Sculpted India Unveils Krishen Khanna’s Bandwalla Sculptures at Design Democracy 2026, Hyderabad

When the fourth edition of Design Democracy rolls into Hyderabad this weekend, the city’s new cultural hub, Prangan, will hum with a fresh kind of buzz. Amid the usual chatter of architects, designers and craft labels, a modest yet striking booth – C20 – will be hosting the soft launch of Sculpted India.

What’s on show? Roughly fifty sculptures, split across two adjoining spaces. One corner is a tribute to a man who, at 101, still paints with the vigor of a teenager: Krishen Khanna. His legendary Bandwalla series – a visual diary of India’s railway porters that has graced galleries for half a century – has been re‑imagined in three dimensions.

The transformation is as deliberate as it is playful. Tiny bronze figures, no taller than a coffee mug (about 12 inches), bear a patina that mirrors the muted, earthy tones of the original canvases. Then there are the giants – eight to ten‑foot fibreglass sculptures that sparkle with automotive‑grade paint, catching the eye of every passer‑by. As Sanya Malik, curator and director of Black Cube Gallery, puts it, “Sculpture often lives on the periphery; here we’re giving it centre stage, letting people walk around, touch, and really see it.”

But Khanna isn’t the only name on the wall. The second booth celebrates a lineup of modern and contemporary stalwarts: Thota Vaikuntam, whose fibreglass piece glistens like a freshly‑polished mango; the late MF Husain, whose bold forms still command attention; Jogen Chowdhury with his signature gestural lines; plus Dhananjay Singh, Phaneendra Nath Chaturvedi and the emerging Yashika Sugandh. All of them have come together under the aegis of Sculpted India, a venture co‑founded by Raj Manohar Thota (the artist’s son) and Abhivardhan Berry.

Visitors will find themselves drifting between the quiet intimacy of a bronze Bandwalla and the dramatic sweep of a fibreglass locomotive. It’s a conversation between past and present, between the canvas that once captured the rhythmic sway of Indian laborers and the tangible, touch‑able forms that now inhabit the same narrative.

In a city that is fast becoming a crucible for art, design and community, Sculpted India’s debut feels timely. It reminds us that sculpture, often tucked away in corners of galleries, can be as vibrant and accessible as any painting. And for anyone who’s ever wondered what a Bandwalla looks like when you can walk right up to it, the answer lies at Booth C20 – a space where art, nature and curiosity meet.