Thu, 15 Jan

India Habitat Centre Takes Art to Metro Stations

The Habitat Initiative: Art in Public Spaces with Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation

In the erstwhile Princely State of Udaipur, Mewar meticulous documentation was a way of life. After India became independent haqiqat bahidas (daily diary), books, documents, maps, architectural drawings, letters and photographs of former State of Udaipur, Mewar are being preserved in the City Palace of Udaipur.

Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation (MMCF), Maharana Mewar Research Institute (MMRI) and Maharana Mewar Special Library continue to be repositories of rich historical resources of Mewar over the last five decades. With the advent of technology, especially digitization, MMCF has been at the forefront of digitally documenting its legacies and making it possible for scholars and academicians from all over the world to access these invaluable and archival resources.

MMCF has pioneered the concept of ‘living heritage’ in India by developing a constantly evolving model of managing heritage and keeping it alive, dynamic and relevant to the changing times. "Heritage management had always been witnessed as inflexible, rigid and pertaining merely to preserving historic monuments. With ‘living heritage’ there is dynamism which includes the intangible with the tangible heritage, facilitating development and economic freedom through modern facilities in ancient environments and with inherited skills," believes Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar.

MMCF shares ancient legacies of Mewar through broad based participation and making it sustainable. Since 2008, the Museum Archives of the Maharanas of Mewar has been unveiling its photographic collections in India and overseas.

For the first time in New Delhi, the historic photographs, and painted photographs, have been showcased in the metro-stations, under the aegis of the India Habitat Centre and DMRC.

Modern visual displays are the perfect means to reach out to new and young audiences in the cities. It is an opportunity to introduce them to new ideas and historical concepts, especially those relating to the visual arts. The Museum Archives photographic collection has provided the perfect opportunity to bridge the past with the present. Metro-commuters have been introduced to not only the Custodians of the world's oldest-serving dynasty in Udaipur but have also grasped the significance of photography and its technological evolution in the Indian sub-continent, thanks to the patronage of the erstwhile Princely State of Udaipur, Mewar and the MMCF in the 21st century.

Dr. Mangu Singh, Managing Director, DMRC and Mr. Kiran Karnik, President, India Habitat Centre inaugurated the exhibition with Mr. Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar of Udaipur, Trustee, Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation as Guest of Honour. Dr. Alka Pande, Curator of the exhibition and Ms. Vrinda Raje Singh, CEO-JCI, MMCF were also present for the occasion.


Inside Jor bagh Metro Station


Photographs displayed at the Art exhibition