Jawahar Kala Kendra
A Centre for the Revival and Preservation of the Arts

Each region of Rajasthan has its own rich form of folk entertainment and successive generations of both its urban and rural folk have been inspired to live life with much passion. Maybe this was their way of overcoming the harsh realities of the desert conditions or just a result of their love and zest for life.

The fairs and festivals of Rajasthan are as colourful as are their traditional arts and crafts. Various schools of painting flourished in the royal courts
of the vcstcrvcars and today they capture the hearts of many tourists who find them to be perfect souvenirs to take back a small piece of this land calleci Rajasthan.

Therefore. Rajasthan, much-ac-claimed for its ancient traditions and rich heritage', took the initiative to set lip a centre to preserve and research the arts and culture of this vast state, all under one roof, at Jaipur. The Department of Tourism, Art & Culture selected a site that was easily accessible to the citizens of Jaipur and also to those coming in from outside the citv.

An ideal site measuring around 9.5 acres, situated opposite the Rajasthan Commerce College on lawaharlal Neh ru Marg and in close proximity to other educational institutions and the University of Rajasthan was agreed upon.

Since this centre was located on Jawaharlal Nehru Marg, what better way was there to honour the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru who was a great admirer of the arts, than to name the centre 'Jawahar Kala Kendra'. The foundation stone was laid on the 29th of October by the then Chief Minister of Rajasthan Hari Deo Joshi.

The planning of this prestigious building was handed over to the internationally renowned Indian architect Charles Correa. The Asian Games Village in New Delhi was also designed by him. When the work was entrusted to Charles Correa he came to Jaipur and spent many hours studying the architecture of the city. The world-famous Pink City which was planned by Vidhyadhar Bhattacharya for Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, who was himself a great scholar, mathematician and astronomer in the 17th century, was a great inspiration to him and based upon this, Correa started working on a plan for the Jawahar Kala Kendra.

While planning Jaipur, Vidhyadhar Bhattacharya was guided by the Shilpa Shastras of the ancient Vedic mandala of nine squares or houses, representing the nine planets, including the two imaginary ones of Rahu and Ketu. Due to the obstruction of a hill, one square had to be displaced and was transposed to the east, while two of the squares were amalgamated to house the palace complex for Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II. Correa's plan for the Kendra was therefore invoked directly from the original navagraha or nine houses. Like the Pink City, the Jawahar Kala Kendra also had one square pivoted in such a way as to recall the original plan of the city and thereby also create an entrance for the complex.

Each square is defined by an eightmeter-high wall. The building has been constructed so that there are eight separate groupings corresponding to the myths attached to each particular planet. The square assigned to the planet Venus or Shukra houses the theatres;planet Jupiter or Guru or Brahaspati houses the library; planet Mars or Mangal houses the administrative offices; the Moon or Chandra has the cafeteria; planet Mercury or Budh is the museum area for miniature paintings, musical instruments, jewellery and photographs; Ketu, the other museum for various other items; planet Saturn or Shani houses the art galleries and workshops are organised over here as well; while Rahu is the square where documentation and research is carried out and weaponry displayed; the central square dedicated to the Sun or Suria houses the open-air theatre known as the 'Madhyavati', while the dome near the entrance has wonderful frescoes on its roof depicting epics from the Vedas. The astrological symbol of each planet is very beautifully expressed in the form of a cutout on the external wall of its respective square.

The Jawahar Kala Kendra has a beautiful ground plan and in all has two museums, a folk arts centre, a library, a studio, two closed theatres and an open-air theatre. It also has facilities for documentation and research for scholars. Besides these, there is the cafeteria, a guest house, a hostel and the administrative offices. There is also ample space to hold exhibitions.

A very large open space with beautiful lush green trees, sprawling lawns, evergreen shrubs and bushes in each square provides a wonderful relief against the red stone building.

This beautiful Kendra has, since its inauguration, regaled the citizens of Jaipur with a host of theatre activities, exhibitions, folk performances and fililp~r·nr,r,r activities. Research and documentation has been in full swing, summer schools to train the children in dance, music, crafts, theatre are a much-awaited activity during the summer holidays and at other times as well. The Kendra's associates, intellectuals, art lovers, children, youth, out standing women who have achieved renown in various fields come together on a common platform to make the various activities, programmes and implementation of the policies far more effective. Collaboration with institutions functioning at the local, state, national and international levels is also sought for the development of the Jawahar Kala Kendra as a centre for the formation of art and culture which, in the long run, will enrich human life not only at an individual level but for society as a whole. An earnest endeavor to ensure that all the art forms, both of the traditional and the modern era, are kept alive.

The two day Alladiya Khan Srnriti Samaroh, festivals of classical dance and music and Lok Rang, the national folk festival, are all held here on an annual basis. The Kendra is also the venue for programmes held by the Rajasthan Lalit Kala Academy, the West Zone Cultural Centre and other cultural organisations.
JKK has been very active for the last six months since the new Minister for
Tourism, Art & Culture, Bina Kak, took over its reins. Many cultural programmes from within and outside the state and even international events have been held here. Folk artists have been encouraged and folk art and crafts are receiving a big boost, while the idea of an inter state cultural exchange is also receiving much impetus.

Up and coming as well as renowned painters, sculptors and photographers are finding a place to display their work, thereby gaining satisfaction and receiving accolades, which were otherwise deluding them due to financial or space constraints. These facilities also provide the artists with an opportunity to sell their wares after the exhibitions are over. Jawahar Kala Kendra also purchases modern, contemporary and traditional artifacts from time to time. A well-equipped graphics studio is functioning for ceramics, sculpture and photography.

The organisation of plays, festivals, workshops and camps is a very prominent activity at both the closed theatre known as the 'Rangayan' and the open-air theatre 'Madhyavati'. Local traditional folk theatre like khayals, rammats and tamashas are also performed here.

Music and dance in all forms - folk, tribal and classical - are taught here at workshops and camps. Competitions like the Kala Pratibha KhoJ and Yuva Kalakar Samaroh are also organised for the youth.

The Jawahar Kala Kendra has completed a district-wise cultural survey of Rajasthan under its documentation and research wing. Monographs of studies of the various art forms such as the ghamar, kanhaiya and dhrupad have been published. Financial assistance is extended to authors on works related to music, dance, drama and the visual arts. 14 books have been published since JKK's inauguration in April 1993 in this manner. The library has well over 8,000 books on art and culture that are open to a limited public membership which forms a base for the ongoing works of the centre.

The Shilpgram area of JKK has huts of Braj (Bharatpur), Hadoti (Kota), Tribal (Dungarpur), Desert (Barmer and Bikaner) and the Shekhawati (Sikar) regions of Rajasthan. The central hut is of the Jaipur region. The craft fairs and folk dance and music programme organised here from time to time are great crowd - pullers. Folk crafts have today become such an integral part of our interior decoration, both at home and at the office, that such events draw a large nunber of people to JKK. One day the Department of Tourism, Art and Culture dreams of making this a world-renowned centre for the arts