Last year 43-year-old Benoy K Behl started working on Painted Delight, a 26-part documentary on the history of Indian paintings.

Behl knew he had a difficult task on hand. He and his colleagues threw themselves into work and came up with a report that caught the eye of the Prasar Bharati Corporation, which is now funding the project.

A senior fellow at the Government of India's department of culture from 1994-97 and an adviser to the Lalit Kala Akademi, Behl was the first to photograph paintings at the famed Ajanta Caves. He wrote a book on the caves too, which received good reviews in the international press.

Indian art has always fascinated Behl. "It is intimately connected with [the nation's] thought and belief and philosophy -- our way of life and what we think about it. I personally believe that the best way of studying ourselves, our history, and our development is to study Indian art."

Indian art, according to Behl, is one of the most glorious things that has happened to any civilisation. "Its roots are deep in ancient Buddhist times. The ancient art of painting in India was highly developed even in the BC era. This is best seen in the early paintings of the Ajanta Caves.

"But," he added with a touch of sadness, "some experts feel that Indian art does not have continuity or an ancient tradition."

There are many who say Indians learnt to paint first from the Mughals and then from the British. "In 1994, when I went around the world, I showed art lovers the pictures that I had taken of the 10th century Chola paintings at the Thanjavur temples. These came as a sort of revelation to the leading experts of Indian paintings. These paintings had never been seen before or photographed because of the dark corridor in which they are [painted]," said Behl.

Once experts saw the pictures, Behl claimed, they realised that Indian paintings did have continuity.

The Thanjavur paintings were only the tip of the iceberg. India has a tradition of paintings in almost all parts of the country, whether it is in Kangra in Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, or elsewhere.

Behl regretted that at Ajanta and other historical sites the paintings are in such bad shape that no one is allowed to video record them. But he has a way out:

"I would shoot wherever possible. Where it is not, I would shoot transparencies and have those transferred on to a digital camera."

There was one thing Behl did not want to share -- the cost involved in making his serial. "Where the budget is lacking, we will make up with our spirit and dedication towards the film," was all he would say.

Behl will also feature some 20th century painters in his serial. "We will also look at artists like Raja Ravi Varma, Amrita Shergil, M F Husain, etc," he said.

Though the serial will largely be shot in India, Behl and his team plan to travel around the world to meet those art lovers who have a large collection of Indian paintings.

"Some of the best collections of Indian paintings are with art lovers residing outside," he elaborated.

Page design: Dominic Xavier

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