Himachal Governor Kavinder Gupta inaugurates Kangra miniature art gallery at IIAS Shimla
On October 16, Governor Kavinder Gupta opened a new permanent gallery at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study in Shimla, signalling a fresh commitment to the preservation of Kangra miniature painting.
The space, named Kangra Kalam: The Pahari Miniature Art Gallery, occupies Room 8 of the institute’s main building and shifts the focus from courtly and religious subjects to the everyday life of the Himalayan region—farm work, folk music, Gaddi community rituals, food preparation and local deity processions.
Alongside the inauguration, a bust of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was unveiled and the scholarly volume Folk and Rural Imagery in Kangra Miniatures was released, offering an academic perspective on the art’s rural and folk narratives.
The event formed part of the institute’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, which also featured a five‑day miniature‑painting workshop held in June 2026 that revived natural pigments and the guru‑shishya tradition, as well as performances of music, dance and poetry, and an exhibition at the Rabindranath Tagore Art Gallery.
Gupta stressed that the gallery will help both Indian and international visitors grasp the deep connections between art, nature and daily life in the Himalayas, and called for continued support to keep these traditional practices alive.