Jyoti Prasad Agarwalla is one of the greatest personalities Assam has ever produced. He was a versatile genius: filmmaker, writer, musician, playwright, revolutionary, thinker… He made the first Assamese film (talkie) in 1935, and it was an aesthetic masterpiece.

His songs, of which there are over three hundred and fifty, and the melodies that he created for his songs, are known as Jyoti Sangeet, since they are acknowledged to form a genre of their own.

His creative works convey his vision of an ideal world, where people would be free from all oppression, and would follow the path of Beauty or Culture, twin themes, which Jyoti Prasad equated with Truth. He has been bestowed with the title, Rupkonwar, or Prince of Beauty - Beauty here signifying the wider meaning of Aesthetics.

2003 marked the birth centenary of Jyoti Prasad. And, every year, January 17 is commemorated as the Shilpi Divas, in memory of Jyoti Prasad. This painting exhibition, the first of its kind, coincides with the same.

Rituraj Medhi is a new generation artist from Assam having a musical bent of mind, and lure towards colour. By profession an Assistant Provident Fund Commissioner at Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, Rituraj has been experimenting with the folk tunes of Assam and other northeastern States and their use in modern songs. His critically acclaimed audiocassette Mayavini Dooars is such a venture. He has also performed in radio and television. He also finds time to experiment with brush.

The 20 paintings on display take inspiration from the themes of some of Jyoti Prasad’s famous, thought-provoking songs. Most of the works are in oil pastel; a few are in oil, tempera and mixed media.

This experimental endeavour of visual interpretation of Jyoti Sangeet has been conceived by Suresh Ranjan Goduka.

The Exhibition will be on view from 17 to 23 January 2004, from 10 AM to 5 PM

An Exhibition of Paintings, Thematically Based on Jyoti Sangeet,

created by Rituraj Medhi

organised in collaboration with the National Museum & National Museum Institute

in the National Museum (first floor) Gallery, Janpath, New Delhi

on Saturday, the 17th January 2004 at 11.30 A.M.

RSVP: Suresh (9818464469), Pranjal (9818651785)