Unsung Heroes

From Partition refugees to Bandwallahs, Krishen Khanna installs the marginalised figure at the centre of his practice, observes Yashodhara Dalmia.

- Yashodhara Dalmia

He is the last of the heroic artists who formed the Progressive Artists' Group when India became independent. As the 97-year-old Krishen Khanna continues to paint and exhibit, his long journey poignantly brings to mind the many outstanding works which have contributed to the enhancement and richness of art in the country and the growth of modernism. In a show titled Krishen Khanna: The Last Man Standing organized by Saffronart in Delhi and held at the Oberoi Hotel from the 29th of April to the 21st of May, we are offered a choice fare of his works from the earliest to the latest.