East Side Story

As you enter gallery 1AQ, a black-and-white lithograph of Qutub Minar by William Daniell catches the eye. "If you observe it closely, you'll notice that the top-most balcony depicted in the artwork is missing now. It fell off years ago," says gallerist Anubhav Nath, pointing out to one of the 300 works that comprise the untitled exhibition. Featuring lithographs, aquatints, steel and wood engravings, this looks at India of the early 1800s and 1900s, and life under the colonial rule through the work of 10 artists, including Thomas and William Daniell, W Lloyd, Captain R Elliot RN, Atkinson and Mortimer Menpes.

"The collection comprises works of European artists. It gives us their perspective and what they thought of India. Most of these were used for documentation, to show the westerners how life was in the East, back then" says Nath, who sourced the works from a private collector.

The themes are varied — ranging from the monuments of India to the religious festivals. However, in most of the works, the British are depicted as rulers, while the Indians engage in meager jobs. W Lloyd's lithograph, for instance, has British women dressed in white gowns playing tennis with their male counterparts, while Indian children run around the court to collect the balls. Atkinson's coloured lithograph Our Magistrate's Wife, has an Indian woman dressed in white sari, combing the hair of a British magistrate's wife seated on a chair, while another servant massages her feet. "Even after 200 years, the kind of dresses we wear and the traditions we have remain the same," says Nath.

The exhibition at 1AQ gallery, near Qutub Minar, is on till October 15. Contact : 26644145

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