Exhibition of artefacts, paintings from across the country organised for G20 leaders' spouses

A coin from the Samudragupta Maurya period depicting him playing the Veena, a piece for jewellery from 2000 BCE, and exhibits from the museums of Mathura, Kolkata and Chandigarh are part of an exhibition that the culture ministry is putting up for G20 spouses at the National Gallery of Modern Art. 

Culture ministry officials said that the exhibition, titled ‘Roots to Routes’ will be a “rare assemblage” of Indian artefacts. Sculptures of the Amravati friezes, Gandhara and Mathura art pieces, Chola Bronzes, manuscripts and paintings will be part of the exhibits. Archaeological artefacts, literature, numismatics, epigraphy, and paintings will be flown in from some of the most prominent Indian museums. 

This includes Kolkata’s Indian Museum, the Government Museums of Chandigarh, Chennai and Mathura, Kolkata’s Asiatic Society, the National Museum, the National Library, and site museums of the ASI based in Sarnath, Nalanda, Nagarjunakonda and Sanchi, besides NGMA and the Indira Gandhi National Center for Arts. Participant countries are also sending exhibits, and the exhibition will have a walkthrough time of 45 minutes, said sources. 

“The selection of artefacts was carefully undertaken with a focus on historical significance, artistic merit and thematic relevance. The curatorial challenge of bringing together these priceless artefacts from all across India was made possible through close collaboration with all partners and meticulous logistical planning,” the ministry said in a statement. 

Culture ministry sources said that apart from the NGMA exhibition, G20 spouses will also be sample a curated menu at Jaipur House, and taken to a tour of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute at Pusa, besides meeting women farmers. 

Ministry officials also said that they have built a 27ft Nataraja figure weighing around 20 tons using traditional casting methods made of ashta-dhatu (eight metals) will be up for display at the Bharat Mandapa. “The Nataraja is created by the traditional Sthapatis of Swamimalai in the traditional lost wax casting process following canons and measurements as mentioned in Silpa Shastra, which have followed in the making of Nataraja since the Chola period, that dates back to the century,” the ministry said.