Bharat Bhawan

Report On The Building Gaurav Sharma

Bharat Bhawan A multi art complex

Bharat Bhawan

Bharat Bhawan located on J. Swamination Marg on the beautiful Shaymala Hills, Bhopal Madhya Pradesh was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister of India, Smt. Indira Gandhi on 13th February 1982, Bharat Bhavan is multi art center set up to create an interactive proximity between the verbal, visual and performing arts. It provides space for contemporary expression, thought, quest and innovation. Bharat Bhavan seek to provide a creative and thought provoking milieu to those who wish to contribute something new and meaningful, in contemporary scene in the fine arts, literature, theatre, cinema, dance and music. It houses some of the best and most lasting that is being created in our towns, villages and forests.

The view just after entering the complex, glance of the upper lake acts as a mesmerizer to the viewer. 1

Bharat Bhawan

Charles Correa the architect found here the possibilities of a series of terraced gardens, which would be seen cascading down to the lake. The visitors enter at the highest level and walk down a pedestrian spine, flanked by a pattern of courtyards, to reach the various parts of the complex. Each curve and space defines itself. Each of the part of the building is distinct yet flows easily one another, linked by meandering paths. The total effect is one of the surprise and pleasure. There is always a moment when the eye can rest and the mind contemplates.

A Stone Paved Pathway Leads to the Inner Exhibition area, Greenery Is Very Well Blended with the Construction.

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Bharat Bhawan

In the last twenty seven years Bharat Bhavan has organized hundreds of programs including music concerts, readings, exhibitions and film shows. It has produced more than 50 plays of which hundreds of shows have been organized at Bharat Bhavan and also at other cities of the country.

Sculpture Exhibition Space, the Lighting in the Space Makes It Come Alive

Waffle Slab Roof 3

Bharat Bhawan

Roof and Walls of the Painting Exhibition area, A Very Beautiful Interplay of Light and Shadow Can be seen on the Walls. Besides regular series of programs and multi-art festivals, World Poetry Festival, International Print Biennial (eight events), Biennial of contemporary Indian Art (five events), Commonwealth Countries’ Theatre workshop, National Drama Festivals, Sarangi Mela, Jaipur Gharana Music Festival, Purush Dance Festival, National Dance Festivals, Swayamsiddha (centered on the creativity of women ), Kavi Bharti (trinal of Indian poetry / 4 events), Samvaya (trinal of literary criticism/ 4 events), seminar on literary Journalism, several symposiums on major authors and important issues related to literature, aesthetics and thought , arts and film appreciation workshops etc. are some of the major events organized by Bharat Bhavan.

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Bharat Bhawan

The activities of Bharat Bhavan are organized through its following wings:  Roopankar ( Museum Of Fine Arts )  Rangmandal ( A Repertory )  Vagarth ( A Center Of Indian Poetry )  Anhad ( A Center Of Classical & Folk Music )  Chhavi ( A Center Of Classical Cinema )  Nirala Srijanpeeth ROOPANKAR is the only museum of its kind in India which houses contemporary folk and tribal art together with urban art. Its objectives is not just a historic collection of works of art, but also creative participation in the art scene emerging in the last decades of the century. Roopankar has two fully equipped workshops for print making and ceramics. Facilities for bronze casting and stone carving are also available. Camps and workshops are organized off and on to bring urban and folk artists face to face and to open new avenues of creativity through dialogue and confrontation.

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Bharat Bhawan

Several solo and group exhibitions of Indian and foreign artists have been organized by Roopankar. Notable among Its events are the Bharat Bhavan International Print Biennial, started in 1989 and the Bharat Bhavan Biennial of Contemporary Indian Art, started in 1886. Roopankar has organized exhibitions in Japan and Moscow and in some parts of India with some major activities in Bhopal, like all- India Artists Camps for painting, sculpture, ceramics and graphics in which tribal, folk and urban artists have worked together and exhibitions of Mexican, Finnish, German and Russian Art have also been held. Solo exhibitions include those of J. Swaminathan, K.G. Subramaniam, N.S.Bendre, Henry Moore, Krishna Reddy, Maqbool Fida Husain, Ram Kumar, Tyeb Mehta, V.S.Gaitonde, Satish Gujaral, Manjit Bawa and Ramesh Pateria. There are about 6,000 tribal and folk art objects and nearly 2,500 urban art works in the

Rangmandal is not a mere production–oriented repertory. It believes in imparting practical training to its member to participate in all aspects of mounting a production and explore new dimensions of theatre. Its objective is a sustained theater movement that becomes a way of life rather than a sporadic activity. It seeks to draw upon and contribute to indigenous traditions and styles of drama. It works on the conviction that theater must have a local complexion and flavor, a national spirit and a universal vision. The artists have traveled and collected material on folk drama forms.

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Bharat Bhawan

Rangmandal has presented more than 1000 shows of over 50 plays. Rangmandal also has to its credit several successful performances in Bundeli, Chhattisgarhi and Malavi.

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Bharat Bhawan

VAGARTH is the center for Indian Poetry. It aims to collect and preserve the ancient and contemporary poetry in the Indian languages, whether in the spoken, written or printed form.

Vagarth’s library consists of more than 13,000 books. These include books of poetry in Indian Languages, English translations of poetry in foreign languages, works on poetics, literary criticism and culture. Rare manuscripts of some renowned Indian poets, hundreds of audio and Videos recordings of reading in Bharat Bhavan by significant Indian poets are also collected in Vagarth’s archives. CHHAVI is a recently opened center for classic cinema. It regularly organizes the screenings of the classical films from all over the world. It has organized several Film Festivals based on various themes. 8

Bharat Bhawan

Glimpse of the central courtyard

Stairs going towards oat

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Bharat Bhawan

View of the cortyard with greenry from the literary exhibition

The cortyard is centrally located and connects all the exhibition spaces it acts as a connecting space both visually and by location, it als keeps the area cool, the presence of this cortyard keeps Bharat Bhawan ok without the use of even fans during the daytime.

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Bharat Bhawan

The Roof

View of the roof from lake side open air theatre

The roof of the structure is made in an abstract shape which is specially designed by chorrea for this specific purpose this roof allows daylight inside the building in a very efficient way, inside the exibitions theres no need of lighting the bulb during daytime.

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Bharat Bhawan

Connecting Spaces and Gardens

Chorrea has designed the connecting space such as these becomes landmarks in the art center itself. The site of the art center is on a gently sloping hill overlooking the upper lake in Bhopal. The natural contours of the site have been used to create a series of terraced gardens and sunken courtyards- off which are located a number of cultural facilities, including a museum of tribal art, a library of Indian poetry (in all the 17 major languages), Galleries for contemporary Art, Workshops for lithography and sculpture, and a studio for an artist-in-residence.

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Bharat Bhawan

Bharat Bhawan also houses a full-fledged theatrical repertoire company and facilities for the performing arts, including the antarang (indoor auditorium), and the bhairang (open air amphitheater), overlooking the lake. Lighting and ventilation within the building are provided by top lights (from the concrete shells and slots along the terrace parapets). The openings to the courtyards and terraces have two sets of shutters: the inner ones consisting of a combination of fixed glass and operable panels for light and ventilation; the outer ones consisting of large wooden doors, closed at night for security.

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Bharat Bhawan

One of the many gardens located above an exhibition area also acting as an earth sheltered construction.

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