Read the passage on the Indian abstract artists of the 1960s and answer the question.
Many Indian artists and critics grew worried about their imitation of modern art from the West and felt the need to establish an Indian identity in their art. In the 1960s, Biren De and G. R. Santosh in Delhi and K. C. S. Paniker in Madras turned to the past and local artistic traditions to create a unique Indian abstract art.
How did Biren De express the move towards establishing an Indian identity in his works?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Through experiments with colours and patterns
Option (1) Through a visual sense of cosmic union of male and female energy — Incorrect. This is the way of G. R. Santosh, whose works recall purusha and prakriti of the Tantric philosophy.
Option (2) Through experiments with colours and patterns — Correct. In Biren De’s works, the move to an Indian abstract art led to captivating experiments with colours and patterns.
Option (3) Through use of bindu as a symbol of oneness — Incorrect. This belongs to S. H. Raza, some of whose paintings use bindu as a symbol of oneness from Indian philosophy.
Option (4) Through use of diagrams, scripts and pictograms — Incorrect. This is how K. C. S. Paniker worked, taking diagrams, scripts and pictograms he saw in his region.
Note: This topic was not named in the CUET 2026 syllabus, but it was part of the NCERT chapter. In 2025 and 2026, NTA also asked questions on topics in NCERT that the CUET syllabus did not name. So our mocks have questions from every part of the NCERT chapter, to give you enough practice. Read the whole chapter, not only the sub-topics named in the syllabus.
NCERT (2026-27): “Abstraction – A New Trend …Many Indian artists and critics grew worried about their imitation of modern art from the West and felt the need to establish an Indian identity in their art. …In Biren De’s works, this move led to captivating experiments with colours and patterns. G. R. Santosh created a visual sense of cosmic union of male and female energy, reminding us of purusha and prakriti of the Tantric philosophy. K. C. S. Paniker, on the other hand, made use of diagrams, scripts and pictograms that he saw in his region and evolved out of them a style, which was both modern and uniquely Indian.” |