In a bid to pay his best form of tribute to the founder of Jaipur, artist Ramu Ramdev  has decided to illustrate a set of 11 miniature paintings on Sawai Raja Jai Singh as a way to express gratitude.

Jaipur-based artist Ramu Ramdev is taking India’s rich heritage of miniature art to the upcoming international art show Whiteley Arts Festival in the UK. The festival attracts an audience of over 3,000 people from all across the world, who will witness Rajasthani miniature art, one of the most notable traditions of Indian art. Ramdev will also teach the basics of the art, especially the Bundi and Kangra style, at the festival

Artworks from Jaipur, the city which has played host to film stars, literary giants, other celebrities and backpackers from across the globe will soon be shown in Chicago.

Chicago: As a master miniature artist,  Achleshwar (Ramu) Ramdev confidently turns a small piece of yellowish paper around on his desk, stroking it with a paintbrush here and there, the vibrant colors in his depiction of Dhola Maru slowly, but surely come to life.

A few feet away, curious visitors at the Alsdorf Galleries at the Art Institute of Chicago focus magnifying glasses on other finished paintings of Ramdev.

Artworks from Jaipur, the city which has played host to film stars, literary giants, other celebrities and backpackers from across the globe, will soon be shown in Chicago.

The Art Institute of Chicago (ARTIC), one of the largest museums in America where Indian philosopher Swami Vivekananda had delivered his historic address in 1896, is developing a major exhibition on the royal arts of Jaipur, planned to open in 2013.

Ramu Ramdev is a well known miniature painter of Mughal art from Jaipur, India.  Ramu Ramdev has preserved traditional Mughal art and passed on his knowledge to a younger generation. In 1996 he started his own not for profit organization called “Rangreet” in which he not only passed on his knowledge of Mughal art to a younger generation but also kept traditional Indian artwork alive.

For JWB it hasn’t been just a regular morning, but the one – with fun, creativity and many, many kids. We have been on excursion at the Diwan-e-aam of the famous City Palace. The entire space has been filled with colors to please eyes and classical Indian music to please ears. Not just that, adding more grace to the gleaming beauty of the palace, girls have been practicing the mesmerizing kathak dance in one part of the grand hall. The chamber looked like an art gallery decorated with red and golden colors and exhibiting different paintings.

Modern art teachers may snigger and seek to suppress it, but contemporary miniature painting is alive and well in a vast expanse of South Asia and beyond, and India’s Ramu Ramdev is one of its influential practitioners and proponents.

The artist has just concluded his third cycle of five-day workshops for enthusiasts at the Bhavan Centre of art in West Kensington. But it’s almost certain that he will return to wider acclaim, because Ramdev’s work ties in nicely with the resurgence of interest in Indian or South Asian art. Also, his masterclass training of amateurs is a cheaper and easier alternative to trying to get into the Prince’s School of Traditional Arts in London, patronised by the Prince of Wales and heir to the British throne. The school teaches South Asian and Islamic miniature painting but as part of a degree course.

I want to put my whole life into art because art is a subject which gives me peace.’ This is what Hayley has to say who has her heart on Miniature Traditional work. One year ago, Hayley came to the Pink City as a tourist but she got very addicted to Miniature Painting that it can be seen in her whole body. That is why from London she has come again to learn the nitty gritty of this art.

Hayley has got her interest of painting as a lineage [inheritance] because her mum Jennie was doing Chinese wash painting. But Hayley is learning and getting interest in this art from the famous Jaipur Miniature Painter Ramu Ramdev

A month long ‘City Palace Summer Training Camp’ was organized by Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum Trust, in collaboration with Saraswati Kala Kendra and Rangrit Sansthan with the objective to orient and imbibe the young minds with the rich cultural traditions of our country.

I heard so much about the amazing paintings and sketches stored at my Guru’s home and he finally invited me to visit.  I heard that Guruji has thousands of sketches and that some of his hidden paintings are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. I suspected that some of those rumours were exaggerated but that did not stop me from feeling extremely excited about the visit.