NEW DELHI: Rokeya Sultana was scheduled to hold a solo exhibition in the Lalit Kala Akademi from October 23. The disappointed Bangladeshi artist is now making plans to return home over the weekend. Her show has been indefinitely postponed by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).
The inauguration of the exhibition and book launch was supposed to have been attended by Union minister of state for external affairs and culture Meenakshi Lekhi and ICCR president Dr Vinay Sahasrabuddhe. However, Sultana said she was told that due to “unavoidable circumstances”, the exhibition was abruptly postponed, the news only communicated to her two days before the scheduled opening.
Stating that she didn’t want to dwell on the exact reason for the postponement of the event and whether it was linked to the communal disturbances in Bangladesh, Sultana said, “I do not understand these things. I believe in humanity, harmony and peace. The exhibition was supposed to be a retrospective of the work I have done in the last 35 years.”
Sultana, who had reached the city on October, 13 said, “We were mostly ready with the displays for the exhibition but were suddenly told that it was being postponed due to unavoidable circumstances. We have been told that we will be informed about a new date for the show. For now, I will have to leave the artwork behind and return home since they have already been framed for the exhibition. There also are some sculptures and animations.”
Art curator Ina Puri said that while the postponement was “disappointing”, ICCR was hoping to showcase the exhibition soon. “What is sad is the fact that the whole exhibition was curated keeping India in mind. Sultana has studied under good tutelage at Santiniketan in West Bengal and this was her way of expressing gratitude to those who taught her,” said Puri. “It was supposed to be a retrospective exhibition and we had invested a lot in it. While no one is to blame for the present circumstances, we just hope that we are able to organise the exhibition here soon.”
Stating that the exhibition was supposed to be a landmark one, Puri added that the show would also have marked 50 years of India-Bangladesh relations.
When reached for a comment, Sahasrabuddhe responded, “There is no comment to be made. It is a routine thing and this sort of thing keeps happening. This is an administrative decision.”
