Lehaza

Syed Haider Raza, a pioneer of Indian modernism in the arts, was not only a tireless and unique painter but also had a deep interest in other arts, especially poetry and thought. He considered Hindi his mother tongue, and although he had a deep knowledge and command of French and English, he remained immersed in Hindi, even after spending sixty years in France. It is no accident that in the latter part of his artistic career, all his paintings were titled in Hindi. He is perhaps the only one among the worlds leading painters of the 20th and 21st centuries who inscribed lines from Sanskrit, Hindi, and Urdu poetry in Devanagari on over a hundred of his paintings. For years, whenever I visited him in Paris, I would, at his insistence, take with me seven newly published books of Hindi poetry: his collection, now part of the Raza Archives in Delhi, included a large collection of Hindi poetry. One of Razas concerns was the lack of good books in Hindi on many subjects, especially those related to arts and thought. He wanted us to take initiative. After his death in 2016 at the age of ninety-four and a half, the Raza Foundation, honoring his wishes, initiated the publication of a new kind of books in Hindi, the Raza Pustak Mala, which includes the re-publication of some previously unavailable books. These include books on Gandhi, cultural contemplation, dialogue, Hindi translations of works from Indian languages, especially art contemplation, and poetry. All the books will feature portraits of Raza Sahib and his contemporary painter friends on the covers. For decades, Rohini Bhate was well-respected in the classical dance world as a well-trained, experimental Kathak dancer, a renowned Kathak guru, and a thoughtful critic of various aspects of Kathak. Her work is particularly significant because, at the level of thought and experimentation, she brought a new dimension and relevance to Kathak by connecting it with ancient classical traditions. His timely thoughts, experiences and analysis are collected in Lahja and by presenting them in Hindi, a unique gift is being given to dance lovers and the world of Kathak. Ashok Vajpayee.