New York: India’s foremost art gallery DAG hosted Shashi Tharoor in association with Indo-American Art Council (IAAC) its New York Gallery to present the highly acclaimed books Inglorious Empire and Why am I a Hindu authored by the Indian Congress MP and Commonwealth Writers’ awardee. Tunku Varadarajan, former editor of Newsweek International engaged Tharoor, in a conversation about the books which was followed by a Q&A with the audience.
Tharoor addressed subjects such as mayhems of an Empire; and re-examination of Hinduism, one of the world’s oldest and greatest religious traditions. DAG’s New York gallery‘s retrospective by the prolific artist—Chittaprosad became the perfect setting for this event. On display was one of a kind art by Chittaprosad, recording events of the pivotal political and social movements in the country, such as the Great Bengal Famine of 1943-44 and its fallout in heart-wrenching sketches and drawings, alongside protests against colonialism, economic exploitation, urban poverty and depravity, much of it was published in the CPI journal People’s War.
Speaking on this occasion, Ashish Anand, MD and CEO, DAG said, “We are honoured to collaborate with Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC) to host Shashi Tharoor. The subjects of Tharoor’s books resonate with DAG’s retrospective exhibit on Chittaprosad whose art identified and displayed the man-made calamities wreaked on India by the Empire. Our philosophy at DAG of seeing beyond the mere aesthetic of art to truly understand the role it plays in understanding the times it represents. DAG’s sole ambition is to democratise art by bringing it into the mainstream and making it accessible to a larger audience.