Sindhu at 07:29, 26 April 2026

2026-04-26T07:29:54Z

New page

{{Short description|Subject of portraits & photographs (1914–1975)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Indira Sundaram
| image = Portrait of Sister 1936.jpg
| alt =
| caption = ''Indira Sundaram'' by [[Amrita Sher-Gil]], 1936
| birth_name =
| birth_date = 28 March 1914
| birth_place = [[Buda Hills]], Hungary
| death_date = 1975
| death_place =
| other_names =
| occupation =
| years_active =
| known_for = Feature of portraits by [[Amrita Sher-Gil]], photographs by [[Umrao Singh Sher-Gil]], art works by [[Vivan Sundaram]]
| notable_works =
| spouse = [[Kalyan Sundaram]]
| children = {{ubl|[[Vivan Sundaram]]|Navina Sundaram}}
| mother = [[Marie Antoinette Gottesman]]
| father = [[Umrao Singh Sher-Gil]]
}}
'''Indira Sundaram''' ([[née]] Sher-Gil; 28 March 1914 - 1975) was the subject of [[List of paintings by Amrita Sher-Gil|several paintings completed by her sister]], [[Amrita Sher-Gil]], photographs by her father [[Umrao Singh Sher-Gil]], and art works by her son [[Vivan Sundaram]].<ref name=Sundaram.2010.720>Sundaram, p. 720</ref>

==Early life and education==
[[File:Amrita Sher-Gil with her sister Indira, 1922.jpg|thumb|left|Sunderam with her sister Amrita, 1922]]
Indira Sher-Gil, affectionately known as Indu, was born on 28 March 1914 in a mansion located in the [[Buda Hills]] of Hungary.<ref name=Sundaram.2010.xvi>Sundaram, p. xvi</ref><ref name=Dalmia.2013.5>Dalmia, pp. 5-16</ref> She was the daughter of the Indian aristrocat [[Umrao Singh Sher-Gil]] and his Hungarian wife [[Marie Antoinette Gottesman]].<ref name=Dalmia.2013.5/> The youngest of two siblings, her sister was [[Amrita Sher-Gil]], who became a renowned painter and [[List of National Treasures of India|Indian national treasure]].<ref name=Dalmia.2013.5/> Indira moved to the Gottesman family mansion at [[Dunaharaszti]] in September 1916.<ref name=Sundaram.2010.xxxiii>Sundaram, p. xxxiii</ref><ref name=Parichha2021>{{cite book |last1=Parichha |first1=Bhaskar |title=Unbiased Writings on India |date=2021 |publisher=Blue Hill Publications |isbn=978-93-90788-59-0 |page=223 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0wdGEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA223 |language=en}}</ref> She was baptized [[Roman Catholic]] on 17 November 1918.<ref name=Dalmia.2013.5/> The family moved back to Budapest in June 1920, when they first stayed with Indira's aunt before moving to the [[Margaret Island]] Grand Hotel on the [[Danube]] and then to India in January 1921.<ref name=Sundaram.2010.xxxvii>Sundaram, p. xxxvii</ref>

In 1929, during Indira's teens, the family moved to Paris, where they lived at first in [[Passy]] and then the more fashionable 11 Rue de Bassano, [[Place des États-Unis]].<ref name=Dalmia.2013.3>Dalmia, pp. 26-31</ref> There she was accepted into the [[École Normale de Musique de Paris|Alfred Cortot School of Music]], where she trained in piano.<ref name=SGSF>{{cite web |title=Sher-Gil Sundaram Arts Foundation {{!}} Sher-Gil Sundaram Family |url=https://ssaf.in/sher-gil-sundaram-family/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250406053754/https://ssaf.in/sher-gil-sundaram-family/ |archive-date=6 April 2025 |access-date=5 April 2025}}</ref>

==Personal and family==
In October 1937, shortly before [[Amrita Sher-Gil's paintings at Lahore (1937)|Amrita's solo exhibition at Lahore]], Indira married [[Kalyan Sundaram]], with whom she had two children, [[Vivan Sundaram|Vivan]] and {{interlanguage link|Navina Sundaram|de}}.<ref name=Sundaram.2010.xvi/><ref name=SGSF/>

==Paintings and photographs==
Indira features in [[List of paintings by Amrita Sher-Gil|several paintings completed by her sister]] and numerous photographs taken by her father.<ref name=Throckmorton2015>{{cite book |last1=Throckmorton |first1=Jodi |last2=Gupta |first2=Atreyee |last3=Gupta |first3=Latika |last4=Collective |first4=Raqs Media |last5=Krane |first5=Susan |title=Postdate: Photography and Inherited History in India |date=2015 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-28569-9 |page=119 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WXolDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA119|chapter=Vivan Sunderam |language=en}}</ref> Some of these images have been combined into art work by her son Vivan.<ref name=Throckmorton2015/>

===''Young Girls''===
{{main article|Young Girls (painting)}}
Indira was one of two models depicted in Sher-Gil's 1932 painting ''[[Young Girls (painting)|Young Girls]]''.<ref name=Dalmia.2013.3/> In it she posed in an upright position, in equal conversation with a fair-haired woman.<ref name=Dalmia.2013.3/>

===''Sleep''===
{{main article|Sleep (Sher-Gil)}}

Sleep, also known as Indu's Nude or Nude of Indira, was completed in 1933. It portrays Indira lying nude on a white sheet, viewed from above, with one arm raised. A shawl featuring a dragon lies beneath her, its shape echoing the curves of her body and hair.<ref name=Ananth2007>{{Cite book |last=Ananth |first=Deepak |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vd7qAAAAMAAJ |title=Amrita Sher-Gil: An Indian Artist Family of the Twentieth Century |date=2007 |publisher=Schirmer/Mosel |isbn=978-3-8295-0270-2 |pages=18 |language=en}}</ref> It nearly sold to [[Mir Yousuf Ali Khan, Salar Jung III|Nawab Salar Jung]] and was later exhibited at Sher-Gil's solo show at [[Faletti's Hotel]] in Lahore in 1937.<ref name=Sundaram2010.522>Sundaram, pp. 522-523</ref> It was also displayed at the Indian Academy of Fine Arts exhibition in Amritsar in 1940.<ref name=Sundaram2010.684>Sundaram, pp. 684-685</ref> Though Sher-Gil and politician [[Diwan Chaman Lall]] tried to sell the painting, it remained unsold and is now housed in the [[National Gallery of Modern Art]] in New Delhi.<ref name=Sundaram2010.522/>

===Gallery===
<gallery>
File:Portrait of My Sister 1930.jpg|''Portrait of My Sister'' (1930)
File:Young Girls.jpg|''[[Young Girls (painting)|Young Girls]]'' (1932)
File:Painting Sleep 1932.jpg|''[[Sleep (Sher-Gil)|Sleep]]'' (1932)
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{Cite book |last=Dalmia|first=Yashodhara |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mj3mlgEACAAJ |title=Amrita Sher-Gil: A Life |date=2013 |publisher=Penguin Books |location=Gurugram |isbn=978-0-14-342026-2 |language=en}}
* {{cite book |last1=Sundaram |first1=Vivan |title=Amrita Sher-Gil: A Self-Portrait in Letters and Writings |date=2010 |publisher=Tulika Books |location=New Delhi |volume=1|pages=1–417|isbn=978-81-89487-59-1}}
* {{cite book |last1=Sundaram |first1=Vivan |title=Amrita Sher-Gil: A Self-Portrait in Letters and Writings |date=2010 |publisher=Tulika Books |location=New Delhi |volume=2|pages=418–821|isbn=978-81-89487-59-1}}

{{Amrita Sher-Gil|state=collapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sundaram, Indira}}

[[Category:1914 births]]
[[Category:1975 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Budapest]]
[[Category:Indian people of Hungarian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Majithia family]]

Indira Sundaram - Revision history

Sindhu at 07:29, 26 April 2026