Letters

A collection of letters discussing the role of the state in the preservation and promotion of art and culture, by one of India’s greatest artists.

The seventeen letters in this collection were written by K.G. Subramanyan in response to requests from ＂various quarters＂ about matters ranging from the National Policy of Education to the government’s seeming preference for erecting statues of dead men and organizing grand Republic Day parades rather than for preserving the myriad threads of cultural tradition and ensuring the survival of the Indian value system against the onslaught of a ＂Western＂ lifestyle. As Subramanyan writes in his preface, although he has no proof that any of his views and suggestions translated into practice, the very writing of them was, for him, a process of thinking through a range of issues that pertain not merely to art and aesthetics but to life itself.

K. G. Subramanyan (1924-2016) was one of India’s most respected artists. He was part of the arts faculty at M. S. University, Baroda, and was professor emeritus at the Kala Bhavan Center at Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan, India. In 2012, he received the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian award, for his outstanding contribution to the arts. His other books include Moving Focus: Essays on Indian Art and Living Tradition: Perspectives on Modern Indian Art, both also published by Seagull Books.