How this first-of-its-kind biennale in Patna is showcasing Bihar’s rich heritage and history

For the aesthetes of Mumbai whose condescension is mostly the result of where they are located in the Indian urbanscape a museum biennale in ldquoremoterdquo Patna might seem like a farfetched idea ldquoWho goes thererdquo we were asked We didnrsquot have the answer to that not until we took a 25hour flight arriving at the inconspicuous Jay Prakash Narayan International Airportmdashordinarylooking like the rest of the city which is packed chaotically with smaller buildings needing paint and cycle rickshaws that jostle for space with two and fourwheelersStepping out we presumedmdashjust like our elite friends back homemdashthat wersquod seen the trailer before our impending visit to the cityrsquos premier museum Surprises were in storeThe Bihar Museum situated on a 135acre property on Nehru Path is Chief Minister Nitish Kumarrsquos impressive gift to the city that was once the ancient and historicallyedifying Pataliputra Fully opened to the public in 2017 this is a far cry from the ostentatious cultural centres mushrooming in our metros that look like impersonal sevenstar hotels Muted flooring is flanked by large windows on either side facing fountains and bathing the premises in natural light Itrsquos unpretentious and unusual for a city that hasnrsquot fully embraced modernityBatul Raaj Mehta and Anjani Kumar SinghLast month the museum became the venue for a global cultural exchange endeavour The Bihar Museum Biennale the firstofitskind in the world launched on August 7 and will continue till the last day of this year hosting museums from across the country and the world and making room to present the best of art heritage and historyAn exhibit part of Nepal Where the Gods ResideWhen we arrive the biennale is already six weeks in The Three Dimensions of Divinity by Mumbairsquos own museum Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sanghralaya has concluded as have Modern Indian Painting by Salar Jung Museum Hyderabad the National Maritime Heritage Complex Lothal and the Mystic Universe 360 which came in from Russia But newer shows and museum showcases have replaced theseThe most recent Suryakal opened last weekThe G20 Art Exhibition Together We Art curated by Dr Alka Pande brings together installations paintings photographs sculptures and video by 47 artistes including 20 G20 member countries and nine invited countriesPresented by MentorArt it explores our past present and future relationship with the sun through the three dimensions of Sabhyata Samaj and Samay Sabhyata opens with the Sun Series paintings by Udayraj Gadnis an artist inspired by spirituality and dividing his time between Mumbai and London His work though fairly undiscovered in the mainstream has been patronised by some of the biggest business families Batul Raaj Mehta chief of strategy at the Bihar Museum Biennale and founding partner of homegrown museum planning firm BRMA that curated the show says Gadnisrsquo exhibition was initially meant to be showcased during Chhath puja a festival prominently celebrated in Bihar with women worshipping the sun ldquoWith the biennale taking place this year it tied in well But we spent some time researching how we could bring in the connection with Gadnisrsquo paintings and Chhathrdquo she saysDr Alka PandeThe 12 paintings which draw from a rich visual palette and are created using mineral paints crushed rubies and gold dust explore the sun in different civilisations ldquoLike the Arab civilisation Gandhara or Dwarka civilisation The paintings are not meant to be documented works of research but abstract creations that are Gadnisrsquo way of identifying a civilisationrsquos philosophical culturerdquo shares Shivani Kasumra research consultant with BRMALeft Thijs Bierstekerrsquos Econario a fivemetretall robotic plant provides a representation of how choices countries are making today will affect the state of nature over the next 30 years right Sudarshan Shettyrsquos untitled tribute to the Taj Mahal shows 250 steel miniature models of the monumentMehta who has been instrumental in building and developing permanent gallery spaces at the museum since its inception was also exposed to the works of local talents over the last decade Thatrsquos how she came across the work of Patnabased photographer Shailendra Kumar who has been documenting Chhath in the region for over 40 years His work which is the second part of the show Samaj dips into a tiny collection from his vast oeuvre exploring how the festival is celebrated with awardwinning folk singer Dr Nitu Kumari Nootanrsquos songs creating an immersive environment around the sombre ritualistic photographyTo connect the exhibition with the contemporary the curatorial team concluded with a representation of an innovationpowered solar future and its transformative benefits on human life This became the third part of the show titled Samay ldquoHere Gadnisrsquo painting of a possible and imagined Solar Civilisation became the catalystrdquo says Mehta ldquoWe came across the Himawari solar lighting system from Japan which captures the sunlight through optic fibres filtering the harmful rays of the sun and lighting up the spacerdquo she says adding ldquoThe mood of the room changes based on how strong the sunlight is outsidehellip often you can even see a rainbow hererdquoAmong the more interesting international ongoing shows are Nepal Where the Gods Reside and Together We ArtG20 Art Exhibition put together by Dr Alka Pande chief curator of the Bihar Museum Biennale The Nepal gallery ldquointerweaves the traditional and contemporary artistic practices of different communitiesrdquo in the country while exploring the regionrsquos relationship with Buddhism Shaivism and Shamanic rituals Therersquos the more intricate work by Mubin Shakya the Vajrapani Mandala which is a silver filigree and precious stone inlay showing Vajrapani one of the earliestappearing bodhisattvas in Mahayana Buddhism He is holding a vajra making the vitarka mudra encircled by an eightpetaled lotus We also see the colourful rendering of Ram Setu by Rajan Pant here monkeys are quietly engaged in the task of building a bridge with tiny boulders while villagers go about their daily task The sky is a beautiful pink and mellow orange At the centre of the gallery is a mandala which was created in just eight daysFor the G20 exhibition Pande had to work way ahead of timemdashalmost six months she says as it involved coordinating with 46 artists which included 19 from the G20 countries plus seven invited countries ldquoThe theme of the show was Together We Artrdquo says Pande ldquoAll the artistsrsquo works dealt with One Earth One Family One Future which the summit in Delhi also reflected upon Their concerns were almost universalrdquo says Pande The sculptures installations paintings photographs and video explore varied themes of ecology climate change identity materiality and sexuality ldquoAll of this enabled crosscultural dialoguerdquo The most fascinating installation here was ecological artist Thijs Bierstekerrsquos Econario which is a fivemetretall robotic plant given by the British Council The robotic plant is driven by data from the Biodiversity Intactness Index BII developed by the Natural History Museum to provide a representation of the choices that countries are making today and how this will affect the state of nature over the next 30 years If a country adopts a more sustainable scenario the artwork grows towards its full five metres length if not it appears stuntedOther galleries pay tribute to Patnarsquos many museums as well as revisit the story of the making of the Bihar MuseumBeyond the exhibitions there are sculptural installations from the collections of Kiran Nadar Museum of Art Therersquos Subodh Guptarsquos Cheap Rice that showcases a lifesize rickshaw crowded with brass utensils to reflect upon the Indian reality ldquocaught between tradition and modernityrdquo and Sudarshan Shettyrsquos untitled tribute to the Taj Mahal which shows 250 steel miniature models of the monument to ldquoamplify the dry and cold mechanisation and replication of the icon of immortal loverdquoIn six years since the museum opened it has become an important art and cultural centre General visitor numbers over weekends have been 3000per day on weekdays footfall is between 1000 and 1500 On January 1 a public holiday they saw 9000 visitors The Bihar Museum Biennale has since its opening seen 51000plus visitors ldquoMost visitors are from Patna and the rest of Biharrdquo says Anjani Kumar Singh director general Bihar Museum when we meet him at his office This is not the first biennale that Singh has conceptualised The Bihar Museum Biennale made its presence felt virtually in 2021 when the world was hit by the more dangerous second COVID19 wave The physical debut had to be delayed to this year but Singh nonetheless is happy with how it has shaped up ldquoWhile travelling to museums across the world I realised that there was no common platform for them to showcase their works and rich collectionsrdquo he says explaining how the idea for the biennale took root Patna he thinks was the natural contender to play host That it has been the seat of several ruling dynasties including the Magadha and Maurya empires and later Suris and the Mughals and birthed many religions including Buddhism and artistic traditions tikuli papiermache Madhubani made it a region with an unparalleled legacy The collections in the permanent gallery reflect this heritage and history With the biennale Singh hopes to revive the cultural consciousness of its people Dec 31Date until which the biennale will continue in Patna