Capturing Wildlife In Their Art

Hunting was a passion shared by royals all over the world. Right through the Raj era and even before that imagery of shikaar filled the life of royals. Many images of majestic tigers, fearsome bears, tall camels and angry boars hunted down during shikaars filled the walls of royal palaces. Homes and living rooms were lined with hunting trophies…. stuffed and conserved wild animals that were shot by the royals, each telling a tale that makes even their present-day descendants’ hearts swell with pride. While some Maharajas made hunting their favourite sport, other caring monarchs got involved in conserving the wildlife, preserving the forests. There were many visionaries who spoke out for conservation. Like Maharaj Kumar Ranjit Sinh Wankaner, an IAS who also served as Chairman of the Wildlife Trust of India and Regional Co-coordinator WWF Tiger Conservation Programme. His most noted works are drafting of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 of India and demarcating many forests as wildlife sanctuaries.

Princess Krishna Kumari of Panna

Photography by Anjanaya Pratap Singh

Porcelain art by Krishna

Close-up art by Krishna

Love for the animals in fact fills the life of many royals who spend all their lives living in homes that are surrounded by flora and fauna. Some turn to art to express their love for wildlife, literally capturing the wild world in their frames. Like Princess Krishna Kumari of Panna who belongs to the family of Bundelkhand who ruled over the forest region of Madhya Pradesh. Growing up with tigers and cheetahs, she is an avid wildlife enthusiast.

When not sighting wildlife for real she is busy capturing them on porcelain tiles, trays, plates and bowls. Often monochrome with a dash of yellow or ocher highlighting the tiger’s stripes or the zebra’s eyes. Krishna stumbled upon this art form by a stroke of luck when she met a seasoned artist in Mumbai and took part in her art camp. Though tough, the art form captured her imagination and she travelled to cities where porcelain art was truly practised: Spain, Portugal, and France. She trained to understand its nuances and carefully mastered it. Painting her beloved animals on Porcelain, a medium of expression that is known to be tough to manoeuvre but exquisite to behold, the artist paints extreme close-ups of tigers, zebras, deer and elephants that she encounters in the jungles of Panna on a regular basis.

Photographing wildlife is yet another passion of royals. Anjanaya Pratap Singh from Odisha being one such enthusiast. A professional working in the FMCG world, he spends all his free time capturing wildlife on his camera. A sight of a tiger on the prowl, a view of a cheetah perched in the jungle or a bird in flight, capturing the ripples of a fast-flowing river, and thus, capturing his imagination.