Others like Anjolie Ela Menon, who sold a workentitled`Family' for Rs 8.34 lakh and Akbar Padamsee who sold a`Metascape' at Rs 10.39 lakh could not be included in this category as the price per sq. cm worked out to only Rs 86.70 for Menon and Rs 49.36 for Padamsee.

The first category would then include Gaganendranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose, Ganesh Pyne, Jamini Roy and M F Husain. Basically, this reflects the evolution of the modern art of India, with one of Gaganendranath's Cubistic watercolours of the '20s (I place the birth of our modern art at this period ) selling at the highest price per sq. cm. It is no accident that Gaganendranath, the father of our contemporary artistic expression, was also a sharp critic of British colonialism. And one of these anti-colonial cartoons sold for nearly Rs 2.2 lakh. Therefore, it is more than evident that the highest prices are paid for the most significant artists at each stage in the evolution of our artistic tradition connected with the freedom struggle, starting in the '20s, around the time of thenon-cooperation movement.

This is further brought out by Nandalal Bose's two paintings of Chaitanya's life, selling at an average of Rs 582.34. The artist is not only linked with Gandhi, who guided his perspective; but the works too, reflect Gandhi's pre-occupation with the Bhakti movement. And indeed, as the most significant artist of the Bengal School who made a clear shift to the Santiniketan spirit of modernism and integrated the folk idiom with the evolution of a`national' art, it is not surprising Nandalal's work commands a high price. Chugtai, with a similar style, but a revivalist element in his work, is priced at only Rs 434.77 per sq. cm.

Then, of the living artists of independent India, M F Husainand Ganesh Pyne alone make it to the top rank. This is interesting as Husain has recently been the target of various attacks. But even these could not prevent his making a mark at this auction. He's significant as he blends the feeling for the folk and narrative tradition in our contemporary art withglobal imagery in corporating not only stylistic elements of Picasso, but also images like those of Charlie Chaplin, Mother Teresa, Hitler, Maoand Einstein. The relative buoyancy of Husain's market is based on this. He's the main force behind the successful globalisation of contemporary Indian art.

Pyne, on the other hand, is reclusive, inward-looking and post-modernist; but not without his place in the evolution of our artistic expression to a more self-confident approach, rejecting fashionable posturing and gimmickry; but sharply attacking the climate of hypocrisy and corruption that has accompanied the growing authoritarian trends in our society. In fact, Pyne is the more uncompromising of the two.

The second rank of artists reflects a far wider range of expression. In the range above Rs 80 per sq cm, we have Hebbar (Rs 87.51), Anjolie Ela Menon (Rs 86.70) and N S Bendre (Rs 81.61). Then from Rs 50 - Rs 70 per sq cm, we have Swaminathan (Rs 64.16), Manjit Bawa (Rs 55.95), V S Gaitonde (Rs 54.55). Thisis followed by artists like Akbar Padamsee (Rs 49.36) and S H Raza (Rs 44.35).

So, we could follow up the first core group of the six artists: Gaganendranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose, A R Chughtai, Jamini Roy, Ganesh Pyne and M F Husain, with a second group of K K Hebbar, Anjolie Ela Menon, N S Bendre, J Swaminathan, Manjit Bawa, V S Gaitonde, Akbar Padamsee and S H Raza. This, in short, is the message of Christie's London auction that can be said to have arrived in our contemporary art. The first group has arrived without a doubt. The second group, is more divided. There is no doubt about the solidity of Hebbar, Bendre and Menon. But the rest have an element of risk involved below Rs 60 per sq cm. This picture, and the modest price structure that highlights it, points to the fact that the Christie's auction reflects the reality of our art market today quite faithfully. And we can rely on what we learn from it.