Exhibition ‘Dandi Yatra’ inaugurated as part of 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi

(UNI) An exhibition ‘Dandi Yatra” , showcasing the unseen drawings of artist Chhaganlal Jadav and also the master works of NGMA’s collection of contemporaneous artists to Gandhi ji like Nandlal Bose, Upendra Maharathi and Ram Kinkar Baij, who also gave their impressions on this great event, was on Saturday inaugurated as part of the celebrations of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Being organised by the National Gallery of Modern Art under the Ministry of Culture, the exhibition was inaugurated by Dr. Y.P Anand, a Senior Gandhian and former Director, National Gandhi Museum, New Delhi.

This exhibition is part of the celebrations of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Father of the Nation, to propagate his message of peace.

This exhibition showcases the unseen drawings of artist Chhaganlal Jadav and also the master works of NGMA’s collection of contemporaneous artists to Gandhi ji like Nandlal Bose, Upendra Maharathi and Ram kinkar Baij, etc, who also gave their impressions on this great event.

Speaking at the event Mr Adwaita Gadanayak, Director General, NGMA Delhi, said,’the exhibition showcases historical drawings of the journey of the Salt March from Sabarmati Satyagraha Ashram, Kochrab to Dandi, a small coastal village in Gujarat. The journey, covering 240 miles took 12 night halts and was witness to the breaking of the British law for salt.

At that time, a veritable ocean of people had been drawn to this march, making it one of the largest mass movements of the world. A large number of media persons and artists from across the world were also drawn to this event. An unsung Satyagrahi and artist Chhaganlal Jadav, in his tiny drawing book, had captured some known/unknown faces from amongst the participants of this epic journey towards Swaraj.’

These landmark drawings that are part of our living history are presently a part of the personal collection of the Dr. Rizwan Qadri from Ahmadabad, who brought these drawings to light and shared them with NGMA for purpose of showcasing them for the first time, through the exhibition, he added.

The exhibition will be open for public from December 30 onwards from 11.00 am to 6.30 pm on all working days expect for Mondays and National Holidays.

The function was also attended by Dipankar Gyan , Director, Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti and Mr S C Barma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Culture among other dignitaries.