From top: Somnath Hore, Sankho Choudhury, Paritosh Sen and K.G. Subramanyan

Artists Paritosh Sen and K.G. Subramanyan were recently intimated that they were among the 12 senior artists to be felicitated by President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam at Siri Fort in Delhi on August 5, to mark the golden jubilee celebrations of Lalit Kala Akademi.

The letter to Sen said the artists, all of whom are above 78, “have led from the front and worked relentlessly over the years to find a place in this world for themselves and the Indian art. Your contribution in this context has been enormous…” But the letter to neither artist included the full complement of names of those to be felicitated.

Sen had heard the names of some of the artists to be honoured. But not all of them. Subramanyan in Santiniketan did not know them, either. Surprisingly, the Calcutta office of the Akademi was also in the dark.

The telephone at the Akademi headquarters in Delhi was answered by a recorded voice. Even after trying four times, no operator answered. And this was midday, Wednesday.

After trying Sudhakar Sharma, who heads the Akademi, this correspondent was told to try another officer in the same organisation, who, apparently, had the list of names. He, too, did not have it. So why not try another officer? Five more STD calls later, at last one seemed to have reached the man who had it. He did not have it ready right then. Please call five minutes later. Ten minutes later, nobody took the call.

So, half-an-hour and several calls later, it was back to Sudhakar Sharma. This time, the officer who answered the call sent somebody to another room to make sure the Calcutta call was answered by the right person.

Here are the artists to be honoured. There are actually 13 of them: Maqbool Fida Husain, Sankho Choudhury, K.G. Subramanyan, S.H. Raza, Paritosh Sen, Amarnath Saigal, Akbar Padamsee, Tyeb Mehta, Ram Kumar, Shanti Dave, Satish Gujral, Krishen Khanna, Jahangir Sabawala, Somnath Hore and art historian Mulk Raj Anand. While most of these artists are widely respected for their work and dedication, questions can be raised about the inclusion of two of the chosen ones, namely sculptor Amarnath Saigal and Shanti Dave.

In terms of stature and quality of work, they certainly do not belong to the category of the rest. But they are like poet laureates, on whom the government has, from time to time, chosen to shower honours, but they are little known outside the circles of administration.

According to the letter to Paritosh Sen, the August 5 felicitation is part of a year-long programme for the “promotion” and “propagation” of Indian culture. The Siri Fort function will be accompanied by a “specially curated and choreographed multi-media event”, featuring the works of the artists through “slides, video projection, collage and movement” (whatever that is).

The year-long programme will feature art camps for children, seminars, group exhibitions, art film screenings and a large exhibition on 50 years of Indian art in August 2005.

Asked how he felt on being honoured, Paritosh Sen said: “I am glad that I am receiving this national recognition late in life.” But what about the exclusion of women? Sen said of their coevals, Meera Mukherjee could have been honoured, but she is dead. K.G. Subramanyan reacted, characteristically, with an ironic chuckle.