Vidya Bhushan had learnt Kathak dance in the early forties, informally performing solo and in group ballets with dancer friends. The youthful Bhushan fashioned himself as a sort of bohemian, renaissance man, expressing himself through dance and the visual arts. Amongst his friends in the 1940’s was the dancer Sukanya Shaw and later in the 50’s Indrani Rahman.

Hyderabad was a vibrant hub for poets, dancers and artists who enjoyed travelling to architectural sites together. Bhushan, an avid photographer, recorded these tours on his camera. The influence of the Bengal School was everywhere-in art, dance and theatre as also in the style of dressing : kurta, dhoti and a shawl draped around the shoulders. In the photographs, the artist is seen in a pose from a ballet and spontaneously performing in the gardens of the Rashtrapathi Bhavan, Delhi, 1950’s.

He was inspired by Uday Shankar, elder brother of Ravi Shankar,and a pioneer of modern Indian dance in the 1920’s and 30’s. Shankar had trained as a painter at the Royal College of Art under artist William Rothenstein before he became a dancer, developing an innovative idiom of dance combining western theatrical techniques with Indian classical, folk and tribal dance forms. In London, he choreographed and danced in Anna Pavlova ‘s two ballets– ‘A Hindu Wedding‘and ‘Radha and Krishna’ as part of the programme ‘Oriental Impressions’. Shankar set up his own school for dance, drama and music which helped develop talent in acclaimed artists like Zohra Sehgal, Amala Nandy and filmmaker Guru Dutt.