Atal Setu bring chances of revival for dying Basohli art form

North India's first cable- stayed bridge in this town is seen as a chance for the revival of the world famous and dying art form of Basohli painting.
The inauguration of 'Atal Setu' bridge -- the fourth of its kind in the country -- on Ravi river yesterday is a dream come true for the residents of the land-locked Basohli town as they believe that the alternate connectivity will not provide fillip to the tourism via Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, but would also help revive the dying art of Basohli painting.
"Artists in the area had stopped painting because they could not market it, but now we are hopeful that with the alternate connectivity of this area, our paintings would get a better market," Madan Lal, an artist, said.

Immortalised by its artistic eminence and connoisseur patterns, Basohli painting were once a mataphor for a vigorous, bold and imaginative artistic style which was rich and unconventional.
Basohli is also considered as one of the historic towns of Jammu and Kashmir.
"It has been our demand for the past several decades that we should have an alternate connectivity with the rest of the country. The inauguration of the bridge yesterday has come as a dream come true for the residents of this township," Roop Lal, a resident of this town, said.

Founded by Raja Bhupat Pal in 1635, the historic monuments of the town now lie in ruins.

"We are hopeful that this town would soon find place in the tourism map of the country and would also help revive the dying art of Basohli painting.
Basohli is a style of painting characterise with its geometrical patterns and the use of bold colours which infuses vitality in the paintings.
The use of primary colours and peculiar facial formula prevailed in the 17th and 18th centuries in the foothills of western Himalayas in Jammu and Punjab.
According to local residents, these paintings originated in Basohli from where the style spread to the hill areas of Kullu, Mankote, Noorpur, Mandi, Bilaspur, Suket, Chamba, Nallagarh, Kangra and Gulad.