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.
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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.

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

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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.

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.

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 productionoriented 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.

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.

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.

Vagarths 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 Vagarths 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.
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Bharat Bhawan

Glimpse of the central courtyard

Stairs going towards oat

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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