J. M. Ahivasi

Jagannath Murlidhar Ahivasi (6 July 1901 – 29 December 1973) was an Indian painter and art educator. He is well known for his paintings in the Indian style inspired by the techniques and style of the Indian miniature paintings. J. M. Ahivasi was at the forefront of the revival of Indian Art in Western India from early to mid 20th century. Initially, Ahivasi took admission at Ketkar Art Institute in Girgaon. After completing the first two years of the course here, he joined the Sir J. J. School of Art. In 1926, he completed G. D. Art in painting with first class. During his education, he received the prestigious Dolly Cursetjee Prize. Other awards include the Mayo Medal in 1927 for his academic achievements and a gold medal in an exhibition held at Surat in the same year. Message (1927) by J. M. Ahivasi in the Rajput miniature style Ahivasi's paintings were inspired by the Indian miniatures of Jain, Rajput and Kangra style. Solomon was intrigued by the beauty and elegance of his line of art. He was also impressed by the thick and opaque watercolour paintings of Ahivasi that looked different from the wash technique adopted by the Bengal School of Art along with Nagarkar and others at the Bombay Revivalist School. Thereby, Solomon awarded Ahivasi with a scholarship for the mural decoration class in 1927. His painting in the Rajput style titled Message received a gold medal at the Bombay Art Society exhibition in 1927. From 1932 to 1935, he was also appointed as a Fellow in Painting at the school.

Murals at Rashtrapati Bhavan In the year 1927, a nationwide competition was organized which invited designs for decorating the rooms of the Imperial Secretariat (now Rashtrapati Bhavan) in New Delhi. The committee, appointed by the Government of India, received about 24 entries from across India who had sent their preliminary drawings. They accepted the work offered by seven of these exhibitors, including two art schools. Sir J. J. School of Art was selected to decorate the Committee Room A (now the office of Minister of State of Home Affairs), based on their initial designs for the competition. He was given the task of creating murals for two lunettes on the dome of the room. The two artworks that he designed were Painting and Drama. Painting is based on the Rajput miniature style with a modern approach of subject handling and composition. Whereas, Drama has a touch of Western realistic style with a dramatic figure composition. Two contrasting emotions are depicted on the either side of a woman who is seated on the throne in the center. These paintings were created in oils on canvas and later attached to the walls of the room. The final work began from the month of November 1928 and was completed in August 1929.

The Indian Class Considering the inclination and mastery of Ahivasi in the Indian miniature tradition, Solomon started a special class for the same in 1929, as an extension of the Bombay Revivalist School. Ahivasi was appointed as the teacher of this Indian Class which was designed in Indian style under his guidance. Students had to remove their footwear before they entered the classroom. Desks were laid out on a satranji (carpet) instead of the typical donkey easels. One had to put their board on the desk and sit cross-legged on the satranji. Ahivasi himself sat on raised platform with bolsters on the either side. His attire was completely Indian which included a pheta, long coat, dhoti with simple sandals and occasionally, a Khadi cap. In this Indian environment, many things were taught – from how to hold a brush, how to effectively use colour theory and how to preserve the integrity of the image. They followed the traditional way of image making - asanasiddhi (poses), reshasiddhi (lines) and then rangasiddhi (colours). Officially termed as the Class of Indian Design and Composition, this class was quite popular in the school. Only those students with an aptitude for oriental design were admitted to it which resulted in production of quality paintings that felt Indian and were original in style. Sketch of Abanindranath Tagore (1947) by J. M. Ahivasi with Tagore's signature at the bottom Later, Ahivasi also went to Santiniketan and stayed there for two days. Here, he met Nandalal Bose who knew his work well and was pleased to receive him. Since Kala Bhavana was closed that day, Bose got it opened and took Ahivasi on the campus tour. This was followed by a discussion on the methods of teaching art. There had been a history of controversy between the Bengal and the Bombay School of Art. However, this meeting was cordial and promoted a better understanding between the two art schools. In 1961, Ahivasi's book Rekhanjali based on Indian sculptures and paintings was published by J. V. Navlakhi and Company, Mumbai.

Ahivasi's painting Departure of Meera was gifted by then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru to Zhou Enlai, then Prime Minister of China. He also worked as the editor of the kirtan collection in Braj Bhasha and was elected as the president of the Brajbhasha Sammelan at Meerut.