tiger sculpture from
Bastar, Bharat Bhavan collection The early 1980s saw a burgeoning of the Indian arts scene and a renewed government focus on developing arts across the nation, through regional centers for arts in state capitals. The initiative, in Madhya Pradesh, was furthered to fruition by cultural administrator,
Ashok Vajpeyi, an
IAS-officer in the state Ministry of Education (1966-1992), who was also behind the setting up of the literary organization, 'Kalidas Academy', in
Ujjain in 1983. Though some cultural initiatives lost steam in later years in many parts of India, one project that became a success is the Bharat Bhavan (India House) in Bhopal. The institution was inaugurated on 13 February 1982 though it is run by an autonomous 12-member Bharat Bhavan Trust. In the following decade, the institution grew to become an important cultural institution of India as it started attracting artists, scholars, students and other visitors from Indore, Jabalpur, Mumbai, Kolkata and even foreign countries. During its formative years, theatre personality,
B. V. Karanth who headed the 'Rangamandal repertory', incorporated folk forms of the region into his work, staged many productions in Hindi, especially during his stint at the Bharat Bhavan. The "Bharat Bhavan Biennial of Contemporary Indian Art" started in 1986, followed by "Bharat Bhavan International Print Biennial" in 1989. The complex is most known for its art museum,
Roopankar, which houses a permanent collection of
tribal art, collected by
Jagdish Swaminathan in its early years, and represents the best examples of tribal art in India. The 'Vagarth' centre of
Hindi poetry and literature houses a library and archive of Indian poetry, classical music and folk music. It organizes the 'Katha Prasang' festival on
Hindi literature. ==Overview==