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Table of Contents
  Index
  Assorted Paintings
  Kashmir School of Painting
  Miniature Paintings 
  Image Gallery
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Koshur Music

An Introduction to Spoken Kashmiri

Panun Kashmir

Milchar

Symbol of Unity

 
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Kashmiri Painters

The Kashmir school of painting is an obscure topic in the otherwise scholarly field of Indian art history, although much has been written about the ancient Kashmiri architecture and sculpture in recent times. It is true that Kashmir yields no archaeological remains of paintings nor do we know anything regarding the painting to reorganise the chronological history of painting in Kashmir. This paucity of archaeological material, of course, poses a severe lacuna in reorganisation and interpretation of the history of painting of Kashmiri people in early days but nevertheless it means that painting was an unknown or omitted discipline of fine arts to the Kashmiri society. An advanced culture like Kashmir that had well organised style of architecture, sculpture and other arts would never ignore the art of painting as it has been a most expressive and lively medium of human feelings and creative impulse. However, paintings being fragile in nature have completely disappeared from Kashmir on account of its unsuitable climatic conditions and ravages of wars. But the paintings created by the medieval artists of Kashmir have fortunately survived in the Trans-Himalayan region where climate preserved them. The earliest surviving examples of Kashmiri painting come from Gilgit which date from about 8th century A. D. Paintings discovered from Gilgit represent a highly developed style which did not appear overnight. Kashmiri craftsmen, long-famed in the North Western Indian peninsula, used to be invited to Central Asia and Tibet to decorate Buddhist monasteries. All the earliest monasteries of Tibet and Western Tibetan provinces used their services and their artifacts were in ever greater demand.

References of paintings in ancient Kashmir literature are very limited and scattered. It is only by piecing together the literary references and combining them with sculptural index a picture emerges of plausible form of painting which corresponds to the paintings that are preserved in the Buddhist temples of Ladakh and Western Tibet. Ancient Tibetan chronicles register clear evidences pertaining to the school of painting in medieval Kashmir. Biography of the great Tibetan scholar Rinchen Sangpo (950 - 1055 A . D.) registers an important reference that he visited Kashmir three times from Guge to obtain the services of Kashmiri craftsmen and teachers to reorganise and re-establish Buddhism in the Tibetan world. He is credited to have built one hundred and eight temples in Western Tibet with the help of seventy five skilled Kashmiri craftsmen and painters. In certain stances, name of particular artist is found. Some of the temples of this epoch have survived which still preserve the markmanship of those artists who were invited to build and decorate the temples. Another important information is recorded by the 16th century Tibetan polygrapher, Lama Taranath who writes in his "History of Buddhism in India " that when the kings Dharmapala and Devapala (8th-9th century) were ruling in Eastern India, there flourished two art schools namely, the Eastern Indian School established by Dhiman and the Madhyadesha school established by Pritipal son of the former. At the same time, Kashmir had its own distinct school of painting and metal casting under Hasuraja. Lama Taranath further comments that the school of Kashmiri art was influenced by the Madhyadesha school upto some degree. There was another school localised in Marwar established by Sringadhari which spread its influence far away in Kashmir, Punjab and in the northwestern provinces, of India. ... More ...

Source: Kashmir School of Painting by Dr. A. K. Singh

Source of most of the paintings: Koshur Samachar

Featured Collections

Dina Nath Walli
The natural grandeur of the valley had a magic effect on young Walli's mind who was simply bewitched by the colourful phenomena pervading throughout the length and the breadth of Kashmir. Having drunk at the source he worked with a true abandon and revelled in the ecstasy of his own creative composition.
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  Manohar Kaul
Manohar Kaul's genre is of course varied - except for some portraits. The painter has struck to his original inspiration, he has been only true to himself. His is a work only of joy, but perhaps, joy is the supreme quality in art.
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Veer Munshi
Veer's canvases present images which are intriguing. They cross average notions of reality and pass into a surreal realm. Veer Munshi has not only painted his own experiences of Islamic fundamentalist and terrorist forces in Kashmir, but has done a yeoman service to depict the overall human rights situation in Kashmir through his paintings.
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  Maheshwar Nath Dhar
Being unknown in the eyes of general people of J&K, nobody was his teacher. As such it was he himself as was quoted by him. The inner spirit that guided him along the path "The voice came from inside", he adds.
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Kailash Nath Fotedar
The painter from Sathoo Bar-Bar Shah locality (paternal grandfather of the webmaster).
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  K. Khosa
Khosa born 1940 has been working as a professional painter since 1962. Held ten solo shows in Delhi, Bombay and Calcutta. Having used ink, pencil and oil, he has participated in the major national and international exhibitions bringing him the 'National Award' in 1981 and the President of India's Silver Plaque in 1974.
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Kishori Kaul
Kishori Kaul was born in Srinagar in 1939. Her father was a Kashmiri Pandit of unorthodox views serving in the Government. She studied in Annie Besant School, Srinagar. The year 1953 was a year of great significance for her. She fell ill with tuberculosis and while she lay tossing between hope and disappointment, her grandfather, Narayan Mu, her grandmother whose father was Narayan Muratgar, a celebrated painter of the late 19th century, placed before her brush, colours and paper and thereby set the ball of aesthetic sensibility rolling in her mind. 
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  Ghulam Rasool Santosh
Santosh was born in Srinagar, Kashmir in 1929. He took to many devotions-painting, weaving, papier-mache and then to kashmiri poetry. For two years 1954-56, he went to Baroda University on the Government of India Cultural Scholarship to study under Prof. N.N Bendra. He was awarded Padma Shree in 1977 and then in 1978 he published a selection of poems in Kashmiri. 
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Triloke Kaul
Sri Triloke Kaul belonged to the first generation of artists who formed the Progressive Artists Association of Kashmir. To his generation belonged the artists like Shri. P.N. Kachru (Rainawari), Late Sh. Somnath Bhat (from Ganpatyar, first and foremost a landscape painter), Ghulam Rasul Santosh (who earned a name through his Tantric style of painting), Sh. Bansi Parimu (from Habbakadal, a flamboyant and articulating personality, ...  >>>
  Suraj Tiku
Sh. Suraj Tiku was not only very interested in painting but also theatre was his passion. He acted in dramas staged by the first theatre group Kala-Kendra in the beginning at its Shivalaya stage and later at Tagore Hall, Srinagar. He made set decoration and painted background scenes for dramas. >>>
   
P.N. Kachru

 

  Kapil Kaul
   
Prof. Sant Ji Sultan   Bansi Parimu

 

   
Anil NakhasiAnil Nakhasi    

 

   

Born, Srinagar - 1938, Gave up studies at college to join school of arts, Trivandrum, Kerala, Started career as a craftsman - 1959, started painting - 1965, Visited U.S.A. and Painted - 1980, selected by National Institute of Designs, Ahmedabad for a training program of "Craft Design" >>>

   Naran Murzgar
His real name was Naranju Kachru and lived through latter part of the 19th and early 20th century. >>>
   

Rajinder Tiku

Rajinder Tiku is a famed sculpture artist of Kashmir. His contributions to the art of sculpture has received wide acclaim even at the international level. In recognition of his services, Tiku was recently awarded the prestigious Pollock Krasner Foundation Grant. >>>

 

Ashutosh Sapru

Gokal Dembi

Image Gallery

   
Assorted Collection of Paintings
Paintings by Gokal Dembi, Bushan Kaul, Rajinder Tiku, Geeta Das, Janardhan Bhat Braroo and others.
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  Kashmir School of Miniature Paintings
The story of art in Kashmir opens with a pre-historic rock drawing discovered at the Neolithic site of Burzahom depicting a hunting scene. A subsequent stage of development is represented by master-pieces of art in the shape of Harwan tiles and Ushkar (Wushkar) stucco figures.
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Kashmir School of Painting
Paintings being fragile in nature have completely disappeared from Kashmir on account of its unsuitable climatic conditions and ravages of wars. But the paintings created by the medieval artists of Kashmir have fortunately survived in the Trans-Himalayan region where climate preserved them.
>>>
 

The Kashmir Movement - Founders and Trendsetters
Writers and thinkers of Kashmir, as elsewhere in the country, were also trying to establish the status of art in the region. An organization named "the National Cultural Front" was founded on the idea and principle of democracy, in November 1947.  >>>

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