Kali through the eyes of modern Indian artists

Ujjainee Roy

Tyeb Mehta’s Kali series

Mehta’s 1997 work, Kali, abstracts the mythology with minimal iconographic trimmings and a revised approach, which he perfects with his use of colour and a difference in form that also alters our reading of Kali

M.F. Hussain's Kali

Hussain uses a new visual grammar for his interpretation. The progressive artist always sought to break away from conventional, colonial-era art techniques by fusing modernist movements like Cubism. His paintings of Kali use bold colours, simplified forms, and bold, sweeping lines to convey her dynamism, which offers a fresh take on the rigid traditional iconography.

Madhvi Parekh's Kali

A self-taught artist, Madhvi was greatly inspired by modernist Paul Klee, and in her Kali paintings the first thing you notice is the simple, rooted iconography. Her Kali is surrounded by myriad shapes and forms and offers a more intimate reading

Rabin Mondal's Kali

Mondal was a part of the "Bengal modern art" tradition, and his 1994 painting depicts Maa Kali as an almost hallucinatory force with the help of gestural brushstrokes and a moody palette

Nandalal Bose's Kali

Bose's work has mostly been defined by strong, rhythmic, and calligraphic lines; he was a pupil of Abanindranath Tagore and was quite inspired by his techniques. Bose's Kali is drawn in the Bengal School style, which combined traditional Indian art with foreign techniques like Japanese wash painting and European methods.