100-year-old miniature paintings damaged as water enters museum in Siri Fort area

MCD did not respond to request for a comment.

A flooded museum (File Photo)

In the early hours of Saturday morning — a day after Delhi was battered by heavy downpour — artist Arpana Caur was wading through stagnant water, assessing the damage, and supervising the unscrewing of centuries-old miniature paintings and folk art paintings that are part of the museum housed in the basement of the Academy of Fine Arts and Literature at Siri Fort Institutional Area.

The museum features works from her collection built over decades. “By 5.30 am on Friday, the water level in the museum galleries was about five-feet high. Over 30 miniatures and over 70 folk paintings have been damaged. Some of these miniatures are 150-200 years old and are registered with the Archeological Survey of India (ASI)… The folk paintings include rare Dhaka paintings and thangkas, and works by acclaimed artists such as Jangarh Singh Shyam and Durga Bai,” says Caur.

The artist notes that the influx of water came from the adjacent drain. “Anticipating that this would happen, my mother (author Ajeet Caur) had written a letter to the MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) on June 19. She had stated that the drains were full of rubbish and needed immediate cleaning, but no action was taken,” says Caur.

MCD did not respond to request for a comment.

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In 2013, when a similar instance had occurred at her basement museum, Caur had moved the Delhi High Court. “The MCD and PWD were ordered to make sure the nullah is regularly cleaned. But the order seems to have been forgotten,” states Caur.

Recalling her ordeal on Friday, she notes, “We started calling the MCD and fire department early in the morning … Finally, we managed to receive help from the fire department around 3.30 pm. They worked till midnight, and managed to bring the water level down to two-and-a-half feet, and our carpenter was able to enter and unscrew some paintings. We are still in the midst of removing all of them, and several of these will require restoration.”

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