Artists & Cultural Icons

Some people shape what a whole country thinks its art can be. This section is about them: Amrita Sher-Gil, who painted India's villages with a modernist's eye and died at 28; M.F. Husain, the barefoot painter chased into exile; Ravi Shankar, who carried the sitar to the world's biggest stages; Bhupen Hazarika, whose songs still make Assam weep. Painters, musicians, poets, dancers — told as lives, not encyclopaedia entries. Each one made something that outlived them, usually against the odds. These are the stories behind the names you half-know, and the ones you should.