Preserving History

There have been paintings in the President's house which he and his team have restored. There were paintings which had flicking. The conservators had to conserve them using full and strip lining as the textile became weak. The team had restored and conserved 155 paintings on panels in the Parliament House too. "These paintings were on masonite wood. We work only on the portion that needs conservation and ensure that the process we use to conserve this heritage is reversible, so that the heritage is not damaged even when the textile of process used in conservation is harmed," he explains. The lab also received 70 articles from Kumaon regiment for repairs.

The lab keeps records of every article being preserved. The team has worked several days to conserve a roof painting in the Prime Minister's office in the South Block. "It was an honour when an officer of Kumaon Regiment came and shook hands. He was awed by the conservation tasks we have performed on their collection of historical artefacts. An MP asked me to restore the painting of Subhash Chandra Bose ahead of others while we were working in the Parliament. The job has its perks," laughs Nagta.

Rummaging through photographs of his assignments, Nagta does not make any fuss about his job which obviously has national importance. All he wants is to share the work he and his colleagues have done.

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