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Kavita Deuskar: Painter, teacher, pioneer
Kavita Deuskar helped shape post-Independence Deccani art. But she was also a peculiarly Hyderabadi artist, with her art rooted in the syncretic traditions of the city.
In the arrival hall of the Hyderabad airport, there is a small gallery showcasing the city’s artists. Among them is a painting of a Muharram alam (a banner symbolising that of Hazrat Abbas and the martyrdom of Imam Hussain at the battle of Karbala) set against a backdrop of Deccani architecture and landscape. It is by the renowned Hyderabad-based artist, Kavita Deuskar, epitomising her Deccani roots and the syncretic culture of the city she called home. Born in June 1946, she would have celebrated her 80th birthday this year. Deuskar passed away in December 2025.
A key Indian artist who evolved a distinctively modernist regional style, Kavita Deuskar came to be known for her luminous egg tempera paintings and assured draughtsmanship. Her canvases are characterised by the subtle overlapping of delicate skeins of colour, with imagery drawn from her Hyderabadi milieu. Their style is eclectic, integrating diverse painting mediums.
With a career spanning several decades, Deuskar helped shape post-Independence Deccani art. She was one of India’s most recognised practitioners of the egg tempera technique, which she passed on to her students. As head of the Department of Painting, College of Fine Arts, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (now Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University), she influenced generations of students in Hyderabad, extending her artistic legacy beyond the studio.