The Concept of Portrait
(in the context of Indian miniature painting)
- Narmada Prasad Upadhyaya
Mr. Narmada Prasad Upadhyaya is engaged in the study of Indian miniature paintings since last more than 30 years. His specific area of work is to discover, study and research the styles and sub-styles of Indian miniature painting flourished in different regions of Central India, particularly Malwa, Bundelkhand, Baghelkhand, Khandesh, Vidharbh and other regions of Central India between 16th to 20th Century.
Born in Harda District Madhya Pradesh in 1952. Mr. Narmada Prasad Updahyaya has written eleven essay books in Hindi, edited two books of short stories and a biography and wrote two books on Geet-Govindam and Ramayana with eminent scholar Dr. Vidya Niwas Misra in Hindi.
Working as Additional Commissioner in the Commercial Tax Department in Madhya Pradesh, he is at present engaged in the study and research of the miniatures of Raghogarh School and the Indian miniatures of Gayer-Anderson Collection for which British Council has awarded him with a fellowship. He is working on the Jain Painting tradition giving focus on the illustrated Kalpsutras and as well as on the Cataloging of paintings and illustrated mss preserved in different museums and private collections in Madhya Pradesh and the textile designs depicted on the miniatures of different regions of Central India. He is also interested in the study of the aesthetics of Indian art. During his abroad visits of Australia, England and Switzerland, he discussed the projects with the eminent scholars, studied the Indian paintings, delivered lectures on the subject and participated in the seminars in different museums, art galleries and universities.
His book on the tradition of Indian Miniature Painting has been published in Hindi under the title Bhartiya Chitrankan Parampara. Recently his two books in English have also been published under the titles, "Concept of Portrait - In the Context of Indian Miniature Painting" and "Geet-Govinda - Paintings in Kanheri Style"
