A line is a dot that went for a walk, said Paul Klee, about the line that draws the eye along the space of an artwork. Visual storytelling through the moving line—a narrative in sequence—appeared much before the printed page. Early Buddhist monuments such as Sanchi and Bharhut bear narrative reliefs. The murals of Ajanta narrate the lives of the Buddha across cave walls. In later temples, episodes from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata run in friezes around the sanctum. Devotees read them while circumambulating, turning the act of walking into an act of reading. Curated by the graphic novelist Amruta Patil, the exhibition “A Moving Line: 1500 Years of Indian Visual Storytelling” (July 25–November 15), at the Museum of Art and Photography (MAP), Bengaluru, brings together a thoughtfully assembled collection of works to follow the trajectory of India’s graphic storytelling tradition across 1,500 years. Artefacts such as the colourful kaavad and carefully etched pattachitra scroll sit alongside the bright colours of Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle. Twentieth century staples such as Chacha Chaudhary, Phantom, and Tintin sit cheek by jowl with Tagore family caricatures and Satyajit Ray illustrations.
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