Past Exhibitions

As the prestigious Salar Jung Museum marks its 75th year, it opens its doors to Varna Mythri – a landmark retrospective that brings to Hyderabad, for the first time, the work of the late Rumale Chennabasaviah, one of Karnataka’s most remarkable artists. Meaning ‘harmony of colours’ in Kannada, Varna Mythri will be inaugurated by the Hon’ble Governor of Telangana Shri Shiv Pratap Shukla on Tuesday, 14th April 2026.

Born in Doddaballapura, near Bengaluru, and shaped by the Indian freedom movement, which he not only participated in but actively helped shape, enduring multiple incarcerations, he went on to live many lives: a nation builder, a politician, an editor, a spiritual seeker, and a cultural and social activist, before eventually returning to art as a self-taught painter at the age of 52. In the decades that followed, he created a body of work that is both personal and timeless. Rooted in a deep love for nature and guided by a spiritual sensibility, his works carry the same quiet intensity he brought to life itself. Painting en plein air, he found his studio in the open – on the streets, in the gardens, and amid the changing light of the day, carefully observing and returning to the same spot to capture flowering trees, parks, rivers, and cityscapes in their fullest expression. Over a lifetime, he created nearly 600 works, some commissioned to document Karnataka’s modernisation, yet it is his intimate, luminous portrayals of nature, Bengaluru’s blossoms in particular, that continue to linger long after one has stepped away.

His current retrospective gathers around 80 of his major works – watercolours and oils from the 1960s to the 1980s. This selection of water colours and oil painting have been drawn from the Rumale Art House in Bengaluru, which, interestingly, also completes 53 years of its establishment. Together, they trace not just the evolution of an artist, but the quiet flowering of a way of seeing. Visitors will encounter Bengaluru as Rumale knew it: its Gulmohars and Jacarandas in full bloom, its gardens breathing in colour, its streets and silences alive with observation. Alongside these are landscapes from Karnataka and Sri Lanka, spiritual sites such as Kudalasangama, and rare portraits, including those of the spiritual gurus who shaped his inner life and guided his craft – Shreeman Tapaswiji Maharaj and Sri Shivabalayogi Maharaj.

Archival photographs, personal memorabilia, sketches, and audio-visual material further bring the artist’s life into view, offering visitors a rare chance to encounter not just the works, but the world that shaped them.

Rumale’s work resists easy categorisation. At a time when artists were often divided between the traditional and the modern, he chose his own path – one that was intuitive, inclusive, and rooted in observation. He painted what he saw, but also what he felt. In doing so, he created not just images, but a philosophy: that art and nature are inseparable from everyday life.

Curated by noted artist and critic K. S. Srinivasa Murthy, the retrospective invites viewers to return to the works more than once. As he reflects, “Rumale’s paintings reveal themselves slowly. What may seem simple at first begins to unfold with each viewing, offering new insights into a deeply personal yet universal way of seeing. His art moves beyond style or skill; it connects with people, quietly and profoundly.”

A special highlight of the exhibition is the soft release of Rumale: The Artist in His Words, an English translation of the artist’s autobiographical writings, richly illustrated with rare archival material. It offers, for the first time, an opportunity to hear the artist speak in his own voice… about art, nature, and the life he chose to lead.

As the Salar Jung Museum marks 75 years of bringing art and culture closer to people, Varna Mythri sets the tone for a new chapter. For Hyderabad, this exhibition is not just an introduction; it is an invitation. To slow down. To notice. To stand before a beautiful yesteryear painting and let it unfold, layer by layer.