Celebration and Prayer : Life and Light in Razas Art

Sayed Haider Raza is acknowledged as one of Indias modern masters. Born in a small village of Madhya Pradesh, he moved to Mumbai as a young artist, soaking in its pre-Independence cosmopolitan milieu. In the 1950s, he moved to France, where he remained for sixty years, developing his worldview as an artist and thinker, creating some of his most celebrated works of art, including the iconic Bindu. It was here that he realized the strength of his connection to his motherland, and went deeper and deeper into Indian thought and metaphysics. All of this was expressed in his abstract art, in works that have gone on to define the very summit of the modern Indian art movement- Prakriti-Purush, Panchtattva, Aarambh, Shanti, the entire Bindu series, and so many more.In this book, renowned poet Ashok Vajpeyi, one of Razas closest friends, writes about Raza the man and the artist. He describes certain episodes from Razas life that propelled his evolution as a painter, and examines in detail the philosophy that permeated his art-an inclusive, deeply spiritual, poetic perspective that grew and got refined over the artists long life. Vajpeyi also takes key works by Raza, like the Bindu, the Gandhi set and Maa, and delves into the process of their creation. And we hear Raza himself-on his work and philosophy-in a long interview that Vajpeyi did with him on the occasion of the artists eightieth birthday.Erudite, thoughtful and thought provoking, Celebration and Prayer is a portrait of a legendary artist who lived and breathed Indias plurality in all its glory and gave it life on his canvases.