In the company of Gods: Architect Kuldip Singh and his collection of Thanjavur paintings

APOLLO MAGAZINE
By Gargi Gupta

Two exquisite Thanjavur paintings (Left to Right) Navnita Krishna and Umamaheshvara Nandi, in Delhi-based architect Kuldip Singh’s collection

DELHI, India---Most Delhiwallahs know Kuldip Singh as the architect of the majestic funnel-shaped Palika Kendra building opposite Jantar Mantar, and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) office in Siri Fort – sometimes called the 'pyjama building' by irreverent auto-wallahs for its two-winged shape. Those more acquainted with architecture will know that Singh is foremost among a band of modernist architects and urban planners – Charles Correa, Raj Rewal, BV Doshi – whose iconic, spare buildings, often clad in exposed concrete, changed the landscape of our cities in the 1960s and 1970s. Amruta Kalasha, an exhibition of 200-odd vintage Thanjavur paintings at the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) in Delhi, shows a very different facet of Singh's personality — that of an art collector. [More]