Posted on 7 October 2026:

🎨 #YathraCanvas — Art in a Frame

A Bird Call — Rajasthan: Rupa Samaria turns her canvas into a call to look up

Rajasthan’s skies hold stories of survival, and artist and conservationist Rupa Samaria gives them a voice in her solo show, A Bird Call — Rajasthan.

Over 60 canvases bring together the state’s resident, migratory and threatened birds, from the Common Hoopoe and Indian Paradise Flycatcher to the Greater Flamingo and Imperial Eagle. Each work is both a portrait and a quiet act of advocacy.

At the heart of the show stands the Great Indian Bustard (Godawan), Rajasthan’s State Bird and one of India’s most critically endangered species. Set against bold fluorescent backgrounds inspired by the bright attire of the desert, the colour becomes a warning signal: notice this bird before it becomes a memory.

The show also remembers the Siberian Crane, last seen in 2001–2002, a memory still waiting for its return.

“The mighty Imperial Eagle also takes its place among these narratives along with Greater Flamingo, Sykes’s Nightjar, Asian Houbara and Wheatears.

The resident birds of Rajasthan showcase a wide range: from the Common Hoopoe, Ashy-crowned Sparrow-Lark, Indian Paradise Flycatcher, Trumpeter Finch, Asian Green Bee-eater, Indian Spotted Creeper, Merlin to the Indian Eagle Owl, each underscoring the richness of the region’s avifauna,” says the artist.

“Every bird I paint is both a celebration and a warning. Rajasthan’s skies hold stories of resilience and fragility, and through my art I hope to make people pause, look closer, and realise that these voices of the wild are part of our shared heritage. To see them is to remember that protecting them is also protecting ourselves.”
— Rupa Samaria

Working in charcoal, painting and mixed media, Samaria plays with scale, contrast and colour to explore the fragile line between visibility and disappearance.

 Rupa Arora Samaria | Artist | Educator | Conservationist

Born and raised in Patna and now based in New Delhi, Rupa Samaria uses her art to express a deep love for birds and nature. Her work grows out of careful observation, patient research and a heartfelt concern for the environment, and it moves across painting, sculpture and installations.

India is home to around 1,400 species of birds, and over the years Samaria has painted more than 600 of them, from India and across the world. Together, these paintings form a visual archive of birdlife, celebrating its beauty and diversity while gently reminding us how fragile it is.

At the heart of her practice is a sense of wonder. Each artwork is her way of celebrating birds, and an invitation to learn about them and care for the natural world they belong to.

Through her canvases, she asks us to do something simple and rare: pause, look, and listen.

It is a call to see them while they are still here.

📍 The Main Art Gallery, Bikaner House, New Delhi
🗓 8th – 12th October 2026 | 11am – 7pm

🎨 #YathraCanvas