NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART

The NGMA Bengaluru is part of the Museum of Modern Art, New Delhi, and was inaugurated in 2009. This superb museum is housed in the former vacation residence of the Maharaja of Mysore, to which a modern wing has been added. Surrounded by a large park, the site is ideal for a visit followed by a picnic.

The museum's vocation is to show the progression of modern art in India from the ^18th century to the present day, through its permanent collection, entitled Signposts of the Times...from the collection of the NGMA, but also through its temporary exhibitions of national and international artists. The more than 500 works on display - paintings, sculptures and photographs - have been carefully selected from the Delhi museum's collection, dating back to the colonial era in the case of the earliest works. They also give pride of place to the Bengal school, whose most famous representative is Abanindranath Tagore, nephew of the famous Kolkata writer Rabindranath Tagore. This fine museum provides an insight into contemporary Indian artists, demonstrating that there are schools, currents and conceptual art alive and well on the subcontinent. The spotlight on the artists and their works is particularly well done, a fact rare enough in India to merit a mention.

The museum also includes a store and a café serving delicious sandwiches.