By Dipankar De Sarkar, IANS,

London : Hidden away in the vaults of the British Museum for 164 years, more than 100 stunning paintings from the Ramayana, dating back to the 17th century, went on public display Friday at the British Library's central London galleries.

The Mewar Ramayana paintings were acquired by the then British Museum Library in 1844 in the form of bound volumes, but were only available to scholars.

When their condition began to deteriorate, the British Library had the paintings individually framed.

By IANS,

Hong Kong : Christie's spring 2008 sales of Asian contemporary art in Hong Kong May 24-25 will feature a selection of 27 significant works by Indian artists along with those of their counterparts from China, Japan and South Korea.

The inaugural evening sale of Asian contemporary art on May 24 is a first for the category worldwide and an eagerly-awaited new element to the sale series in Hong Kong this season.

By IANS,

New York : Works by Indian artists Subodh Gupta, Anish Kapoor, T.V. Santosh, Chintan Upadhyay, Riyas Komu, Raqib Shaw and Bose Krishnamachari attracted high prices at Sotheby's spring series of contemporary art auctions here, exceeding expectations with the total sale amounting to $1,748,500.

The highlight of the May 14-15 auctions was a work by Gupta, one of the most important contemporary artists to emerge from India in a generation. His "Saat Samunder Paar VII" fetched $825,000, a record for the artist at auction.

By IANS,

New York : Works by Indian artists totaled $1,748,500, exceeding expectations, in Sotheby's spring series of Contemporary Art sales in New York.

The offering was highlighted by a work by Subodh Gupta, one of the most important contemporary artists to emerge from India in a generation, Saat Samunder Paar VII, 2003, which achieved $825,000, a record for the artist at auction, in the evening sale.

By IANS,

London : The authorised biography of Sir V.S. Naipaul that said his infidelity and mental cruelty may have contributed to his wife's death is tipped to win the richest prize in non-fiction writing.

Patrick French's "The World is What it is: The Authorized Biography of V.S. Naipaul" heads the shortlist for the 30,000 pounds Samuel Johnson prize, to be announced July 15.

By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,

New Delhi : Leading abstractionist Sanjeev Varma's works promote the green cause, drawing inspiration from simple things like stray dogs longing for affection and the first raindrops.

His show "Little Does Matter", a spread of 37 canvases done in oil and tackled with a riot of "unadulterated" colour, comes at a time when art as an object of mass appeal is promoting a variety of causes in India.

By IANS,

Guwahati : Assam is hoping that Unesco will this time accord World Heritage Site status to South Asia's largest river island of Majuli, which is located in the state and is an important seat of Vaishnavism.

"We hope the World Heritage Committee that is meeting in Quebec, Canada, in July would positively consider granting Majuli the unique status it deserves. We have submitted all documents and information sought by the committee," said a Lok Sabha MP from Assam, Arun Sarma, who is among those pushing the case.

By IANS,

Ghaziabad : Police were Wednesday investigating the death of a former air hostess under mysterious circumstances at Ghaziabad.

Some passers-by noticed Jaya Kaushik, a 26-year-old who earlier worked with Deccan airlines, lying critically injured near railway tracks at 11.30 p.m. Tuesday. They rushed her to a hospital where she succumbed to her injuries.

Attending doctors said her left leg and right arm were found broken and there were multiple injuries in her abdomen.

By IANS,

New Delhi : Take a sheet of paper. Shake it, rumple it and tear it. Place the act in the context of creative art, installations, short texts and theatre. You get a free-flowing genre of inter-disciplinary art called Fluxus art, an exhibition of which will be held here this month.

For Indians, bred on conventional art formats like paintings, sculptures and installations, Fluxus may seem a tad difficult to understand. Experts describe it as a spiritual experience which recontextualises traditional forms.

By IANS,

Kolkata : A museum for modern art will be built here by one of the world's leading architecture firms Herzog & de Meuron to revive the city's heritage, said a company official.

The Kolkata Museum of Modern Art (KMOMA) will be set up at the New Town area in Rajarhat on the outskirts of the city.

"We have signed the agreement with the trustees of KMOMA Monday evening and hope to start working on the $50 million project soon. This art museum is going to be the first of its kind in India," Harry Guggar, a company partner, told reporters at a press conference Monday.