100 artefacts from galleries, South Block find pride of place in new PMO

With the new PMO being billed as ‘Seva Teerth: Nagrik Devo Bhava’, implying a place where the citizen is god, sources say the moods and fervour of Indian citizens have been given a pride of place. Not just fine art from the repositories of major art galleries, there is representation of folk traditions as well, as per those involved with the project.

The brief was to keep the space functional yet offer representation to the common man in its various corridors and halls with pieces created by them said the sources.

“While the South Block and North Block embodied colonial thinking, today I proudly declare that Seva Teerth and Kartavya Bhavan embody the aspirations of the Indian people. Decisions taken here will not reflect the will of a monarch, but the expectations of 1.4 billion citizens,” PM Modi had said while inaugurating the new PMO.

Folk art forms representing all regions of the country find space at Seva Teerth, including traditional bell metal, dhokra, warli, kalamkari, pichhwai, madhubani and pattachitra. Several bronze idols were also sourced for the building, including an idol of Lord Ganesha, which the Prime Minister prayed to during the inauguration ceremony, an idol of Goddess Lakshmi, symbolising prosperity, and one of Goddess Saraswati, symbolising knowledge, sources say.

There are four key visitor rooms in the building — sahyog ( cooperation), shanti (peace), samridhi (prosperity) and samvaad (dialogue) — named in keeping with the overall theme of a citizen-centric government moving towards Viksit Bharat .

The art project has been curated, supervised and executed by IGNCA, which functions under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture, for the new complex, in three months’ time. Sources say the next phase of the Seva Teerth art project would include panelling and frescos for the ceilings, which would be carried out in due course in consultation with the PMO.

The complex is part of the Central Vista Redevelopment Project, and besides the PMO, it houses the National Security Council Secretariat and the Cabinet Secretariat. All these offices were earlier located at different locations.

Officials from IGNCA were unavailable for comment. The organisation had earlier executed the art project for the new Parliament Building, which was based on Sanatan Parampara and Vaastu Shastra as the guiding principles. However, the new PMO is aimed to be a more functional space, and so, is not heavy on artwork or decorative elements, those aware of the building design say. While all works of art on display at the new Parliament building were commissioned afresh, the artwork at Seva Teerth have been sourced from repositories and galleries.

Divya A reports on travel, tourism, culture and social issues - not necessarily in that order - for The Indian Express. She's been a journalist for over a decade now, working with Khaleej Times and The Times of India, before settling down at Express. Besides writing/ editing news reports, she indulges her pen to write short stories. As Sanskriti Prabha Dutt Fellow for Excellence in Journalism, she is researching on the lives of the children of sex workers in India. ... Read More

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