Threats force Bangalore gallery to take down nude paintings of deities

Three paintings depicting Hindu deities in the nude were taken down from an exhibition of paintings in a Bangalore art gallery after threats of violence. The paintings of Delhi-based artist Anirudh Sainath Krishnamani were on display at the Chitra Kala Parishath (CKP) in Bangalore and the exhibition was innaugurated by Governor HR Bhardwaj on 3 February. However, soon after the artist said he began receiving calls saying some of the paintings were ‘objectionable’ and they needed to be taken down. After an advisory by the police the offending paintings were taken down on 4 February. After the paintings were removed, Sainath told IBNLive, “It seemed some person had an issue with my paintings. He lodged a complaint with the police station. We’ve heard the person is from the BJP .” [caption id=“attachment_614602” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] From Anirudh Sainath’s Facebook page.[/caption] The art gallery said that they had also received several phone calls threatening them to remove the paintings. The three paintings reportedly depicted Kali, Shiva and Parvathy in the nude. “We were informed that the police had received calls and that there was also an intelligence report expecting an attack here if the paintings were displayed further,” R Sreedhar, Chief Administrative Officer, CKP told Deccan Herald. After the threats, the art academy initially shut down the gallery but after artists protested it reopened with the condition that the three paintings be withdrawn. The artist’s father MN  Krishnamani, a Supreme Court lawyer, said, “A BJP worker complained that the paintings by my son were offensive, police came and stopped the exhibit.” The Karnataka Home Minister said that he was not aware of the controversy over the art exhibition.