for Calcutta, with the intention of travelling to London and convincing Queen Victoria to reverse the annexation of Awadh. The Nawab's mother Jenab Aliya Begum Mallika Kishwar, known for her feisty persona accompanied him. Upon reaching Calcutta, Wajid Ali Shah fell ill, and taking advantage of the situation, the Company imprisoned him at Fort William. But his mother decided to go to England alone which was a daunting task in those days. Hoping that Victoria, ruling queen of England, would hear her out as a mother against the company and restore her family's rights, she sailed on June 18, 1856. The Queen Mother's hopes were shattered as Queen Victoria refused all her initial requests for an audience. In due course, Kishwar understood that Victoria had little to offer to her as real power lay with the British Parliament. Adding to her misery, the Parliament told her that if she wished to travel, she would have to declare herself a 'British subject' to get passports, which she refused. Meanwhile, the Indian royals combined their forces to oust the East India Company in 1857 even as in a fresh try, a despaired Kishwar decided to return to India via France. Exhausted by now, Mallika Kishwar took seriously ill and on Jan 24 breathed her last in Paris. Her simple but stately funeral was attended by representatives of the Turkish sultans and a marble cenotaph was constructed over her tomb at the Pere Lachaise Cemetery. Many Indians visit her grave even today where she lies in the company of the likes of Irish poet Oscar Wilde, American singer and rockstar Jim Morrison, polish composer and pianist Federich Chopin, besides others.
Irish Examiner
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Lucian Freud and me: The real 'Donegal Man' on his encounters with the great artist
Pat Doherty has the distinction of having sat for three portraits – two paintings and a copperplate etching – by the legendary British painter Lucian Freud. Several copies of the etching feature in the exhibition, Lucian Freud's Etchings: A Creative Collaboration, which has just launched at Titanic Belfast in partnership with the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Doherty became acquainted with Freud through a mutual friend, Andrew Parker Bowles, whom Doherty has known since the early 1970s, when he began doing building work for a development company that Parker Bowles ran with his brother-in-law, Nick Paravicini, and the architect Michael Heber-Percy. 'We did that for three years,' says Doherty, 'and then I went into partnership with them. They had the money, and I had the building experience. We were a good team.' Doherty and Parker Bowles could hardly have come from more disparate backgrounds. Doherty is one of a family of ten. He left school at 14 and served his apprenticeship with an uncle in Donegal before emigrating to London, aged 19, in 1962. 'I started doing contract work a few years later,' he says. 'Brickwork and carpentry. I knew guys coming out who were good carpenters, good bricklayers. They'd all done apprenticeships, I knew they could do good work. We soon had 30 guys on the books, and we kept building up from there.' Lucian Freud's painting of Andrew Parker Bowles, 'The Brigadier', at Christie's New York in 2015, where it sold for $34.89m. (Photo by) Parker Bowles, by contrast, was born in Donnington Castle House in Berkshire. His godparents included the Queen Mother and his grandfather, the millionaire racehorse owner Sir Humphrey de Trafford. He attended Ampleforth College and Sandhurst Military Academy, rode in the Grand National and played on Prince Charles' polo team. In 1973, Doherty attended Parker Bowles' wedding to Camilla Shand, who, after their divorce in 1995, went on to marry Prince Charles. She is now the Queen of the United Kingdom. Parker Bowles agreed to sit for a portrait by Freud in the early 2000s. Parker Bowles was a career army officer as well as a developer, and Freud chose to paint him in his full regalia as The Brigadier. The portrait took months of sittings, and Doherty unwittingly became a witness to its execution. 'I could walk from my house to Lucian's studio in two and a half minutes, it was just around the corner,' he says. 'I'd go round to pick Andrew up after a sitting, and we'd go out to dinner. I did that three or four times before Andrew said, come on, I'll introduce you to Lucian. So we went in, had a glass of champagne and a chat. And then, every time I'd call to pick up Andrew, we'd chat with Lucian some more. Pat Doherty, chairman of Titanic Belfast, features in several works by Freud. Picture courtesy of Titanic Belfast 'One evening Andrew said to me, 'Lucian said would you sit for him'. And my reply to that was, 'Fuck off, would you?' Sitting for an artist, I had no interest in that. But Andrew kept on about it. "He said, look, it's such an honour to be asked by this man. You'll regret it, you know. And I said, Andrew, I certainly will not regret it. But he kept on, and I thought, Christ, okay.' Doherty admits he did not quite realise what he was letting himself in for. 'In my head I thought it would just take two or three sittings,' he says. 'But the first time I sat for a portrait, it took 85 three-hour sittings, I think it was. And then he asked me to sit again, to do an etching, which took about 35 sittings. And then another painting, which took nearly 100 sittings. So I sat in front of him three times. He asked would I sit again, but I said no. I'd had enough of it.' In all, Doherty spent at least 600 hours sitting for Freud. 'He was a very temperamental man, but very talented. You didn't get on the wrong side of him; you'd know when to chat and when not to. I remember when it started, at first, you know, everything he was doing, I was watching. He'd be walking around you, looking you over. I realised, he's trying to get into my head, and I'm trying to get into his. But that was never going to work, you know. That was just a daydream. So I let him get on with it.' German-born British painter Lucian Freud. (Photo by) Freud famously did not flatter his subjects, and he certainly did Doherty no favours; the paintings present him as ruddy-faced and jowly, and the etching is less forgiving again. Asked what he thought of them, Doherty chuckles: 'The first time I saw the etching, I said, Lucian, if someone paid you money and came in to collect that, I think they'd die. 'But we stayed friends, you know. For years afterwards, we'd go out once a week for dinner at the Wolesley.' There was no expectation that Doherty would buy any of the portraits, but, knowing how revered a figure Freud had become, he did eventually, paying £2.3 million for the two paintings and a copy of the etching. In 2023, he sold one of the paintings, Profile, Donegal Man, at auction for £15 million. 'That's a good return, I thought at the time. But in hindsight, I wish I hadn't sold it. The other one I kept, that's on loan now to the National Gallery in Dublin.' Doherty was at Freud's house, along with Parker Bowles and the artist's studio assistant David Dawson, on the night of his passing in 2011. 'Lucian was unconscious,' he says. 'Andrew, David and I went out for dinner at Sally Clarke's, the restaurant next door. And then one of the girls came in and said he'd gone. 'Lucian was complicated, a complicated man, but I'd glad to have known him all the same.' Doherty has business interests all over the world, and is invariably cited as one of Ireland's most successful property developers. Asked what his greatest achievement has been, he says with a twinkle, 'surviving". He still lives in London, and is grateful for the opportunities the city has given him. 'I love Donegal,' he says. 'I'm from Donegal. I've got a house there, and I visit regularly. But I grew up in London. When people ask if I'll retire to Donegal, I say no, I don't see that.' He laughs suddenly. 'But I'll be buried there,' he says. Lucian Freud's Etchings: A Creative Collaboration runs at Titanic Belfast until September 30. Further information: David Dawson David Dawson still describes himself as a "farmboy', despite having worked as Freud's studio assistant in London for the last 20 years of his life. Dawson grew up in rural Welshpool, in Wales. He studied painting at the Royal College of Art in London, and had just graduated when he was introduced to Freud's art dealer, James Kirkman. Kirkman in turn introduced him to Freud, who was increasingly busy in his career and needed help in his studio. 'I was a sort of run-around boy, really,' says Dawson. 'I'd buy the paint and prime the canvases, that kind of thing. Lucian and myself got on immediately. I happened to live in Notting Hill, close to his home, so he just phoned me every day from then on. He'd say, can you do this, can you do that? And it just developed from there.' At that stage, Freud was 69. He was well-established as a figurative painter, and had settled into a routine of painting portraits in the two-roomed studio upstairs in his home at 138 Kensington Church Street. David Dawson with Lucian Freud's painting of Pat Doherty at the recreation of the painter's studio at Titanic Belfast. A degenerate gambler in his day, reputed to have lost millions betting on the horses, Freud had more or less quit by then. Dawson insists he drank in moderation, and only smoked the odd cigar. Freud was a notorious womaniser - he acknowledged 14 children, and may have fathered as many as 40 – but Dawson is discreet about his relationships. 'Lucian had many close friends,' he says. 'They all meant something to him. He chose who he wanted to get really close to, and others he kept out.' Freud was also notorious for the commitment he required of his models, who could expect to spend hundreds – and sometimes thousands – of hours sitting for his portraits. It suited some better than others. Among those he painted often were the benefits supervisor 'Big Sue' Tilley and the performance artist Leigh Bowery. 'The first painting I saw when I visited his studio was a big portrait he did of Leigh,' says Dawson. 'That was halfway done. It was a really important moment in my life, a pivotal moment, to see that being made. At that stage, Lucian was just beginning to really stretch into what people now call his mature phase. He really went for it in the last 20 years of his life. 'He always worked very hard. The sitter would arrive at eight in the morning. I'd be there before them. I'd have set up the studio, with the right canvas, the right placing of the bed or whatever. Lucian would work on that painting till lunchtime, then he'd rest for the afternoon, and go back painting in the evening. He'd do that every day, seven days a week.' Over the course of his twenty years with Freud, Dawson produced a series of photographs of the artist and his subjects at work. It began when Freud was painting his fellow artist, David Hockney. 'Lucian had just finished the portrait, and he'd gone out to take a phone call. I wanted to take a little photo of David with the portrait, but as I pressed the button on my camera, Lucian walked back in through the door. And because it was film, I didn't know what I'd got until I had it developed. But I showed it to Lucian and he thought it was fantastic. So after that, I would have my little point-and-shoot camera, and I'd take photos when I could.' Over several months in 2000/1, Freud painted Queen Elizabeth II. It was intended that she would sit for the portrait in his studio, but when the press got wind of the arrangement, they had to meet instead at St James's Palace. Dawson was present for the sessions, and took several photographs. 'I did ask Her Majesty,' he says. 'And she said, 'yes, I think it's quite a historic moment.' So I took four photographs. The first one's blurred because I was so nervous, but then there are two good ones of the Queen, and the last is after she's gone; there's just the painting and the empty chair.' Titanic Belfast's CEO Judith Owens and conservator Sean Madden unbox 'Donegal Man', an etching by Lucian Freud of Titanic Belfast's chairman Pat Doherty. Picture by Jonathan Porter Freud's portrait of the queen was arguably the most controversial of his career. Robin Simon, the editor of the British Art Journal, said 'it makes her look like one of her corgis who has suffered a stroke.' The Sun thought Freud should be locked up in the Tower for his impertinence. What did Dawson make of it? 'I like it because it's so small,' he says. 'It's one of the great things that Lucian could do, is make a very small painting very powerful. Not many artists can do that. And I think it's a true portrait of a woman in a unique position of being a monarch, a head of state.' Did Her Majesty express an opinion of the painting? 'Absolutely not!' Freud also painted the supermodel Kate Moss, and Dawson photographed the two in bed towards the end of the artist's life. 'That was a lovely moment,' he says. 'Lucian wasn't feeling too good, so Kate just jumped in for a hug. It was very sweet. And I said, oh, can I take a photo?' Apart from painting, the only medium Freud liked to work in was etching. The master printer Mark Balakjian, with whom he collaborated, would prepare copper plates with a wax ground, which Freud would sketch into with an etching needle. 'Again, it was all from life,' says Dawson. 'And the etchings were always done after the oil painting. It could take months, but not quite as long as a painting. He knew the face of the person well by then, and the line would come more fluently.' On his death, aged 88, in 2011, Freud left Dawson his home. 'He had mentioned that he'd do so. There was a plan, but I never listened to it too strongly. It's a lovely house. Early Georgian. I did a total refurb. I put it back to how it looked before. I've kept Lucian's studio. It's still alive. And I have my own studio, separate.' Dawson also has charge of Freud's archives. 'Which means I've got control of the copyright,' he says. 'It's just me and the lawyer, so we can make decisions quickly and clearly. Bridgeman Art Library manage the archives, and I just say yes or no to requests. I know what feels right and what doesn't.' Freud sometimes fretted that his schedule left Dawson too little time to devote to his own painting. But Dawson has no regrets. 'I put Lucian's work first,' he says. 'I felt that what he was making was so extraordinary, I wanted to be around to see it made. I thought it was worth it. And I still hold to that.' Titanic Belfast Titanic Belfast opened in 2012, on the 100th anniversary of the launch of the RMS Titanic Titanic Belfast is the brainchild of Pat Doherty, from Buncrana, Co Donegal, who made his fortune as a property developer in London. The centre commemorates the history of the ill-fated liner, along with the maritime heritage of Belfast, and is the jewel in the crown of a 200-acre development on the site of the old Harland & Wolff shipyard, which Doherty bought with another Irish businessman, Dermot Desmond, in 2003. A general view of the Titanic Museum on the site of the former Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast. 'Pat is one of the great visionaries when it comes to regeneration and bringing heritage to life,' says Judith Owens, who has served as Chief Executive of Titanic Belfast since 2017, having previously been Director of Operations and Deputy CEO. Owens' family was involved with Harland & Wolff for generations. 'My grandfather worked in the shipyard, and my dad was general manager of the electrical division,' she says. 'So I grew up in the area, and many years ago, I actually owned one of the shipyard officer's houses. Most people around here have a connection to the shipyard, it was such a big part of industrial Belfast.' When Owens first got involved with the Titanic Belfast project, 'there were just four of us on staff,' she says. 'We now employ over 300. We'll have about 500,000 people coming through the doors between now and September, and we're averaging about 850,000 a year. "Obviously, we have the Titanic exhibition, but we have an art gallery and high-end conference and banqueting facilities as well. 'The whole idea with Titanic Belfast was that we were to be a catalyst to kick-start tourism, and particularly international tourism, after the Good Friday Agreement. We've certainly succeeded in that.'
Scottish Sun
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
World's oldest museum cafe is one of the most beautiful in the UK
It was one of the first ever museums to have a cafe COFFEE BREAK World's oldest museum cafe is one of the most beautiful in the UK Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THE WORLD'S oldest museum cafe can be found in the UK - and it's barely changed in 150 years. Found inside the Victoria and Albert Museum, the ornate room dates back to 1868. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 The cafe opened to the public in 1868 Credit: ©Victoria & Albert Museum, London 5 There are three themed sections to the cafe Credit: ©Victoria & Albert Museum, London Originally designed by James Gamble, William Morris and Edward Poynter, the V&A's cafe features opulent decorations showcasing the style of the Victorian era. The cafe has been serving customers for over 150 years and was the first of its kind. Museums originally never used to have cafes or anywhere for visitors to rest and enjoy refreshments, until Henry Cole came up with the idea of introducing an in-house refreshment room. Cole had learnt about the needs of visitors when he managed The Great Exhibition in 1851. One of the things that was high priority for visitors, was being fed and watered. Many other museums took until the 20th century to introduce a refreshment room. Large lights hang from the ceiling, stained glass windows litter the walls, grand arches stretch across the structure and colourful ceramic tiles line the floors. The cafe essentially splits into three sections, each designed by a different artist. The Gamble Room was designed by James Gamble, the Poynter Room by Edward J. Poynter, and The Morris Room by William Morris. Over the past 15 decades, not much inside the cafe has changed. World's biggest $1B mega-museum built for body of King Tut to open Artwork is spread across the walls, and there are a number of fascinating artefacts to gaze at. The Gamble Room, which was originally known as the Centre Refreshment Room, was the largest and intended to be the first room visitors saw. The room features a Renaissance Revival style, with colourful tiles and enamelled ceiling plates and was even compared to the glitz of Paris at the time. The Poynter Room, was initially the Grill Room, and features blue-toned tiles with Dutch influences. Eastern-inspired motifs including peacocks and waves, depictions of the months, seasons and zodiacs can also be seen across the room. The tiles were painted by female art students, which was an unusual commission for women at the time. 5 William Morris even designed a section of the cafe Credit: ©Victoria & Albert Museum, London 5 The cafe is open everyday, 10am to 5pm Credit: Alamy The third room, the Morris Room, was originally the Green Dining Room and designed by Morris before he was famous. The room features a Gothic Revival and Elizabethan style with olive branch decorations, hares and hounds, and stained glass windows. The three rooms all opened to the public in 1868 and were designed to showcase a range of different contemporary styles. In addition, originally there were different menus for different social classes. The Victoria and Albert Museum's (V&A) cafe, located in London, is open from 10am to 5pm, Monday to Friday and serves a variety of different coffees, pastries, sandwiches, salads, cakes, freshly baked scones and speciality teas. London is also home to a weird museum located underneath an office, and it is free to enter. Plus, a major new museum is due to open in the city in 2027.
The Irish Sun
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
World's oldest museum cafe is one of the most beautiful in the UK
THE WORLD'S oldest museum cafe can be found in the UK - and it's barely changed in 150 years. Found inside the Victoria and Albert Museum, the ornate room dates back to 1868. Advertisement 5 The cafe opened to the public in 1868 Credit: ©Victoria & Albert Museum, London 5 There are three themed sections to the cafe Credit: ©Victoria & Albert Museum, London Originally designed by James Gamble, William Morris and Edward Poynter, the V&A's cafe features opulent decorations showcasing the style of the Victorian era. The cafe has been serving customers for over 150 years and was the first of its kind. Museums originally never used to have cafes or anywhere for visitors to rest and enjoy refreshments, until Henry Cole came up with the idea of introducing an in-house refreshment room. Cole had learnt about the needs of visitors when he managed The Great Exhibition in 1851. Advertisement Read more on museums One of the things that was high priority for visitors, was being fed and watered. Many other museums took until the 20th century to introduce a refreshment room. Large lights hang from the ceiling, stained glass windows litter the walls, grand arches stretch across the structure and colourful ceramic tiles line the floors. The cafe essentially splits into three sections, each designed by a different artist. Advertisement Most read in City breaks The Gamble Room was designed by James Gamble, the Poynter Room by Edward J. Poynter, and The Morris Room by Over the past 15 decades, not much inside the cafe has changed. World's biggest $1B mega-museum built for body of King Tut to open Artwork is spread across the walls, and there are a number of The Gamble Room, which was originally known as the Centre Refreshment Room, was the largest and intended to be the first room visitors saw. Advertisement The room features a Renaissance Revival style, with colourful tiles and enamelled ceiling plates and was even compared to the glitz of Paris at the time. The Poynter Room, was initially the Grill Room, and features blue-toned tiles with Dutch influences. Eastern-inspired motifs including peacocks and waves, depictions of the months, seasons and zodiacs can also be seen across the room. The tiles were painted by female art students, which was an unusual commission for women at the time. Advertisement 5 William Morris even designed a section of the cafe Credit: ©Victoria & Albert Museum, London 5 The cafe is open everyday, 10am to 5pm Credit: Alamy The third room, the Morris Room, was originally the Green Dining Room and designed by Morris before he was famous. The room features a Gothic Revival and Elizabethan style with olive branch decorations, hares and hounds, and stained glass windows. Advertisement The three rooms all opened to the public in 1868 and were designed to showcase a range of different contemporary styles. In addition, originally there were different menus for different social classes. The Victoria and Albert Museum's (V&A) cafe, located in London, is open from 10am to 5pm, Monday to Friday and serves a variety of different coffees, pastries, sandwiches, salads, cakes, freshly baked scones and speciality teas. London is also home to a weird museum located underneath an office, and it is free to enter. Advertisement Plus, a 5 The cafe also features a lot of artwork and different styles Credit: ©Victoria & Albert Museum, London
Mint
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
Giving Sawantwadi ganjifa cards a new lease of life
The Sawantwadi ganjifa handpainted cards came into the national spotlight last year when it was awarded the Geographical Indication tag. The recognition also brought to the fore the conservation efforts by the erstwhile royal family of the region. According to Shraddha Lakham Sawant Bhonsle, the granddaughter-in-law of the family, Maharashtra's Sawantwadi is perhaps the few places in India where ganjifa is still alive. This style of hand-painted cards first originated in Persia and came to India with the Mughals. They were adapted to the storyline of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata , with Hindu deities being painted on the cards. 'The game was brought to Sawantwadi by the Telangana Brahmins, who came here from Andhra Pradesh to study dharmashastra in the 16th century during the reign of Khem Sawant Bhonsle III," elaborates Bhonsle. 'During the 18th and 19th centuries, our ancestors built a lot of schools to teach ganjifa. Sadly, over a period of time, the art diminished as many artists went their own separate ways." So much of the art was lost that even her grandparents-in-law were not aware of its existence. One day, when her grandfather-in-law was going about his rounds to meet the people of Sawantwadi, he met an artist called Pundalik Chitari, who was painting the Dashavatar ganjifa on his porch. He was immediately drawn to it and informed his wife, Satvashiladevi Bhonsle, about the same—both decided to revive this art form by creating a company called Sawantwadi Lacquerware. 'A few months later, my grandmother-in-law received a letter from one of her pen friends that they had seen the Sawantwadi playing cards displayed at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. That's when the family decided to further the revival efforts by introducing more items inspired by the ganjifa cards," says Bhonsle. They collaborated with Chitari and invited artists from other regions to learn the art. The journey which started way back in the 1970s is being taken forward by Bhonsle and her mother-in-law, Shubhadadevi Bhonsle. They currently work with 14 artists. Also read: 'Signed, Lower Right': Devraj Dakoji's tryst with printmaking This art form is in danger of dying out as there is no state support for the artists. 'This was also the reason for converting a part of our palace into an art hotel. Because we have people coming here to stay from different corners of the world, we are able to promote the art more widely," she adds. Through free workshops, guests also get to know what makes the Sawantwadi ganjifa so distinct. The region is known for the Dashavatar ganjifa, based on the 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu. It is signified by the use of bright colours like red, green and yellow. Also, unlike the Western playing cards, the ganjifa cards are often circular. 'That's because in Indian mythology, there are no sharp corners. Unlike the West, the game was more widely played by women than men in India. There is a religious subtext too. Because the game involved saying the names of deities, people believed they were washing off some of their sins by playing it. As deities are painted on the cards, no one could gamble with them," explains Bhonsle. Apart from the Dashavatar, her family has also designed other types of cards related to animals and birds, the alphabet, star signs, and the cosmos. The idea is to educate people on different subjects through a game. To usher a medieval game into the contemporary era, Bhonsle and her family are entering into a number of collaborations with corporates. This also spells into better commissions for the artists. Instead of just creating traditional card sets, Bhonsle and the artists are working on modern styles for organisations such as Swadesh and Jaypore. 'For Swadesh, we have done darts and UNO sets. UNO is an easier game to play, so people are very engaged with it. For Jaypore, we are doing Ludo based on the ganjifa motifs," says Bhonsle. 'We are also collaborating with MeMeraki, working on ganjifa bridal wear with an artist, hand-painted saris with a boutique store in Kolhapur, floral motifs for a crockery brand, and jewellery with designers. A museum of cards is in the works." Meanwhile, her family is working on several initiatives for the artists. For instance, they are collaborating with an organisation called Streekon to promote women artists in Sawantwadi. 'The idea is to get more women involved with the art and work with us on a daily basis." Sona Bahadur is an independent journalist and author based in Mumbai. Also read: 'Beyond Face Value': What French banknotes tell us about history
