At the Durga Puja pandal in Greater Kailash II’s Uday Shankar Park, a small stall seems to stand apart between the rows of eateries and decorative displays. Long canvas panels adorn its walls, illustrated with familiar motifs. An indigo-stained screen-printing station sits quietly at one end, and a modest sign reads: Constitution Curious.
Now in its fourth day, the initiative organised by the National Foundation for India (NFI) in collaboration with Reclaim Constitution, aims to bring the Indian Constitution into spaces where it is rarely discussed. Their new exhibition at GK II allows visitors to engage with the text and its history through interactive activities: printing their own copy of the Preamble, participating in online quizzes, and observing recreations of the original illustrations from the Constitution by artist Nilanjan Chowdhury. These panels echo the work of Nandalal Bose and his team at Santiniketan, who hand-painted the 22 images that accompanied the Constitution in 1950.
Recreations of Nandalal Bose original hand-painted illustrations that accompanied the Constitution in 1950 by artist Nilanjan Chowdhury at the National Foundation for India’s Constitution Curious pop-up stall in collaboration with Reclaim Constitution, at the Uday Shankar Park Durgotsab, Greater Kailash II, Delhi
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Biraj Patnaik, executive director of NFI, said the choice of venue was deliberate. “The Constitution is a living document that should ideally inform our actions as citizens every day. By taking constitutional literacy outside the classroom and into spaces one would not normally expect, it brings an element of joy and curiosity in young minds.” He noted that visitors tended to engage more naturally in a festive setting, asking questions, attempting quizzes, and discussing ideas with family and friends in ways one could rarely expect.
The act of printing the Preamble is essential to the initiative. Biraj described it as a performative art that extends beyond the festival. “When someone screen-prints their own Preamble, they develop a sense of ownership not just over the document they carry home, but also some of the values it embodies,” he said. “Even if a few imbibe the spirit their prints embody and understand the challenges of contemporary India through the lens of Constitutional morality, we consider our task done.”
Visitors screen-print a copy of the preamble at the National Foundation for India’s Constitution Curious pop-up stall in collaboration with Reclaim Constitution, at the Uday Shankar Park Durgotsab, Greater Kailash II, Delhi
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Vinay Kumar, founder of Reclaim Constitution, added that the exercise has reached over two lakh participants across India. “There is an instant connection to the Constitution that no civics lesson or lecture could have initiated,” he said.
For Vinay, this pop-up is part of a broader effort to build a culture around the Constitution, rather than just literacy. In previous years, the foundation experimented with the South Indian tradition of Dasara dolls — which Vinay likens in their inclusivity to pujo pandals in Bengal — by commissioning representations of the Constitution’s founding figures for public display. “Change is gradual,” he said. “When we see dolls of Dr. Ambedkar in mainstream markets, it is evidence that the ideas are moving beyond the exhibitions, even if incrementally.”
At the stall, the recreated panels draw questions and quiet attention. Biraj said the art, inspired by Bose’s original illustrations, provides a tangible connection to India’s history and cultural diversity. Visitors have been seen lingering over the panels, observing the depictions of historical periods, epics, and figures that shaped the Constitution. “Most people have never held a photolithograph of the original Constitution, let alone seen the art up close,” he said.
Biraj Patnaik, executive director of the National Foundation for India presents a copy of the Preamble to a visitor at the Uday Shankar Park Durgotsab, Greater Kailash II, Delhi
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
The initiative also aims to connect visitors to the Constitution’s origins in the independence movement, and Biraj notes that the document was always intended to evolve. “Institutionally at NFI, we see the Constitution as a living document, not cast in stone. It can be amended, but the fundamental principles of liberty, equality, fraternity, and social justice remain the framework that binds the nation.”
Vinay explains how the initiative seeks to illuminate the spirit behind the law, which he described as largely misunderstood. He cited the adoption of the national flag as an example: “People take pride in displaying the flag, but few know the significance of the day it was adopted, or the debates surrounding it in 1947.”
The question of fraternity, he said, is particularly pressing in contemporary India. “Dr Ambedkar’s words were so prescient, especially the importance he assigned to fraternity when he said “Without fraternity, equality and liberty will be no deeper than coats of paint.” Acts of building fraternity by breaking societal hierarchies are urgently needed to keep that soil fertile.”
Over the course of the past few days, the response has been steady. Biraj said that while the engagement may not always be measurable in traditional terms, the moments of curiosity indicate a small but meaningful shift.
For visitors, the stall seems to have offered something singular. The interactivity seems to have made the abstraction of the Constitution feel more immediate. As the evening went on, indigo Preambles slipped into the crowd pressed flat under arms and bags.
On Ashtami today, a storm has been brewing over Delhi and the Prime Minister is expected in CR Park. Neither dampens the small crowd at Constitution Curious.
Published – September 30, 2025 05:47 pm IST