The terrible heat plaguing the city has subsided. Rains have ushered in scantily. As we anticipate the monsoons to herald a new beginning, so do gallery owners, especially after the stagnant state of the art market. Although the art market has faced a major decline, art galleries all over the country would be gearing up for the season. The next couple of months shall be featuring many exciting events in the field of art. United Art fair will be showcasing works of emerging artists from all over the country in the month of September. An event worth visiting!

Also, 3 major auction houses Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Saffron Art would auction their prized
collections. All eyes would be set on them, since this will also indicate the graph for future market trends.

It gives us immense pleasure and joy to share with our readers the 50th issue of our magazine.
On this celebratory occasion, we have paid tribute to Indian Art, tracing the major shifts in the aesthetic principles of visual culture in relation to history, literature and society at large.

Co-incidentally, the household brand Amul has also completed its 50th year. One more reason to
rejoice!

Some of the articles by our eminent team of writers will offer readers some food for thought.
Anil Kumar delineates the way of looking at an image and the complex fragmentary world that
photography creates.

Debabrota Das discusses the oeuvre and life of Indian modernist artist Raja Ravi Varma.
Amit Mukhopadhyay draws a parallel between Rabindranath Tagore and Walter Benjamin’s
views on war and violence.

Ayiriddhi Bhattacharjee pays tribute to the eternal ‘Devdas’ of Indian cinema, Pramathesh
Chandra Barua.

We sincerely hope that our readers will enjoy this special issue of our magazine. Do feel free to express yourself and give us your valuable feedback.

Siddhartha