Excavating the Modern from the Premodern: How the Bengal School Shaped Indian Modern Art

In this conversation, Vikram Zutshi and Debashish Banerji talk to
Samit Das about his art practice. Samit Das is a contemporary
Indian artist based in New Delhi, who engages with Indian history
through its archives. He was educated at Kala Bhavan in
Shantiniketan and developed an abiding interest in the Bengal
School of Art and the early history of Indian nationalism as
represented in Bengal. He is also fascinated by proto-historic
and aboriginal histories and how they have contributed to the
vocabulary of Indian forms. This conversation explores these
interests as well as Das' engagement with the changing landscapes
of modern Indian cities such as Kolkata, Jamshedpur (where he was
born), Shantiniketan and Delhi.