With Love From Russia: Nicholas Roerich’s Himalayan Legacy Lives On In Himachali Towns

You can bask in the magnificence of the Himalayas, its silences, echoes, mysticism and vulnerabilities at the Roerich Memorial House and Art Gallery at Naggar, near Kullu Valley. Here, you can see the glory of the sublime mountainous range captured on canvas using only a few deft strokes in water colours.

It is nearly a century now since the legendary Russian artist Nicholas Roerich (1874-1947) travelled to Naggar in his early 50s. The Himalayas became his instant muse, and he ended up spending more than two decades of his life in the Kullu town. Here, he left behind a treasure of world-class paintings that he had created during his long Himalayan expeditions in Bhutan, Mongolia, Tibet, Kashmir, Ladakh and Lahaul-Spiti.

The Roerich Memorial House—where Nicholas Roerich, his wife Helena, two sons Svetoslav and George nee Yuri lived— stands witness to a legacy, which belongs as much to India as it did to Russia, and now hosts a gallery of his rare paintings, sketches, artefacts, photographs, and writings on the Himalayas. These are two small rooms—earlier Nicholas Roerich’s office, containing 48-49 paintings apart from well-protected almirahs stashed with volumes of letters that Roerich had written to world leaders during WWII. The exhibits also include diaries relating to his expeditions and writings.

Roerich’s House displays wooden facades and fine hill architecture. The stones used in building the house came from the Beas River and local wood was procured for the carvings, roofs, and floorings. A long dining table in the room next to the gallery has elegant chairs and old cutlery . Tourists cannot access this part, apart from the upper storey where the family lived. Yet, one can get a glance at these interiors through the glass windows. “His paintings of views of the Himalayas, its cultural heritage, and glaciers that Roerich accessed during his long expeditions, are just mesmerising because of the detailing and unique colours. I can relate to these images as I have visited Spiti and Kaza,” says Tapan Karmakar, a retired Indian Air Force personnel who was visiting the gallery with his family.

There are also photographs of Jawaharlal Nehru and daughter Indira Gandhi visiting the house in 1942. Nehru didn’t get a second chance to visit the Roerichs after he became the Prime Minister, but Indira had on different occasions. Four museums within the sprawling complex—Uruswati Himalayan Research Institute (which Roerich established), Folk Art Museum of Roerich Pact, Helena Roerich Academy of Art and Devika Rani Galley—make Naggar a hub of creative activity in the Kullu Valley. The main attractions of Urusvati museum, established by Nicholas Roerich in 1928, include a display of Russian and local folk art besides costumes, crystal pieces, photographs, musical instruments, wood carvings, sculptures, and palanquins of Helena and Devika Rani.

A team from the International Center of the Roerichs, Moscow, at the initiative of the Himachal Pradesh government in 2012, prepared an inventory following a controversy involving a former Russian curator. Of the total 8,126 artefacts belonging to his family, there are 37 rare paintings of Roerich, 12 paintings by his son Svyatoslav, 1,586 units of memorial objects, 1,736 books and journals and 3,070 herbarium collections. “The incumbent Russian curator headed the IRMT team from Moscow that did the stock-taking and verification of the estate,” recalls Rakesh Kanwar, secretary of Language, Art and Culture, and ex-Deputy Commissioner of Kullu.

“Roerich belonged to the galaxy of outstanding Russians. He took some of the toughest routes for his expeditions to which his wife Helena and sons were also a part. He created more than 7,000 paintings during his life. There is no international museum where his works are not on display,” curator Larisa Surgina tells Outlook.

The value of Roerich’s paintings can be easily gauged from the fact that one of his paintings auctioned in London was priced at $12M in 2013. It is said that Roerich, during his travels in the Himalayas, made an in-depth study of the landscapes and mountains. The colours in his paintings recreate the magic of the snowy peaks at sunrises and sunsets. Many also believe that Roerich was interested in different spiritual practices. His paintings have a hypnotic quality. Him Chatterjee, a noted artist and Chairman, of the Department of Visual Art at Himachal Pradesh University, feels Roerich’s art, philosophy and visual creations have no parallel in the world. “His works are mainly based on spirituality, majesty, and nostalgia about colours. How could this amazing man draw an 18x10 inch painting and yet manage to showcase the true Himalayan splendour, with its virginity and coolness… That is something I admire.” Chatterjee adds that Roerich’s art is the biggest asset that Himachal Pradesh can hard-sell all over the world.

Some of Roerich’s most celebrated paintings include Buddha the Winner (Banner of the East Services), 1925; Saint Sergius the Builder, 1925; Nanga Parbat (Valley Below Snowy Mountains), 1935-36; Himalayas (Might of the Snow), 1945; Command of the Master, 1947, Sacred Himalayas, 1933, etc. Some paintings by Svetoslav are also on display here, including portraits of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (also adorns the wall of the Indian Parliament), Monk Karma Dorje and his wife Devika Rani, the first woman of Indian Cinema.

It was after his death at Nagger—where his memorials, besides that of Helena, stand witness to their love for the place—that his son Svetoslav Roerich, who got married to Devika Rani, a distinguished actress and head of Bombay Talkies Studio, converted the house into Museum and decided to gift all paintings of Roerich to an art gallery after his name.

SS Chandel, a retired IAS officer instrumental in getting IRMT forged at the behest of Devika Rani, recalls how the Roerich legacy was left to ruins in Bengaluru and even Moscow. “It was a question of preserving the heritage. I am happy after my long struggle, which started in 1992 at the initiative of Svetoslav and his wife Devika Rani that a trust was formed. The idea was to preserve the Naggar estate with hundreds of its valuable paintings, documents, books, and artefacts, and develop it into a new museum plus a multi-purpose institute for scholarly pursuits and art. Svetoslav also had plans to construct an auditorium,” says the lifetime trustee.

Many believe Roerich fell in love with Naggar due to the tranquil setting of the place, the bank of Beas River and also the 1,400-year-old history. This erstwhile capital of Kullu ‘Rajas’—Naggar had survived the 1905 massive earthquake –which turned the hills into ruins. The Naggar castle was not damaged in the earthquake, and as per local legends, it is a temple of Jagati Pooch that makes the place and its soil sacred. A fact that Roerich knew.

Ashok Thakur, former IAS, who retired as Secretary, Higher education in HRD Ministry, is another lifetime trustee of IRMT says, “Despite its remoteness, Roerich fell for Naggar. No other artist has depicted the splendour and mesmerising beauty of the Himalayas the way Roerich did. He was also a thinker, philosopher and scientist.” About the Himalayas, Roerich wrote in his book Sacred Land: “Every country speaks of them in its own way, as the Sacred Land or the Abode of Wisdom. And India, which is the motherland of the Blessed One, knows that the ancient Rishis strengthened their spirit amid these marvellous regions.”

Roerich was in India during World War II, where he painted Russian epic heroic and saintly themes, including Alexander Nevsky, The Fight of Mstislav and Rededia, and Boris and Gleb. He was also instrumental in signing the historic Roerich Pact on April 15, 1935, at Washington seeking protection of cultural properties of nations during the wars and civil disorders. But it was Roerich’s expeditions in the Himalayas and real-time studies that shaped the future course of his artistic pursuits, writings, and spiritual journey, which largely had an Indian influence.

Roerich died in Kullu on December 13, 1947, and his wife Helena Roerich wrote about this day: “The day of cremation was exceptionally beautiful. Not a single breath of wind and all surrounding mountains were clad in fresh snowy attire.”