Band Baaja – 2575

Beena Pradhan

Beena Pradhan is a self-taught artist who has been painting for the last 30 years. Beena works on different themes at different points of time in her life. Her current series "Equal Colour" portrays my belief in equality of mankind, irrespective of class, creed or colour.

The artwork we currently have is from her “Band Baaja Baraat” series which came at time when Beena was fascinated by Baraats (Indian Wedding Processions) and all their pomp and flair. The Indian band is an integral part of every Baraat and the band players work as hype-men, vigorously beating their drums to liven everyone’s mood. They also help add the color and the glitter to the rich Indian wedding. When they march along in the night shimmering under the blaze of the smoking kerosene lamps, following their bandmaster holding his banner, trumpets and drums, bugles and flutes all blazing, it is indeed a sight to behold. The Indian band has always been a subject of great interest to Beena as an artist as it allowed her to be generous and wild with her use of colour and helped liven her spirits just recreating the fanfare.