Soft power in strokes: Indian Ambassador Jayant Khobragade's art bridges Ajanta to Angkor Wat
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Soft power in strokes: Indian Ambassador Jayant Khobragade's art bridges Ajanta to Angkor Wat")
Indian Ambassador to Spain and Andorra Jayant N Khobragade Photograph: (WION)
Through his works, Khobragade spreads India’s soft power, depicting Lord Krishna guiding Arjuna to illustrate Karma Yoga, while figures of Buddha and Meera Bai represent Jnana and Bhakti Yoga, highlighting diverse paths to spiritual liberation.
In the galleries of Delhi’s historic Travancore Palace, Indian Ambassador to Spain and Andorra Jayant N. Khobragade is proving that a paintbrush can be a powerful instrument of diplomacy. His ongoing solo exhibition, Journey with the Divine Flow, curated by Gargi Seth, transforms India’s ancient civilizational wisdom into vibrant canvases, reaching hearts and minds far beyond formal negotiations.
“Art is diplomacy, diplomacy is art,” declares the seasoned diplomat and painter, while speaking to WION. A member of the Indian Foreign Service for over 30 years, Khobragade has served in Moscow, Islamabad, Bishkek, and as Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic and ASEAN. While steering India’s diplomatic engagements, he has quietly used art to highlight civilizational bridges. Many paintings in the current show, rooted in Indian civilisation, were created during his ASEAN posting.
“In fact, many of the paintings in this particular hall, which are connected with the Indian civilization were painted in Indonesia. I was the ambassador of India to ASEAN… I could go to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. I could see temples in Indonesia… It has created a deep impact on me,” he shares. “I have been visiting Ajanta, Ellora and monuments in India. But you know that connection happened, and because of that, I started doing a subject of like, civilizational connect. So I have a painting on Ramayana, and paintings on Buddha. Travel and then assimilation, those things help.”
Through these works, Khobragade spreads India’s soft power. One powerful canvas shows Lord Krishna guiding Arjuna on the battlefield, emphasising Karma Yoga, performing one’s duty without attachment to results. Subtle figures of Lord Buddha and Meera Bai symbolise Jnana Yoga (wisdom) and Bhakti Yoga (devotion), presenting India’s multiple paths to spiritual liberation. Other paintings portray Buddha’s life on Vesak full moons, with eight lotuses representing the Noble Eightfold Path amid cosmic imagery.
His artistic journey began 35 years ago. This is his 15th solo exhibition, the second in Delhi after a 1997 show at Lalit Kala Akademi inspired by Ghalib’s poetry. Since 1993, he has held 11 major solo exhibitions across Spain, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Indonesia and India.
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Art, he believes, builds the personal connections essential for effective diplomacy. “I’m able to connect with the people. Like, for example, when I did an exhibition in Kyrgyzstan… then the president’s wife, she came for the inauguration. Then I did an exhibition in Jakarta, and the Minister for Culture and Creative Economy came… It’s very important for ambassadors… You have a vast circle of friends. So in that sense, this has been quite helpful to me.”
“I have been doing exhibitions by way of that you also connect with the people,” he adds.In an age of strategic partnerships, Ambassador Khobragade shows how art quietly advances India’s civilizational narrative, turning exhibitions into platforms that celebrate shared heritage, foster goodwill, and strengthen people-to-people bonds from Madrid to Southeast Asia.
