Footnotes

Provenance
Property from a private collection, London.
Acquired from Art Gallery, Colaba, Mumbai.

Literature
V.Lynn, India Songs: Multiple Streams in Contemporary Indian Art, exhibition catalogue, Sydney, 1993, p.53 (Another edition illustrated)
T. Hyman, Bhupen Khakhar, Ahmedabad, 1998, p.79 (another edition illustrated)
C. Dercon and N. Raza, eds, Bhupen Khakar, You Can't Please All, London, 2016, p. 64 (another edition illustrated)

Exhibited
Sydney, Art Gallery of New South Wales; Wollongong, Wollongong Art Gallery; Orange, Orange Regional Gallery; Canberra, Canberra School of Art Gallery; Campbelltown, Campbelltown Arts Centre, India Songs, April-October 1993 (another edition) London,
Tate Modern, Bhupen Khakhar, You Can't Please All, 1 June - 6 November 2016 (another edition)
Berlin, Deutsche Bank KunstHalle, Bhupen Khakhar, You Can't Please All, 18 November 2016 - 5 March 2017 (another edition)
Oxford, Ashmolean Museum;
Nottingham, National Justice Museum;
Bolton, Bolton Museum;
Dorchester, Shire Hall Historic Courthouse Museum, Desire, Love, Identity: Exploring LGBTQ Histories, September 2018 - November 2019 (another edition) Mumbai, Akara Art, Bhupen Khakhar: Body, Shrine, 11 July - 17 August 2024 (another edition)
Goa, Directorate of Accounts, Bhupen in Goa, 15-22 December 2024 (another edition)

Khakhar's 1992 etching In the River Jamuna is a deeply personal and contemplative work that places the artist himself at the centre of a complex, symbolic tableau. Rendered with delicate yet expressive line work, the composition features Khakhar seated by the waters of the sacred Jamuna, surrounded by a constellation of figures, some mythic, some everyday, alongside animals, and a temple in the distance. The river, a recurring metaphor for transformation and purification in Indian culture, becomes a space of introspection and spiritual passage. As both protagonist and observer, Khakhar inserts himself into this imagined yet intimate landscape, weaving together the personal and the mythological with quiet poignancy. The presence of the temple and animals introduces elements of ritual and companionship, while the other figures hint at social interactions, desires, and memories.

For another etching from the series sold at Christies see South Asian Modern & Contemporary Art, 19th March 2025, New York, lot 727.