The creative spark

Pic courtesy/The Cleveland Museum of Art

Dr Ursula Weekes /// London-based art historian, author and speaker, specialising in Mughal and Rajput painting
Pic courtesy/The Cleveland Museum of Art

This painting made in Lucknow, c. 1760, was not made as a Diwali scene but it still captures the spirit of the festival for me, as shower upon shower of golden fireworks lights up the sky, dispelling the darkness. Three royal women hold magnificent phuljhari sparklers, which they sensibly allow to cascade onto little pools of water on their riverside terrace. The marble balustrade overlooking their verdant river garden is decorated with little burning lamps. But my favourite details are the tiny figures in the distance, barely visible at first, who are busy setting off the pyrotechnics. Some are in boats on the river, with little diyas placed around the rim of each boat. Other men are on the far bank, holding fireworks which whizz and fizz in their hands as they dash here and there. The precision of the artist in drawing each spark of golden light is breathtaking. Unlike sparks of fire, these dashes of paint never extinguish, and thus evoke for me, showers of real gold, reminding us that Diwali is a festival where Laxmi Devi is invited to give prosperity and wealth.

Dr Giles Tillotson /// Senior Vice President Exhibitions and Publications, DAG

An untitled landscape painting, oil on carboard, painted by AA Almelkar in the 1960s, evokes perfectly for me the spirit of Diwali. I am not sure that the artist actually intended to depict Diwali, indeed he gives very little clear indication of what is going on at all. As observers, we seem to be standing at some distance from the edge of a town or village at night, confronting a gulf of darkness. But beyond that, a shower of brilliant colours illuminates the night sky, drenching a few buildings and trees in unfamiliar hues. Gaiety and celebration fill the air, and any fear or foreboding brought on by darkness is pushed back by the energy of light.

Jagdip Jagpal /// Art curator and former director of India Art Fair

After three years of celebrating Diwali at my home in South Delhi, I found myself back in London last year. Just as I was beginning to think nothing in the city could evoke the excitement, energy and colours of Diwali in India, I was gobsmacked when I saw Remembering a Brave New World by British Asian artist Chila Kumari Singh Burman, which adorned the front facade of Tate Britain. The myriad of colours, materials and lights took me straight back to the streets of Delhi, not to mention warm golden jalebis sweets which are a Diwali staple!

The timing couldn't have been better. Everyone who saw it, whether Indian or non-Indian, found some joy and peace in the installation and exhibition. In a year filled with lockdowns, trauma and museum closures, Burman's art saved Tate Britain - it certainly saved me! I hope we can have something every year as London will be duller without.

For people of my generation of South Asian heritage, it means a great deal to see artists like Burman (as well as those like Sunil Gupta) who were central to the Black British Art movement of the 1980s finally get the recognition they deserve.

Meera Menezes /// Independent art curator and critic
Pic courtesy/The Victoria and Albert Museum

When I think of Diwali, a number of miniature pictures come to mind, which foreground this celebration. One of them is this 18th century painting, rendered in opaque watercolour and gold on paper, from the Victoria and Albert Museum's Collection. It depicts two women from Rajasthan lighting sparklers in front of a firework, which assumes a tree-like form. What is striking is that the painter has made the firework mimic the attributes of two other trees in the background and it melds beautifully and seamlessly with them. I always associate Diwali with the lighting of lamps and sparklers, which illuminate spaces, dispel darkness and usher in a sense of joy and celebration. This painting with its bevy of maidens appears to encapsulate that feeling perfectly.