Time Capsule

THE NEWLY OPENED AMAR NATH SEHGAL PRIVATE COLLECTION IN DELHI'S JANGPURA EXTENSION IS A MUSEUM FOCUSED ON A SINGLE ARTIST WHICH IMMERSES THE VISITOR IN HIS LIFE AND TIMES

- Disha Mullick

Shortly after India's independence, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was travelling in the US, encouraging young Indian engineers, doctors, artists-to come back to help build a newly independent nation. One of them, prowling around the East Village, finding his voice and yet missing home, was the young Amar Nath Sehgal. Nehru promised him a piece of land for his studio in the neighbourhood of Jangpura in Delhi if he returned. The artist asked that it be a corner plot, to maximise light and view. This request was admitted, and that plot, home and workspace to the artist for four decades now houses the Amar Nath Sehgal Private Collection. It is a quietly successful attempt to bring an artist's life and work into conversation with its surroundings, both past and present. The multi-media display is deftly curated for what is said to be the first and only single-artist museum in the country. Entering the space, one is quickly immersed in the life and times of the modern artist, sculptor, poet and engaged humanist. Despite this, the museum feels strikingly contemporary.