Lucknow Earns UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy Tag for Awadhi Cuisine – Here’s Why

November 5, 2025

On October 31, 2025, at the 43rd session of UNESCO’s General Conference in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on World Cities Day, UNESCO formally ascribed Lucknow to its Creative Cities Network as a Creative City of Gastronomy, situating Uttar Pradesh’s capital on the global scroll of international cities with a living culinary tradition. This is a global recognition and acknowledgement of the city’s rich culinary heritage. Following Hyderabad, Lucknow is the second Indian city to join this elite global network in the gastronomical category. The badge that has been conferred upon the city is a celebration of its century-old tradition and a thriving community of food artisans, and a commitment to using food as a driver for sustainable urban growth and international exchange. With Lucknow becoming a recipient of this accreditation, the city now holds more responsibilities to protect and promote its culinary knowledge and empower small-scale producers and vendors to align themselves with the global food nexus.

The Historical Roots of Awadhi Gastronomy

To inquire about the reasons for choosing Lucknow, one must trace its history to Oudh. The distinctive rise of the Awadhi cuisine occurred because of the patronage of the Nawabs of Awadh from the 18th century onwards. The distinctiveness of this cuisine lies in the assimilation of Persianate courtly culinary practices with Indian ingredients, techniques, and preferences. The Nawabs, known for their refined tastes and patronage of arts, paved a path for the metamorphosis of cooking from a necessity to a craft known as rakabdari. The royal kitchen produced slow-cooking techniques, notably the dum pukht, literally, ‘to breathe and to cook’, layered with spices, resulting in dishes with seamless texture and balance of flavours; this is the hallmark that continues to be Lucknow’s signature repertoire. This technique involves sealing compact ingredients in a heavy base vessel, such as a handi, and cooking for hours on a low flame. While Mughal cuisine involved heavy use of spices and nuts, the Awadhi cuisine is more oriented towards a nuanced use of spices for the purpose of infusing its delicate flavours and texture in the food.

Well, the legend of the origin of this cuisine is connected to a benevolent king who was concerned about feeding his subjects during a harsh famine. He is said to have ordered the workers to cook the food in sealed vessels to preserve heat and flavour, and the resulting dish was so exquisite that it actually turned out to be a royal staple. Lucknow is rightly often described as a place whose food is fit for the kings. A plethora of Kebabs, Sheermal breads, biryani, and desserts are often associated with “Lucknawi” taste. The exquisite kebabs are the result of the contribution of the royal chefs, the Khansamas. The most famous among the kebabs is undoubtedly the Galouti Kebab. The melt-in-the-mouth experience, and the striking flavour of a blend of over 100 spices, is truly unmatched. This delicacy was created for a Nawab who had lost his teeth, but his love for meat remained.

Lucknow-Culture-Final — Cilture of Lucknow

Another interesting instance is attested to the Kakori Kebab, which is said to have been invented when a British officer criticized the rough texture of the Seekh Kebab. The royal master chef, known as the rakabdar, of the Nawab of Kakori, created a softer version using of it by using a specific cut of mutton, raan ki machhli, and adding khyoya for smoothness. The Seekh Kebab, on the other hand, is the local adaptation of the traditional Central Asian shish kebab that was refined in the Nawabi kitchens and was given a more smoky and grilled texture with a spicier taste.

This list can not end without mentioning the Yakhni pulao, also known as the Awadhi Biryani. This version is subtle as compared to its southern counterparts and emphasizes more on a delicate aroma and balance of flavours rather than a zesty use of spices. Other signatures of the region include Nihari, a slow-cooked mutton stew; Sheermal, a saffron-flavoured mild sweet naan; and the Shahi Tukda and Malai Gilori, desserts that incorporate milk, saffron, and dry fruits.

Decoding the Tag

Ganga-Jamuni-Tehzeeb-01 — Image – Wikimedia

UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network does three practical things: it recognizes the city’s creative and cultural assets, opens doors to international cooperation and exchange, and provides better scopes for funding & partnerships. Thirdly, it also asks member cities to deliver and report on actionable programmes such as documentation, education, vendor support, food safety, and sustainable sourcing, among them. The nomination dossier prepared by Uttar Pradesh Tourism Directorate and the Ministry of Culture surpasses the royal kitchens. Over 20,000 street food vendors and home-based female chefs’ voices were recorded. This culmination reached 70,000 recordings and was basically intended to showcase the inclusive food culture that runs through the throbbing pulse of the city. It is a beautiful demarcation of the Ganga-jamuni Tehzeeb, or the fusion of Hindu-Muslim cultures that still binds the city in the threat of unity. Famous street food like the Tokri Chaat and desserts such as Ram Asrey were also recognized as vital components of the foodscape of Lucknow. With opportunities also come obligations. The tag amplified Lucknow’s responsibility to protect its food from concrete commercialization, which could completely strip off its essence.

Government Response and National Significance

The Government of India and Uttar Pradesh authorities welcomed the recognition with open arms and also considered it a major cultural milestone. As the Prime Minister’s Office (PIB) published the Prime Minister’s message welcoming UNESCO’s decision and calling the designation a reflection of Lucknow’s “vibrant culture,” whose core includes its culinary traditions. The UN India mission also highlighted that Lucknow has become the second Indian city to be formally recognised in the gastronomy category, joining Hyderabad, which UNESCO designated in 2019, hence recognizing India’s zealous presence in global gastronomy.

Challenges to Anticipate

A UNESCO tag definitely raises expectations. Cities are likely to face tensions between booming tourism and daily life. The prudentiality of the real gains will rely heavily on policy choices, such as inclusive programming, heritage documentation, support for entrepreneurs, food safety training, and incentives. UNESCO membership provides the stage of upliftment, but it is the local governance that must transform this recognition into livelihoods.

Lucknow Cuisine	Key Points
Designation	UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy, announced on October 31, 2025 (World Cities Day).
Significance	Lucknow becomes the second Indian city after Hyderabad to earn this prestigious global culinary title.
Core Cuisine	Awadhi cuisine — celebrated for refinement, balanced flavors, and delicate cooking methods rooted in Nawabi traditions.
Signature Technique	Dum Pukht — a slow-cooking method sealing ingredients for rich aroma and texture, symbolic of Awadhi mastery.
Iconic Dishes	Galouti Kebab, Kakori Kebab, Awadhi Biryani, Nihari, Sheermal, Tokri Chaat, and Shahi Tukda.
Inclusivity	Highlights Lucknow’s Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb, uniting royal kitchens, home chefs, and over 20,000 street food vendors.
UCCN Criteria	Met UNESCO benchmarks for heritage preservation, creative sustainability, and global cultural exchange.
Impact	Elevates Lucknow’s global stature, encourages sustainable gastronomy, and promotes culinary tourism and livelihoods.
Key Highlights	• Announced during UNESCO’s 43rd General Conference in Samarkand. • Recognizes Awadhi cuisine as a living cultural asset of global value. • Connects Lucknow to international food collaborations and exchange programs. • Welcomed by the Government of India as a symbol of national cultural pride. • Promotes sustainable food practices and heritage documentation.
Takeaway	Lucknow’s UNESCO Gastronomy title honors its royal kitchens and vibrant street food culture, while urging sustainable preservation of culinary heritage for future generations.

Key highlights

Awadhi_jalebi — Awadhi Jalebi – Wikimedia

UNESCO announced Lucknow’s inclusion on World Cities Day 2025, in a 58-city expansion of the Creative Cities Network.
The inscription recognises Awadhi cuisine, dum cooking, kebabs, biryani, kormas, breads, and sweets as a living cultural asset documented by national cultural programmes.
The designation formally connects Lucknow to global exchange platforms, technical support channels, and collaborative projects oriented to sustainable food culture.
The Government of India publicly welcomed the tag and framed it as a matter of national cultural pride.

Takeaway

The UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy designation is undoubtedly a triumphant moment as it rightly validates the historical depth of Awadhi cuisine. However, the true victory lies in the future. This tag is a call for action for the city’s government, chefs, and citizens alike to reframe food as a domain of cultural knowledge and creativity. The city must ensure that the wave of tourism and commercialization is judiciously managed to empower the people toiling around fire and creating delicacies, protect the indigenous ingredients, and preserve the culinary techniques. Lucknow’s food is a breathing museum; its status as a Creative City must ensure that it continues as unadulterated, for centuries to come.

FAQs on Lucknow’s UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy Tag

Question: When and where was the designation announced?

Answer: UNESCO announced Lucknow’s designation as a Creative City of Gastronomy on 31st October 2025 (World Cities Day), during the 43rd General Conference in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The announcement included 58 new cities joining the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.

Question: What part of Lucknow’s food culture did UNESCO recognise?

Answer: The recognition celebrates Lucknow’s living Awadhi culinary traditions — its recipes, techniques, and cultural practices connecting palace kitchens, household cooks, and street vendors. These traditions form a vital part of India’s documented food heritage.

Question: Is Lucknow the first Indian city to get this tag?

Answer: No. Lucknow is the second Indian city to be designated a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy, following Hyderabad, which earned the recognition in 2019.

Question: Does the UNESCO tag bring funding or automatic protection?

Answer: The designation itself does not include direct funding or protection. However, it offers access to international cooperation, cultural partnerships, and technical exchanges. Governments can leverage the platform to create support schemes for culinary heritage preservation and sustainable development.

Question: How can local vendors, cooks, and communities benefit?

Answer: The benefits depend on inclusive city policies. Initiatives such as oral history documentation, food safety training, micro-grants, and local branding can empower small producers. The UNESCO network enables Lucknow to collaborate globally and adopt best practices for heritage-based livelihoods.

Ticket Tika Chaap: MAP Bengaluru Explores the Art of Colonial Textile Branding

Kriti Sen

November 5, 2025

The story of global trade is often narrated through economic policies, ledgers, and cargo manifests, but ironically, in the colonial phase in India, it was more rooted in small articles, paper labels, etc. The exhibition “Ticket Tika Chaap: The Art of the Trademark in the Indo-British Textile Trade,” at the Museum of Art & Photography (MAP), Bengaluru, dives deep into such forgotten artifacts as glossy, postcard-sized paper labels, known as tikats, tikas, or chaaps, that were affixed to lengths of British and Indian mill-made cloth sold across the Indian subcontinent from the late 19th to the mid-20th century. These small labels bore the footprint of the economic empire of the colonialists and also became a means to reflect on the nature of political ideologies that existed at that time. Scheduled to run till February 15, 2026, this exhibition is curated by Nathaniel Gaskell and Shrey Maurya.

The Birth of Branding on the Subcontinent

In the late 19th century, the British products of the textile mills in Manchester flooded the vast Indian market with millions of yards of machine-spun cotton. While this reflected the affluence of British goods in India, it also posed a commercial issue of how a merchant could distinguish their mass-produced bale of cloth from that of a competitor. The Indian market was indeed a booming sphere. Still, the majority of people purchasing the British goods were illiterate, and thus a presentation of visually relatable hallmark was the need of the hour. The solution that they came up with was creating a textile ticket.

At first glance, the tikat is no larger than a postcard. These were printed in beautiful chromolithography, a brand-new colour printing technology that revolutionized printing in the 19th century. Tags like “Made in England” or the maker’s watermark were also mentioned in these tickets to distinguish the products from others available on the market. Through this exhibition, MAP attempted to situate these little tokens of history in the intersection of economic and socio-political history of colonial India. The labels were stuck on the topmost layer of a cloth, and they displayed information about the quality and origin of the fabric, transforming the act of purchase into an emotional exchange.

The motive of deploying these printed labels was to create a mass appeal across regions, religions, and people who spoke different tongues. By seeking the shelter of devotional imagery, imperial symbols, romantic scenes, and local motifs, the Britishers attempted to sanitize the notion of their products being “foreign” and package them in an Indian way, and let the Indian masses consume them. Through these ways, they made their products appear more relatable, appealing, legitimate, and desirable to the Indians. Thus, the Chaaps were foundational to India’s consumer culture, post-colonial studies, and global history of trade.

Desire or Deception?

The labels were a successful drive of visual diplomacy. Motifs of these labels ranged widely, often incorporating Hindu deities like Lakshmi (the goddess of wealth) and Saraswati, mythological scenes, portraits of Maharajas and British monarchs (sometimes seated on top of the world to symbolize colonial power), Indian monuments like the Taj Mahal, and exoticized images of women in lush gardens. In the opinions of scholars and critics, these Tikats and Chaaps were powerful colonial instruments that helped in ‘naturalizing’ the incoming influx of mill cloth into markets that were built on centuries of handloom production. Thus shaping of Indian consumer identity was made through making Indians consume foreign goods, packaged in Indian form.

These designs often involved explicit cultural appropriation or intellectual copying. Research reveals instances where ticket artists in England drew inspiration from sources including Indian miniature paintings, calendar art, and even contemporary American paintings. A label that replicated a scene by American artist Maxwell Parrish replaced the figures with women draped in a sari for the Indian market. This propounds the fact that the world of advertising operated on the principle of effective, albeit culturally uncontextualized, persuasion.

Threads of Empire and Resistance

As post-colonial scholars have rightly highlighted, the bright images actually conceal the dark economic reality of Britain’s cotton dominance, which was secured through high tariffs and coercive Company practices that dismantled India’s own handloom industry. One famous ticket, for the firm Shaw Wallace & Co., depicted the connection between “England” and “India” as a bridge formed by the company’s name, showing half-naked Indian men weighing massive quantities of textiles, dissipating the message that it was their backbreaking effort, not the white merchants’, that sustained the connection.

During the growing nationalist and Swadeshi movement, Indian mills began using labels that proudly featured Indian historical figures, sacred sites, and national symbols, appealing to consumers to support domestic production and protest against the consumption of foreign goods. This way, a colonial marketing tool transitioned into an emblem of national resistance.

Event Details

Event	Details
Title	Ticket Tika Chaap: The Art of the Trademark in Indo-British Textile Trade
Venue	Museum of Art & Photography (MAP), Bengaluru
Dates	On view until February 15, 2026
Timings	10:00 AM – 6:00 PM (Closed on Mondays)
Curators	Nathaniel Gaskell and Shrey Maurya
Organised By	Museum of Art & Photography (MAP), Bengaluru, in partnership with Bank of America
Theme	Exploring 19th–20th century textile labels (tikats, tikas, chaaps) as early forms of branding, visual art, and cross-cultural communication in colonial India.
Medium	Chromolithographic prints on paper — used as textile labels on British and Indian mill-made cloth.
Official Website	https://map-india.org

Key highlights

The exhibition reframes tickets as early brand artifacts that shaped consumer perception in colonial India.
Designs range from devotional imagery to imperial iconography, revealing how producers negotiated cultural difference.
MAP pairs the show with public programming (guided walks, printmaker perspectives) and a substantial catalogue/book.
Accessibility and inclusion are foregrounded: audio descriptions, ISL videos, and wheelchair access are part of the museum offering.

Reading the labels today

These labels display a continuity as contemporary brands and garment labelling still perform crucial tasks, as they build emotional associations between product and purchaser. The tickets are linked to the language of trust and offer a brand’s statement on fashion, labour, and transparency.

Takeaway

By bringing one of the most rudimentary materials from history, and presenting those before the masses does two things. It reimagines the neglected visual archive, and secondly, it reminds the audience of the persuasion that often happens at the scale of the intimate and the ornamental. By blending the sacred with the commercial and the colonial with the local, the textile ticket laid the foundations of mass visual communication in India. In the era of fast fashion and rebranding, the Chaap continues to signify a story that goes beyond the product.

Art Mumbai 2025: Black Cube Gallery Showcases Modern to Contemporary Artworks

Kriti Sen

November 4, 2025

Sanya Malik, the visionary Founder of Black Cube Gallery, is set to presents a showcase that brings together a remarkable selection of Modern and Contemporary artists in the 2025 edition of Art Mumbai. Scheduled from 13 to 16 November 2025, at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse, Mumbai (Booth C41), the gallery platform lists an exceptional roster of artists bridging Indian modernism and contemporary practice. The exhibition will feature modern masters like Krishen Khanna, Himmat Shah, and Madhvi Parekh, alongside contemporary voices such as Phaneendra Nath Chaturvedi, Paul Kuntze, and Yashika Sugandh. This synchronization of artistic ethos dismantles the ramparts bounding the traditional ‘white cube’ spaces and promotes inclusivity and diverse practice of artistic engagement.

A Dialogue Across Generations

The gravitas of the legacy of the Progressive Artists’ Group is very well anchored in the vibe of this event. The work of Krishen Khanna offers a deep emotional perspective, as his work is noted for its poignant portrayals of humanity and social commentary. Similarly, Himmat Shah’s contributions, often monolithic and resonant bronze sculptures, present timeless explorations. Madhvi Parekh’s works add more intensity to it. Her folk-inspired yet fiercely contemporary visual language is rooted in memory, mythology, and her early rural experiences in Gujarat. Complementing all of them stands Thota Vaikuntam, whose work is noted for the vivid depictions of rural Telangana.

A-Throne-of-a-Thousand-Wings-_-Acrylic-and-Silk-Embroidery-on-Canvas-_-48-x-36-Inches-2025 — A Throne of a Thousand Wings

On the contemporary edge, Phaneendra Chaturvedi is building a niche with works that interrogate the human condition through allegories. Yashika Sugandh’s functional art adds yet another layer, as she describes how art infuses life, and life reflects art. As Sanya Malik has said, the goal is to break down barriers of accessibility, to host “spaces that adapt and shift” according to the art, rather than expecting the art to conform to rigid gallery norms.

Event Details

Event	Details
Title	Art Mumbai 2025
Event Dates	13–16 November 2025
Location	Booth C41, Mahalaxmi Racecourse, Mumbai
Curator	Sanya Malik, Founder of Black Cube Gallery
Core Theme	Dialogue across generations, mediums, and materials; bridging tradition and innovation.
Mediums Featured	Painting, Sculpture, Embroidery, Jewellery, Functional Art

Key Highlights

Krishen-Khanna--Santosh-Kumar-Been-Walla-(49-x-23-x-27_)-patinated-bronze — Been Walla by Krishen Khanna, Santosh Kumar

The presence of Krishen Khanna, one of India’s most venerable artists, whose deeply human figurative works trace a life in art from the Partition era to contemporary times.
Thota Vaikuntam’s vibrant representations of rural Telangana life, now pushed into sculptural or jewellery‐inspired works that reinterpret his signature female figures.
Himmat Shah, recent passing aside, offers sculptural investigations that fuse proto‐historic iconography with modern abstraction.
Madhvi Parekh’s work—rooted in folk memory, mythology, and daily ritual—provides lyrical depth and continues to speak across generations.
On the contemporary front: Phaneendra Nath Chaturvedi’s evocative figuration probing dystopian or transitional landscapes; Paul Kuntze’s reinterpretation of Baroque frescoes in a contemporary idiom; and Yashika Sugandh’s functional artworks (such as jewellery or crafted forms) that blur the boundary between design and art.
Black Cube’s curatorial model: Sanya Malik has spoken of the gallery’s mission to make art accessible, create flexible spaces rather than a fixed “white cube”, and enable new engagements between viewer and work.

Why This Exhibition Matters?

Mahendra-Kadia-(12-x-12_)-Acrylic-on-canvas — Artwork by Mahendra Kadia

Firstly, the inclusivity exhibited through the able curation places the modern practitioners and veterans on the same plane. Secondly, the choice of media ranges from embroidery, jewellery, functional art, alongside painting and sculpture, emphasising the fluidity of art. Thirdly, Black Cube’s virtue of accessibility and flexible space is very compatible with a city like Mumbai, where art is still desired by the masses as a part of their lives. For the general audience, the event makes a promise to enroute a rare journey of artistic mastery across generations.

Takeaway

Paul_Kuntze-_Mini_Fresko_Series__(20_x_16_)_Acrylic_spray_on_canvas_ — Mini Fresko Series by Paul Kuntze

The exhibition by ART Mumbai is a curated microcosm of Indian art. This is not simply a collection of renowned faces but a construction of a continuity of Indian art. By placing an embroidered piece next to a bronze sculpture and functional art, viewers are put into a well-paved lane that absorbs the eye-pleasing fine art and craft equally. By bringing juxtaposing concepts together, the exhibition definitely values depth over hype.

ICIA Unveils Lineages – Tsherin Sherpa’s Landmark Solo Exhibition in India

Cscope Staff

November 4, 2025

November 03, 2025, Mumbai, India: The Institute of Contemporary Indian Art (ICIA), powered by AstaGuru, is proud to present Lineages — the first ever solo exhibition in India by internationally acclaimed Tibetan contemporary artist Tsherin Sherpa. The exhibition will be on view at the ICIA Gallery, Kala Ghoda, from 6th to 14th November 2025.

About the Artist

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Born in Kathmandu in 1968, Tsherin Sherpa lives and works between Nepal and California. Trained in traditional Tibetan thangka painting under the guidance of his father, Master Urgen Dorje, Sherpa went on to teach the craft in Buddhist centers before evolving a practice that bridges tradition with contemporary expression.

The Exhibition: Lineages

With Lineages, ICIA brings together a selection of Sherpa’s works that navigate between classical Tibetan Buddhist iconography, tantric motifs, global pop culture references, and contemporary visual languages. His art juxtaposes the sacred and the secular, exploring contrasts that question identity, spirituality, and cultural inheritance.
Through this synthesis, Sherpa reflects on themes of diasporic experience, the persistence of ritual practices, and the endurance of artisanal traditions in a modern context.

Global Recognition and Institutional Presence

Over the years, Tsherin Sherpa has earned global recognition, with his works housed in major institutions such as the Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Rubin Museum of Art, New York; Queensland Art Gallery & Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane; Asian Art Museum, San Francisco; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond; and the World Museum, Liverpool.

A Dialogue Between Tradition and Modernity

The exhibition aims to offer Indian audiences an opportunity to engage with Sherpa’s thought-provoking body of work, which has redefined the dialogue between tradition and modernity in contemporary art.

Artist’s Insight: Tsherin Sherpa Speaks

Commenting on the exhibition, Artist Tsherin Sherpa says:
“This exhibition emerged from conversations about artistic connections across South Asia. It represents a new way of engaging with the Indian art landscape offering an overview of my practice rather than the singular works that have previously entered private collections in the country.

The exhibition features works across a range of scales, including carpets such as This is not a Rorschach Test (2022), which has been central to my recent practice. It brings together significant lines of inquiry from the past decade, with pieces like Hawk (2019–2020), earlier exhibited in my retrospective Spirits at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, as well as works such as Luxation 2 (2016), part of a series first presented at the Nepal Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, and now held in major institutional collections worldwide.”

Curatorial Perspective

Speaking on the curation, Larissa Guimaraes, Associate Director at AstaGuru, said:
“It is an honor to present this comprehensive, though condensed, overview of the mediums, themes, and collaborations that define Tsherin Sherpa’s practice. My first encounter with his striking Himalayan-inspired works in Hong Kong, within the context of my work in AstaGuru’s International Art category, left a lasting impression.
The resonance of his aesthetics and mediums with the Indian context which shares overlapping geographies, languages, religions, and rituals with the Kathmandu Valley made a compelling case for bringing his art to the country.

Event Details

Event Details	Description
Exhibition Title	Lineages — Solo Exhibition by Tsherin Sherpa
Organiser	The Institute of Contemporary Indian Art (ICIA), powered by AstaGuru
Artist	Tsherin Sherpa, internationally acclaimed Tibetan contemporary artist
Venue	ICIA Gallery, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai
Dates	November 6 – 14, 2025
Official Link	https://icia.in/lineages/

This exhibition also reflects an experimental model of collaboration with artists and galleries, one that feels especially relevant in a moment of global shifts within the art market. Audiences can expect an exhibition that speaks to both new and seasoned collectors, bridging ancient techniques and themes with ultra-contemporary visual languages.”

An Invitation to Reflect and Engage

The exhibition promises to captivate both seasoned collectors and new audiences, bridging classical techniques with contemporary visual language, and opening a dialogue on cultural continuity, innovation, and the enduring power of art.

For more information, log on to icia.in

Shibu Natesan’s Mirror Man, Mirror Me: A Dialogue Between Self and Space

Kriti Sen

November 4, 2025

New Delhi is hosting a heart-warming solo exhibition, which is illuminated by a profound and subtle examination of perception. These days, where exhibitions seek more spectacle, Shibu Natesan’s Mirror Man, Mirror Me acts quite the opposite by nudging towards a contemplative retreat while analyzing his work. Presented by Art Alive Gallery and on view until 20 November 2025, the solo show brings together a decade of the artist’s watercolour practice, ranging across landscapes, still lifes, and portraits. All these artworks are carefully displayed in a soft-focus and sensitive environment, making it more appealing to the eyes.

The Theme

The thematic core of the exhibition is the symbiotic relationship between the observer and the observed through a dynamic interplay between what’s intrinsic to the internal world and the external reality. This combination is best encapsulated through the well-curated sequential display of artworks, which not only engages the viewers but also actively interacts with them. Natesan does not just etch what he perceives on the outside; he paints how the very act of perception affects the consciousness of people. These images might appear stationary, but are more like a space where the viewers subtly confront their own presence. The exhibition commenced with a dialogue between Natesan and art historian Parul Dave Mukherji on October 8, 2025. This stands as a testament to painterly sensitivity in a fast-paced world.

A calm, rigorous gaze

Natesan’s visual language is highly intimate and looks for a quiet and introspective vision. Across the walls of the gallery, watercolour is used for sustained attention. The technique he uses holds back as much as it reveals; his brushstrokes are more suggestive than insistent. The result is work that enhances the hush of late afternoon and makes the visitors find themselves in the gesture of a tilted head, lost in thought. These paintings reward the patience of the viewer, as looking long enough familiarizes the shifts in the paintings into a self-reflecting phenomenon.

Self, society, and the act of seeing

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The very title of the exhibition, Mirror Man, Mirror Me, displays a trajectory toward mutual reciprocity. The artist’s rudimentary focus lies in settling the relationship between portraits that interpret themselves as a rendezvous, landscapes that act as companions to memory, and still lifes that enhance self-reflection. The elements of his artworks are very porous; rather than simply making things more dramatic, the subject and reflector often meet at a scene where both are externally facing but internally together. This psychological juxtaposition can be traced through the displayed artworks, which makes the mental quotient expand and absorb more inquisitive waves from the creative space.

Mr. Shibu entraps the banalities of everyday existence like a cluttered corner, a sun-drenched street, a contemplative gaze and presents them through extremely nuanced intensity. The watercolour’s fluidity allows him to achieve a ubiquitous luminosity that imitates memories or moments of self-awareness. By combining technique and introspection, he strips away from noise and focuses the viewer’s attention on the subtle texture of being. The fluidity of his techniques imparts that the dialogue between the inner world and outer reality is constant and all-encompassing. Thus, his work functions as a psychological mirror, a concept that deepens the appreciation for the subtle layers in each painting.

Essential Elements of the Exhibition

Exhibition Details	Description
Exhibition Title	Mirror Man, Mirror Me
Artist	Shibu Natesan
Venue & City	Art Alive Gallery, New Delhi
Medium	Watercolour
On View Until	November 20, 2025
Central Themes	Self-reflection, perception, intimacy, the inner and outer worlds, and light as emotion.

Key highlights

Preview and opening dialogue with Parul Dave-Mukherji held on 8 October, enriching the exhibition’s interpretive frame.
Works span roughly a decade, offering a coherent but non-linear survey of Natesan’s artistic concerns.
Dominant motifs include solitary figures, domestic interiors, and subtle landscape fragments.
Watercolour is used experimentally; layers, bleeds, and negative space generate atmosphere.
The exhibition’s tone contrasts with the contemporary tendency toward immersive or multimedia installations, insisting on quiet, close-looking.

Opinion and Assessment

“Mirror Man, Mirror Me” is, unequivocally, an exhibition that focuses on an indispensable viewing experience. In a contemporary art landscape often dominated by grand statements, it poses a counterweight to the dazzling culture. His watercolours demand a more humane perception to be tamed down to a graspable level of consumption. They reward the viewer not with immediate shock but with deep, simmering resonance. For anyone seeking art that truly holds a mirror to the soul, this exhibition at Art Alive Gallery is an unmissable one.

Shared Lives, Distinct Visions: Intimacy and Influence in Modern Indian Art

Kriti Sen

November 4, 2025

Shared-Lives,-Distinct-Visions--Artist-Couples-in-India-01 — Left Artwork – MADHVI PAREKH, Right Artwork – PARAMJIT SINGH

The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai, is all set to host the exhibition titled Shared Lives, Distinct Visions: Artist Couples in India, scheduled to run from 11 November 2025 to 3 January 2026. The inception of this event shall add to DAG’s rich collection as a deeply revealing theme. The main emphasis of this event is on the role of companionship and how it leaves its mark on modern Indian Art. This offers a unique space where life partnerships are nurtured in parallel through artistic expression.

The Idea Behind the Exhibition

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Artistic journeys are often perceived in isolation, but this exhibition definitely flips the script. The core premise of “Shared Lives, Distinct Visions” is an intellectual and emotional dive into how intimacy, mutual regard, and critical exchange become a “quiet catalyst” for artistic development. The exhibition will feature the works of an artistic couple whose paths glided on distinctive planes and then got intertwined. The list of featuring artists includes iconic names such as Madhvi and Manu Parekh, Arpita and Paramjit Singh, Gulammohammed and Nilima Sheikh, and Jyotsna and Jyoti Bhatt, representing styles and regional schools of art across generations, and unified by the common thread called partnership.

The curatorial premise notes: “In these relationships, partnership becomes a quiet catalyst—encouraging experiment, offering critique and deepening understanding—while each artist continues to forge a path uniquely their own.” Now, considering the dynamics between Madhvi and Manu Parekh, Manu is known for his aggressive, often spiritually charged abstractions on canvas, whereas Madhvi draws her themes from vibrant, folk-inspired vernacular bases. Similarly, in the case of Gulammohammed and Nilima Sheikh, Nilima’s explorations often lean towards gender and mythology, while Gulammohammed delves into history and cosmopolitanism. This non-homogeneity among these pairs does make them intellectual equals, but the essence of non-proximity that exists in their work does secure a space for each to explore their radical differences as well.

As scholar P. N. Mago noted, couples like Kanwal and Devayani Krishna were not only pioneers in watercolours and graphic media but also played significant roles in art education, demonstrating how their shared intellectual and professional lives reinforced their distinguished contribution to the contemporary scene. The presentation of their works side by side allows the viewers to trace the influences of influence and divergence in real-time. This way, DAG is ensuring that Indian Modernism in art should be re-read from the prism of relationships as well.

Why It Matters

The dynamics of intimate artistic companionship, how two artists live, work, and influence each other while maintaining separate identities, remain underrepresented. This exhibition addresses that gap. It underscores how such dynamics influence trajectories, mediums, critiques, and experimentation. It also opens up a sequence of inquiries, such as how do personal relationships shape artistic output? In what ways do gender, geography, medium, and institution come into play in couples working side by side? And a lot more.

Important Points	Description
Exhibition Title	Shared Lives, Distinct Visions: Artist Couples in India
Organiser	DAG (Delhi Art Gallery)
Theme	The exploration of how intimacy and life partnership influenced the distinct, parallel artistic practices of modern Indian art couples.
Featured Couples	Madhvi & Manu Parekh, Arpita & Paramjit Singh, Devayani & Kanwal Krishna, Gulammohammed & Nilima Sheikh, Reba & Somnath Hore, Jyotsna & Jyoti Bhatt, among others.
Significance	Among the largest exhibitions of its kind, it challenges the myth of the solitary artist by focusing on the power of creative dialogue.
Venue	The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai
Dates	November 11, 2025 – January 3, 2026
Timings	11:00 AM – 7:00 PM (Closed on Mondays)

Key Highlights

The idea of parallel practice: the show emphasises that while the artists share lives, each vision remains independent and self-directed.
The diversity of mediums and generational spread among couples: from watercolours and graphic media (e.g., Kanwal & Devayani) to modern painting and printmaking.
A deeper look at education and mentorship within partnerships — how couples have been teachers, critics, collaborators, and supporters of each other’s practice.
Contextualising the partnership in Indian modern art: recognizing the ecosystem of peers, institutions, family and domestic life that shape creation.
Spatial and aesthetic curation: the choice of The Taj Mahal Palace (a heritage site) as venue underlines the blending of intimacy (home, partnership) and public exhibition.
The exhibition’s capacity to open up dialogues about gender, creativity and recognition: for instance, how women artists in couples define themselves beyond the partnership.

Takeaway

The primary argument central to this exhibition is that the history of art is not merely a record of individual genius, but also a dynamic niche shaped by relationships. By presenting these couples, DAG is not sentimentalizing the domestic sphere; rather, it is offering a creative spotlight in support of a shared daily life as important to a masterpiece.This exhibition humanises the artists we admire, and bring them a step closer to the audience in a shared bond of “better half”. For the aficionados of modern Indian art, this exhibition is a conceptual complex for reimagining creative relationships and their contribution to the artistic landscape.

Decoding the Mute Eloquence of the Taj Mahal: Geometry, Faith, and Craft in Mughal Grandeur

Kriti Sen

November 3, 2025

The radiant marvel of white marble rising from the banks of the Yamuna is the Taj Mahal. It is widely recognized as the monument of eternal love built by Emperor Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Apart from the tales and stories attested to it, a close examination of the structure reveals a complex and dynamic structure that is an unparalleled masterpiece. This masterpiece speaks through an architectural silence; this concept is called “mute eloquence,” or ba-zaban-e be-zabani. This forms the core of repositioning the Taj as the vector of history, theology, and imperial ambitions.

On display from 25 October to 6 December 2025 at DAG, New Delhi, is a presentation of over 200 works, including the Company School paintings, photographs, postcards, and modern interpretations, all focused on India’s most iconic mausoleum. Curated by historian and writer Rana Safvi, the exhibition invites viewers to consider the Taj as a “speaking” agent.

Conceptualization

The very notion of the Taj Mahal speaking is not contemporary; Rana Safvi borrows the words of the Mughal court chronicler Abdul Hamid Lahauri, who described the Taj Mahal, referred to as the Rauza-i Munawwara (The Illumined Tomb), as possessing the mute eloquence or ba-zabān-e be-zabānī. In Lahauri’s words, “Verily our relics tell of us, speak with mute eloquence of His Majesty’s God-given aspiration and sublime fortune.” The main motive of bringing this context to life is to project the Taj as a hub of layered architecture with nuanced geometry, inscription, gardens, and everything that one can think of when medieval era architecture flashes in our minds. Simultaneously, it paves a path for the visitors to go beyond the visitor’s gaze and gain knowledge about the undercurrents associated with the building.

Decoding the Architectural Language

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The depth of the Taj’s eloquence lies in its architectural and ornamental choices, which fuse Persian, Islamic, and Indian traditions to create a holistic structure. Structurally, the Taj is deeply rooted in Islamic Cosmology and was conceived as a replica of Mumtaz Mahal’s promised house in paradise. The entire complex of this grand monument is a metaphorical representation of the celestial garden, adorned with a charbagh (four-part garden) setting. This displays a seamless integration of the Quranic inscriptions and the rewards awaiting the faithful in paradise. The Taj is also a physical repository of extremely intricate calligraphy that was executed by Amanat Khan (Abdul Haq Shirazi) in inlaid jasper. The calligraphy is so masterfully carved that the uniformity of size and legibility from the ground is properly ensured throughout the structure. This inlay of the Qur’anic inscriptions embedded in the mausoleum links the building to Islamic ideas of paradise and transcendence. The use of floral motifs in pietra dura inlay work on cenotaphs, screens, and walls symbolises both the garden-paradise motif and a remembrance of death and love.

The Untold Narratives

Scholarly research has increasingly highlighted the overlooked facets of the Taj Mahal complex, moving beyond the central love story to expatiate its social and economic context. One of the most underexplored niches is the relationship between the monument and the commercial pulse of the city that houses it. The Taj Ganj, a historic settlement and the neighborhood directly south of the Taj Mahal, was once a vibrant market quarter and played a crucial role in the maintenance of the logistical and economic ecosystem supporting the monument. The Taj Ganj functioned as the immediate socio-economic hinterland that once integrated the lives around the Taj. Therefore, the majestic construction not only functioned as a private family monument or a tomb of the royals, but it also served as an imperial statement among the public, demonstrating the Mughal prowess and wealth. Through this exhibition, DAG aims to surpass the barriers veiling this information and wishes to drive the visitors back to a finely layered historical moment.

Where Does The Taj Stand In Popular Imagination?

Straight from its inception, the Taj Mahal has held a magnetic field around it that constantly attracted fascination across centuries, penetrating multiple cultures and nations. The Bengali Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore famously encapsulated its sentimental power, describing it as “a teardrop on the cheek of time.” The journey of the Taj Mahal in visual culture has been meticulously documented by a plethora of artists. The intricate pietra dura details are well documented through the Company School Paintings by Agra-based artists. Colonial era photographers like Samuel Bourne and other foreign artists, such as Thomas Daniell, contributed to its global fame.

Important Notes on the Event

Event Detail	Description
Exhibition Title	The Mute Eloquence of the Taj Mahal (Ba-zaban-e Be-zabani)
Curator	Historian and author Rana Safvi
Dates	October 25, 2025 – December 6, 2025
Venue	DAG (formerly Delhi Art Gallery), New Delhi, India
Scope	Over 200 works, including Company School paintings, colonial photographs, modern Indian art, and archival documents.
Key Focus	Positioning the Taj as a ‘speaking’ agent, exploring its theological meaning, and highlighting overlooked aspects like Taj Ganj and the role of other women in the court.

Key Highlights

The curatorial premise: treating the Taj Mahal as a “speaking” structure, despite its silence.
Rare archival photographs and early prints (18th–19th century) showing the monument’s evolving visual reception.
A focus on the lesser-seen “Taj Ganj” market zone and its architectural/commercial interplay.
Works by modern Indian artists (e.g., Abanindranath Tagore) and foreign artists capturing the monument from diverse perspectives.
A linked publication (book) edited by Safvi and contributors that dives deeper into these themes.

Why This Exhibition Matters?

The exhibition invites the viewers to pause and reconsider what we think we know. The Taj Mahal is often reduced to two things: a monument of romantic love and a must-see tourist cliché. This exhibition insists on the Taj Mahal’s complexity, perspective on devotion, paradise imagery, and commerce, and political ambition attests to it. By doing so, it enriches our understanding of architecture, memory, and cultural symbolism.

Takeaway

The temptation to view the Taj Mahal simply through the lens of a beautiful, tragic love story does not do justice to its historical and artistic genius. To call it merely a monument of love is to reduce a whole composition to a single note. The curatorial choice aims to break these little-known preconceived tales of the Taj and transform the monument into something more than just a ‘popular place to click a picture while pinching the dome’.

Another side to this story is, a super reliance on “mute eloquence” poses a risk of romanticising silence and neglecting the human labour. Beyond this silence, the Taj Mahal is a loud cultural boom, a heritage site, and a crowded tourist locus. This exhibition welcomes a recalibration as it is a standalone stone-and-marble treatise on power and piety that defined the Mughal Empire. Thus, the silence of the Taj is not a barrier but an invitation to integrate it with the contemporary visual tradition.

Threads of Tradition: Thota Vaikuntam Embroiders Telangana’s Spirit in Zardozi

Kriti Sen

November 3, 2025

The domain of art is in constant lookout for ways to rupture the conventional and celebrate innovation over it, often through new, unexpected, and resonant media. Well, this sets the premise of “Threads of Tradition”, an off-centre solo exhibition of brand new works by Thota Vaikuntam at Sanya Mallik’s Black Cube Gallery in Hauz Khas, New Delhi. Scheduled to run from November 6 to 30, 2025, this solo exhibition shall celebrate the dignity, sensual gaze, and timeless cadence of rural Telangana. This particular segment stands out as the artworks are not attached to any canvas, but on hand-stitched on velvet, presented in the gallery’s new programme for the season. A critical pivot of the exhibition is Vaikuntam’s iconic visual thesaurus, the Telangana women draped in lustrous hues and ornate jewellery. Through this depiction, the artist seeks to reimagine the majestic 3-D craft of Zardozi embroidery.

Embroidery as a Medium of Art &Rural Grace

The centerpiece that will adorn the exhibition is Vaikuntam’s painted imagery on textile sculpture. Vaikuntam’s work of art traces its expression through a close collaboration with the Shams family of Agra, which includes 16th-generation Zardozi masters, who are experts in transforming his radiant portraits into 3-D textile objects. Zardozi, a Persian term meaning “sewing with gold,” is traditionally a courtly craft involving the use of metallic wires and threads. The saturated reds, ochres, and deep blacks are the signatures of Vaikuntam’s paintings, which are vibrantly reverberated through silk threads, Zardozi techniques, and the use of semi-precious stones. It is done to provide the tactile strength and a shimmering facade, which gets self-modified with alterations in light and proximity of viewing. The resulting piece is a representation of modern painterly gestures and a seamless continuation of centuries-old craft. This fusion elevates it from being a simple artwork to a vessel of memory, knowledge, and ancestral artistry.

For decades, Vaikuntam’s canvas has served as a point of convergence for the everyday life of Telangana. His work can be easily known through the recurring bold lines, fluid forms, often set against monochromatic backgrounds. Most of his subjects germinate from his childhood memories, and are no less than a form of devotion to him. These nostalgic waves, when inked on canvases, become symbols of cultural heritage.

A Dialogue Between Past and Present- Why It Matters?

The shift exhibited by Vaikuntam, in terms of medium, is more like an extension of his practice. The core subject matters that dominate the centrality of the exhibitions are the rituals, appearances, and essential spirit of the Telangana people. He has long been celebrated for his dignified depictions of Telangana’s rural communities. By stepping into the textile, he rephrased his own visual codes with a lineage of craft that carries its own unique history and social affiliation. The exhibition witnesses an experiment, more essentially an act of cultural conservation and continuity. It creates a dialogue between two styles of visual languages, resulting in a cohesive harmony which is not only pleasing to eyes, but is intellectually stimulating.

Exhibition	Details
Artist	Thota Vaikuntam (b. 1942), renowned for figurative painting.
Exhibition Title	Threads of Tradition
Location	Black Cube Gallery, Hauz Khas, New Delhi.
Dates	November 6 – 30, 2025.
New Medium	Zardozi (gold-thread embroidery) on velvet.
Collaborators	The Shams family of Agra (16th-generation Zardozi masters).

Key Highlights

Vaikuntam’s iconic figurative language translated into hand-embroidery.
Collaboration with the Shams family, custodians of the zardozi practice, tracing back generations.
Works made on velvet with silk threads and semiprecious stones, creating tactile luminosity.
The exhibition positions craft as co-author rather than atelier accessory.
A chance to see how contemporary Indian modernism interfaces with living artisanal traditions.

Takeaway

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The Threads of Tradition is undisputedly a cultural statement. In the niche of several hierarchies that are distinctively separate fine arts from craft, this collaborative approach, adopted by Vaikuntam and the Shams family, seeks to dismantle this concrete division. A craft like Zardozi, that has been practiced across generations, requires a great deal of skills and patience. The works glimmer, yes, but more importantly, they remind us that tradition, when engaged thoughtfully, can be generative rather than something backward-looking.

A Ripple in an Ocean: Natasha Singh’s Kolam-Inspired Fusion of Art and AI

Kriti Sen

November 1, 2025

Art Meets Algorithm

Currently on view at Akar Prakar, New Delhi, Natasha Singh’s solo exhibition “A Ripple in an Ocean” unveils the symbiotic relationship between traditional Indian art forms and contemporary science. The exhibition, on view until 22nd November 2025, ventures into the evolution of age-old traditions through a contemporary lens. Natasha’s work furnishes an intellectual simulation to combine ancient Indian aesthetics and cutting-edge contemporary science. The exhibition is inspired by the geometric precision and spiritual depth of the Kolam patterns of South India. Her works use a wide range of media, ranging from drawing, sculpture, printmaking, to digital systems. Her keenness lies in the interconnectedness of the rhythm, which binds nature, humans, and the entire cosmos.

Bridging Tradition and Technology

Natasha Singh’s rudimentary inspiration, the Kolam, refers to intricate lines drawn by women using rice flour or chalk powder at the entrances of homes, symbolizing auspiciousness and cosmic order. She extracts the traditional recursive visual patterns and transforms them into a medium of deep inquiry. She reinterprets this ritual art into a contemporary visual system through which she successfully bridges scientific and algorithmic principles.

She essentially applies fractal geometry, as she situates the Kolam within the context of aesthetics inspired by mathematics. By employing such a way of designing her artworks, she has devised an interdisciplinary approach that also poses a juxtaposing set of inquiries questioning the binaries of traditional and modern art, and also understanding the dichotomy between ritual and reason. Her series includes works like “Gate within a Gate – Fractal Study” and “Arrested with Thoughts”, expressing a dialogue between artistic and scientific structure.

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Also, by utilizing coding, AI, and body mapping cameras, she seeks to re-imagine the old and static designs and translate them into more dynamic streaks. This unique methodology suggests that the interconnectedness perceived in the cosmos can be traced in a Kolam design, a digital code, and in the path of flow of energy within the human body. She reflects on a unique union of the universal forces dwelling in harmony. Therefore, her work definitely surpasses the ambit of the canvas and becomes a universal pulse of creation.

Her work is like a subtle reverberation of the universal vibrations manifesting themselves through varied media. The exhibition also mirrors current conversations in digital aesthetics and neuroscience, suggesting that pattern recognition, cognition, and creativity share a spiritual core.

Exhibition	Information
Title	A Ripple in an Ocean
Artist	Natasha Singh
Venue	Akar Prakar, New Delhi
Dates	On view until 22nd November 2025
Mediums	Drawing, Sculpture, Printmaking, Digital Systems, Kinetic Installations

Key Highlights

Fusion of Tradition and Innovation: Blends ancient Kolam aesthetics with scientific and digital techniques.
Multimedia Approach: Incorporates sculpture, printmaking, and new media to express interconnectedness.
Philosophical Undertone: Encourages mindfulness and meditation through visual geometry.
Technological Engagement: Uses AI and coding as creative tools rather than technical utilities.
Cultural Resonance: Revives the feminine and ritualistic aspect of South Indian heritage within a global contemporary discourse.
Experiential Viewing: Viewers are invited to engage in introspection and awareness of rhythm, symmetry, and silence.

A Dialogue on Universal Rhythm

Natasha’s work reflects the foundational concepts of Moon, Mandala, and Multiplicity. The Moon symbolizes rhythm and kinetic force; the Mandala represents the self-similar geometric structure drawing attention inwards; and Multiplicity signifies the repetitive forms that emerge from a vast, infinite conscious field.

She professes a powerful statement about the unity of everything existing in different ways of perceiving the same order. She beautifully freezes the movements of a yogi’s breath and posture into digital and sculptural forms, and she bridges the inner self with external, quantifiable data. This oscillation between the abstract and the quantity, between human and digital, the ancient and contemporary, encapsulates the motion of ‘A Ripple in an Ocean’.

Reimagining the Universe Through Art

Natasha’s artworks are more compatible with qualifying as philosophical inquiries, as she consciously redefines the digital and spiritual spheres by creating a dichotomy as well as drawing parallels on the same plane. Each piece echoes the ancient Indian belief that the universe itself is a rhythmic pattern of repetition and renewal. The delicate ink and pen drawings attune themselves with deeper harmonies of nature and the self. Her versatility moves across stainless steel to data, pen to pixel—all with a singular sensitivity to pattern, mutation, and the breath. She actively advocates the restoration of intimacy between art and consciousness. Thus, the exhibition is a reminder that innovation need not abandon tradition, and that the act of creation, whether through rice flour or code, remains an expression of human enigma.

Creased into Creation: Pune’s Wonderfold 2025 Origami Exhibition by Origami Mitra

Kriti Sen

October 31, 2025

Pune, the cultural heartthrob of Maharashtra, is turning tradition into imaginative moulds through beautiful creases on paper. The ‘Wonderfold 2025’ Origami Art Exhibition, running from October 30th to November 2nd at the Tilak Smarak Mandir, aims to become a dazzling gallery of miracles crafted from paper. The essence of this event lies in the fact that even the simplest of materials, like paper, if it falls into the right creative hands, can be turned into beautiful art pieces, which not only amuses us but also impresses us to look for more of their kind. This year’s edition marks a milestone in a long-running celebration of folds, creases, and sheer imagination. This creative space is like an annual pilgrimage for art lovers who have a phenomenal curiosity about experimenting with various media.

The Legacy of Origami Mitra

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The ‘Wonderfold’ exhibition is the continuation of a decades-long mission. This year marks the 18th iteration of the prestigious event, a recurring celebration that has graced Pune once every two years for the last 35 years. It is a powerful joint effort by the Indutai Tilak Kala Kendra and the dedicated enthusiasts of Origami Mitra. This year, the event’s centrepiece attraction is an Ashtavinayak Ganapati crafted entirely from paper.

The roots of the most renowned origami associations are Japanese. However, a homegrown movement in Pune has made a profound impact on the city’s cultural landscape. The story goes back to the 1990s, when a visionary group comprising Indutai Tilak, Vishwas Deval, and Anil Avachat came together with a unified goal to popularize the ancient Japanese art form of origami in India. The members of Origami Mitra perceived Origami as a Universal language, as the art form comprised of immense potential and demanded a lot of precision and meticulous effort to turn a plain folio into an elegant piece of art. For over three decades, this group has served as a space for people who are passionate about transitioning flat paper into three-dimensional entities. These attempts have made Pune a major hub for this mesmerizing art, making ‘Wonderfold’ a highly anticipated event on the city’s cultural calendar.

The Sacred Centerpiece and a Tribute of Paper

The undisputed attraction of the exhibition is an intricate depiction of the Ashtavinayak Ganapati, all meticulously crafted from paper. The Ashtavinayak are the eight sacred temples of Ganesha located around Maharashtra, and creating a cohesive representation of these eight distinct deities using only folded paper is truly a challenge. This masterpiece beautifully associates the Japanese tradition of paper folding with the cultural and spiritual fabric of Maharashtra, making it a powerful symbol of artistic fusion and faith.

Also, this year’s exhibition is being held in honor of Lokmanya Tilak’s great-grandson and former Vice Chancellor of Tilak Maharashtra University, who recently passed away. This intentional placement of offering homage to such a personality elevates the essence of the event and makes its association with the legacy a lot firmer.

An Expedition into Technique

Visitors to the Tilak Smarak Mandir will find origami extending far beyond the familiar paper crane. The exhibition is a masterclass to explore more ways to mould a single square sheet. The displays showcase an astonishing corpus of objects, including models of various birds and animals, flowers, designed containers, and action models that move and interact. As Milind Kelkar of Origami Mitra highlighted, visitors will have the opportunity to delve into the concept of ‘in which fields origami is used.’

The creative space of this event peaks at the moment when people from different interests, like Instagram-hungry culture-seekers, a design student seeking inspiration, or a family looking for a creative day out, all come together at a shared square and look for more thrilling innovations. This moves the art from simply being a hobby to a practical science.

Event Details

Event	Information
Title	Wonderfold 2025 Origami Art Exhibition
Dates	October 30 to November 2, 2025
Venue	Tilak Smarak Mandir, Tilak Road, Pune
Timings	10:00 AM to 8:00 PM (All Days)
Organizers	Indutai Tilak Kala Kendra & Origami Mitra
Inauguration	October 30, 10:30 AM
Entry	Open to all visitors

Key Highlights

A life-size (or close) Ashtavinayak Ganapati created from paper — devotional art meets delicate craft.
Demonstrations and technique displays showing how complex shapes emerge from a single square.
A living history: Origami Mitra’s long stewardship of the exhibition is a testament to grassroots art activism in Pune.
Cross-disciplinary notes on origami’s applications — architecture, product design, education, and therapy.

Why does it matter?

Beyond being visually delightful, Wonderfold reminds us that creativity doesn’t need expensive materials or digital wonders to form a beautiful piece of art. It can be easily extracted from the most trivial and commonly available material, such as a single square of paper. All it requires is patience and smart skills to fold the folios through the rules of geometry and applied sculptural thinking. In a world that often prizes speed, an origami exhibition is a meditative counterpoint.

Takeaway

Wonderfold 2025 represents a vital celebration of patience in an increasingly fast-paced, digitized world. There is an almost meditative quality to origami, a silent protest against wastefulness, as a single sheet of paper is transformed into a beautiful piece of art. This exhibition reminds us of the profound joy found in creation, precision, and the simplicity of the hand-crafted. Anyone seeking inspiration, a moment of quiet awe, owes a visit to this metamorphic space. The transformation of a two-dimensional plane into a three-dimensional reality is nothing short of alchemy, and Pune is lucky enough to host this annual unfolding of magic.

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