10 Indian Art Mysteries That have Never Been Solved

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Mamta Nainy is a writer based in New Delhi. She has authored over thirty books for children, including A Brush with Indian Art that won The Hindu Young World-Goodbooks Award 2019 and Mutthasi's Missing Teeth that won the Peek-a-Book Children's Choice Award 2019. She also works as a literary translator, translating primarily from English to Hindi, with several published works of translations. Mamta loves clambering around old caves, exploring lesser- known monuments and spending time in museums. Her favourite place to be, however, is in the middle of a book.

Intriguing characters. Lost masterpieces. Buried secrets. Mega heists. Mysterious disappearances. If this sounds like a thriller, well, the history of Indian art is no less. It is teeming with weird and wonderful mysteries that have confounded art lovers, historians and experts for decades, even centuries.

In this book, we will delve into the shadowy depths of Indian art to consider ten of these far-out mysteries that have one thing in common-their solutions remain tantalizingly out of reach. Often, the only people who know the truth behind these mysteries have taken their secrets to the grave. But that's no reason to fret-for, one of the most wonderful things about these art mysteries is that they're open to interpretation. You can pore over the pieces of art that lie at the heart of these mysteries over and over again and discover if there's more than meets the eye.

The mind-bending mysteries in this book transpired across eras-from prehistory to the present-and so, as we walk through the dusty roads of history, we will also take a trip across the most incredible artistic periods, encounter the many ideas about art, and come face to face with some important artists and their works. All these mysteries are rooted in history-which is why each chapter begins with setting the historical context of the mystery. However, when one describes a mystery, one needs to imagine how it must have panned out-so there are some elements I have imagined as well. But the main components of each mystery are based purely in historical facts and findings.

Solving these mysteries inevitably requires some degree of sleuthing, because they involve works of art that are as intriguingly beautiful as the stories they hold. They contain cryptic clues, hidden details and serious surprises that will sometimes wow you and, at other times, leave you completely stumped! You can play detective by sifting and sorting the clues, analysing evidence, tracking the twists and turns, and drawing your own conclusions. The more you learn about the great pieces of art and their creators, the more clues you uncover. Who knows, maybe you can help solve these art mysteries that the world has been puzzling over? Art historians will be more than happy to cross these off their lists. Each mystery in the book is followed by an art activity to turn you into a complete arty-pants!

So, art detectives, are you ready to investigate some perplexing puzzles of Indian art history?