Hidden Stories: How a Pune-based lithograph press founded in 1878 became a flagbearer of Indian nationalism
The press started as an endeavour to complement texts in books and magazines with imagery and soon transformed into a powerful tool to inspire unity and resistance against British colonial rule.
Portaits of a young Mahatma Gandhi (left) and Ahilyabai Holkar (right) published by Chitrashala Press. In 1991, Prashant Tapadia was in junior college when he came across a few portraits of the Peshwa and Mughal figures in an old wada which was being demolished to make way for a new building. He had also noticed the mention of ‘Chitrashala Press, Poona’ at the bottom of the prints.
As a resident of Pune, Tapadia had heard of Chitrashala Chowk in Sadashiv Peth but knew nothing about a press that printed the alluring portraits. This piqued the interest of the art lover and he started to ask around.
“Internet wasn’t common then. I found no one who could tell me about Chitrashala Press. My quest to find more started with a search for more prints and then connecting the dots,” said Tapadia, a polymer scientist and an avid history explorer.
He eventually found out that Chitrashala Press was among the first printing presses in India and had a history that was closely connected to the Indian freedom struggle.
Vishnushastri Chiplooknar, the founder of the press (Sketch from Chitrashalecha Itihas by R P Kanitkar)
The beginnings
In 1878, Sanskrit scholar and author Vishnushashtri Krishnashashtri Chiplunkar had established the Aryabhushan Press, which was among the first presses in India, in Ravivar Peth to publish vernacular books and newspapers. This was the press where Lokmanya Tilak’s fiery newspapers ‘Mahratta’ and ‘Kesari’ were initially printed. In the same year, a sister concern – Chitrashala Press – was born to complement the text in the books with print imagery of chromolithographs which was then the most advanced technology to produce colour imagery, as per Chitrashalecha Itihas written by R P Kanitkar.
Chitrashala’s conception was enabled by Balkrishna Vasudeo Joshi, a draughtsman in Pune’s Photo Zinco Government Press and an amateur collector of paintings and maps, who became a partner in the new venture.
Along with producing the chromolithographs for books and newspapers, the press also started producing colour portraits “of purely Indian interest” for sale.
It entered the chromolithograph market by printing and selling an image of Nana Fadnavis, the Prime minister of the Peshawa Court. Later, with the publication of Ram Panchayatan and Shiva Panchayatan, Chitrashala’s printing and sales rose exponentially, with these two portraits selling over 2,000 copies in a year. Soon, the press established itself in the business.
The Chitrashala Housing Society that stands at the location now. (Express photo by Atikh Rashid)
“Image was a strong messaging device during those days. An Indian statesman with a portrait of the King or the Queen in his hall meant he was loyal to the throne and was against the anti-colonial movement. The British infused the Indian market with selective images from Europe that were designed to showcase the empire’s majesty and power,” said Tapadia. “In the Indian context, during those times when literacy was very low, images were great propaganda tools,” he added.
From the middle of the 19th century, when chromolithographs became a mass production enterprise in England and Germany, the British Empire consciously flooded her colonies with the portraits of kings and queens and royals which indirectly emphasized to the colonies that the British are too powerful to defeat and they are here to stay.
Against this backdrop, Chitrashala’s concerted efforts to revive the images of Indian gods, goddesses, saints and leaders was an effort towards reclaiming the lost honour. During this period, it published the portraits of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Chhatrapati Sambhaji, Shahu Chhatrapati, Maharana Pratap, Emperor Akbar and Emperor Aurangzeb along with devotional portraits of deities. These productions were “intimately engaged in a series of political and sometimes revolutionary struggles”.
A flagbearer of the Indian freedom movement
Chitrashala’s role in India’s freedom struggle became more marked after the arrival of Vasudeo Ganesh Joshi (1854-1944) who joined as an assistant to Vishnushashtri. Joshi steered Chitrashala to new heights, fostering a narrative of unity among diverse communities in their battle against the British. Under him, Chitrashala not only pushed the narrative of unity of different communities in the fight against the British but in some instances, its building became a secret meeting place for the Indian revolutionaries.
Publishing Mughal kings and Maratha figures such as Chhatrapati Shivaji and the Peshwa as a part of the same series was a well-calculated attempt to ignite a sense of collective determination among the masses in their quest for freedom.
“Joshi cleverly implemented a strategy and inducted portraits of Hindu and Mughal might where the enemy was emphasised but not shown. What could have been a better way than a portrait-for-portrait conflict where Shivaji countered the atrocious powers of King Edward,” said Tapadia.
He added, “Joshi believed that unless every Indian, whether a Hindu, a Sikh or a Muslim, sought freedom, the end of the British Empire could not be achieved. This imagery was channelled to the schools, supporters and aided with Chitrashala’s own academic books and circulars.”
Decline and closure
During Vasudeo Joshi’s leadership, Chitrashala witnessed remarkable growth in its reach and also gained some economic stability. The press expanded its operations and diversified into various other businesses. In a bid to support social causes, Chitrashala Press even engaged in selling an array of products, including pressure cookers, gold-silver jewellery, diamond ornaments, dress buttons, brass cookware and candlesticks.
However, the winds of change swept over Chitrashala Press with the dawn of India’s Independence in 1947.
“The passing of Vasudeo Joshi in 1944 led to internal conflicts and legal battles among the press’s management and trustees. These challenges, coupled with internal disputes, resulted in economic distress and by the 1960s, Chitrashala found itself relegated to the pages of history. In 1973, this once-proud institution met an unfortunate end, leaving behind a strong legacy of its existence,” said Tapadia.
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