S03E01 - Nandalal Bose

The Indian constitution is one of the few, if only, illustrated constitutions in the world. Twenty two panels open each of the chapters, featuring characters and scenes from Indian history and myth. Who was the person who spearheaded the project of bringing our constitution to life visually?

Nandalal Bose, a pioneer of modernism in Indian art, and the favoured artist of both Rabindranath Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi. In this episode we explore how the Constitution came to be illustrated, why certain images were chosen and the life and work of the man in charge of it.

Guests: Prof. Siva Kumar, Prof. Naman Ahuja

Special thanks to Justice Gautam Patel, Arun Thiruvengadam, Reetika Subramanian, Sugandha Yadav and Vasuman Khandelwal.

Credits:

Host: Raghu Karnad

Executive Producer: Ramya Boddupalli

Producer: Gaurav Vaz

Scriptwriting and research: Bhavya Dore and Ramya Boddupalli

Fact checking: Mallika Dandekar

Music direction and sound design: Saachi Rajadhyaksha

Recording Engineer and Mastering: Ayan De

Recorded at: Stitch Audio, Mumbai

Thank you to Sukhada Tatke for editing support

Advisors: Gouri Divan, Lawrence Liang, Ranvir Singh, Shyam Divan and Vivek Divan.

Corrections and Clarifications:

1. This episode states that a thousand copies of the Constitution were printed after the decoration was completed in 1950. While it is true that the copies were printed, Nandalal Bose continued to work on the art work for another 4 years [see: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/constitution-1st-edition-auctioned-for-record-rs-48-lakh/articleshow/112151201.cms]

S3 Episodes release every Wednesday

Friend of the Court is back for a 3rd season. This time, the show moves out of the courtroom to tell the stories of 7 individuals and their unique role in shaping India's constitutional culture. Over 6 episodes, we look at the lives and contributions of Justice Fazl Ali, the lawyer KG Kannabiran, filmmakers Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and Raj Kapoor, women’s rights leader Hansa Mehta, artist Nandalal Bose and political thinker MN Roy. Some of these figures might be better known than others, each left an impact in their chosen field in their own way.

• No. of episodes: 26
• Latest episode: 2025-04-29
• Education Society & Culture

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