India is a living experience of culture and historical legacy. It is
difficult to express history in simple terms. It is even more daunting a task
to express more than five thousand years of civilizational history visually on
a visionary document that would guide the fortunes of a newly independent
nation around the time of independence. But Acharya Nandalal Bose was not just
another artist and the illustrations on the Constitution of India was not just
another project. His vision for the illustrations in the Constitution
chronicles the journey of Bharat from the time of the Harappan civilization to
the doorstep of freedom at last.
All the illustrations are listed on the last page of the Constitution
and are categorized into twelve historical periods: Mohenjodaro Period, Vedic
Period, Epic Period, Mahajanpada and Nanda Period, Mauryan Period, Gupta
Period, Medieval Period, Muslim Period, British Period, India’s Freedom
Movement, Revolutionary movement for freedom and Natural Features.
The Constitution commences with an illustration of our National Emblem.
Nandalal Bose was very particular about wanting the lions in the emblem to look
exactly like the real lions with the correct movement and facial expressions
and variations across age. Dinanath Bhargava, designer of the National Emblem,
who was then a young student at Kala Bhavan visited the Kolkata Zoo for months
to study lions for their expressions, body language and mannerisms before
illustrating this artwork. The Preamble page and many other pages were designed
by Beohar Rammanohar Sinha. Nandalal Bose endorsed Sinha's artwork for the
Preamble without any alteration whatsoever. The page bears Sinha's short
signature Ram in Devanagari in the lower-right corner. The Preamble is a
handwritten text encircled with a rectangular border. There are four animals
depicted in the four corners of the border. The four animals depicted are taken
from the base of the national emblem of India. The lotus motif features
prominently in the border artwork.
Each part of the Constitution begins with an illustration and different
pages depict distinct border designs. The signatures of the artists are visible
on the illustrations and near the border indicating the collaborative nature of
the project. Many of the pages bear multiple signatures which appear either in
Bengali, Hindi, Tamil and English. Part 19 of the Constitution of India dealing
with Miscellaneous features a portrait of Netaji saluting in military attire
surrounded by his troops. Nandalal Bose’s signature appears on the illustration
and A. Perumal’s signature is visible on the left bottom corner of the page. He
became well-known as the artist who took art to the people. He would go around
the villages of Santiniketan and decorate the walls of the Santhal homes with
nature themes full of animals, birds and trees. He lived and worked with great
artists like Nandalal Bose for over four decades in Kala Bhavan of
Shantiniketan and was affectionately called ‘Perumalda’.
Part VI of the Constitution, which deals with The States in Part A of
the First Schedule, commences with a richly colored piece of art of the
meditating Mahavir seated cross-legged with his eyes closed and palms resting
on each other. There are two trees in bloom, one on each side of Mahavir and a
peacock is also visible in the frame indicating a harmonious coexistence in a
natural setting. This is one of the few colored images in the original
constitution. The colorful illustration
bears the signatures of Jamuna Sen and Nandalal Bose. The border design on this
page bears the signature of artist named Rajniti.
Part 15 of the Constitution of India focuses on Elections. The
illustrations on this page feature two brave sons of India, Chhatrapati Shivaji
Maharaj and Guru Govind Singh. The illustrations on this page have been done by
Dhirendra Krishna Deb Burman who was a member of the Tripura Royal family and
had close ties with Rabindranath Tagore and Nandalal Bose. The border design
carries the signature of Kripal Singh Shekhawat who was a renowned artist and ceramist of India, known for reviving the art of the
iconic Blue Pottery of Jaipur. Kala Bhavan the fine art institute in
Santiniketan attracted students and artists from all corners of India and the
world thus creating a thriving ecosystem of relentless pursuit of excellence
amalgamating various influences but, in the end, creating an unique Indian
style and narrative of artistic vision. Many of the artists who worked on the
project went on to achieve great heights in their careers but at the time of
this project they were students and collaborators at Santiniketan eager to
bring to life the vision of their revered ‘master moshai’ Nandalal Bose.
The inspirations for the illustrations in the Constitution are anchored
in the vast history, physical landscape, mythological tapestry and freedom
struggle of Bhart. Part 13 of the
Constitution of India deals with ‘Trade, Commerce and Intercourse within the
Territory of India’ The illustration on this page is a scene taken from bas
relief forms which is part of the Group of Monuments at Mahabilapuram an UNESCO
inscribed World Heritage Site. ‘Descent of the Ganges’ refers
to a large, open-air rock relief sculpture that depicts in stone the myth
of the Ganges River descending from heaven to earth. Nandalal Bose’s signature
appears on the illustration and Jamuna Sen’s name appears on the left bottom
corner of the border.
Part 3 which deals with
Fundamental Rights features a scene from Ramayana. The border on this page
bears the signature of Jamuna Sen. Part 4 dealing with dealing with Directive
Principles of State Policy features a scene from Mahabharata. The names of Bani
Patel and Nandalal Bose appear on the illustration at the right bottom and
Vinayak Shivaram Masoji’s name appear on the left corner of the border
Part 7 of the Constitution deals
with the ‘The States in Part B in the First Schedule’. The illustration at the
start of this segment depicts the spread of Buddhism by Emperor Ashoka. He is
shown riding an elephant which is decorated with all the finery and is
surrounded by Buddhist monks. The
illustration is in the style of Ajanta, with the monks depicted with bare
chests and jewelry. This illustration was done by Nandalal Bose, whose work was
deeply influenced by the artistic traditions found in the Ajanta frescoes. A
Perumal’s name is also visible on the lower left of the illustration. The border design carries the signature of
Beohar Rammanohar Sinha who also designed the Preamble and many other pages.
Here he signs as Rammanohar in Hindi. This is one of the only pages in the
Constitution that carries the names of both Nandalal Bose and his senior most
student Beohar Rammanohar Sinha.
The Constitution of India is unique in the fact that
it was originally a handwritten document. It was calligraphed in English by
Prem Behari Raizada and in Hindi by Vasant K. Vaidya. Raizada used a flowing italic style and learnt the art of
calligraphy from his grandfather.
Working in a room in the Constitution Hall (now known as the
Constitution Club of India), he prepared the document over the course of six
months. He used hundreds of pen nibs during his writing. Signature of Prem
Bihari Narayan Raizada (Prem), calligrapher of the English version of the
Constitution of India appears on every page of the document. This was his only
request to undertake this project of national importance.
The art in the Constitution of
India navigates India’s history across time and is a tribute to the socio
cultural, mythological, spiritual, regional and physical landscape and
influences. It mirrors the reality of a nation that acknowledges its ancient past,
celebrates the threads of unity in diversity while looking forward to the
future.
(A PIB Feature)
