Iranna GR was born in 1970, and has painted professionally for 10 years. His studentship took place amid great upheaval in the Indian class system and a fierce debate about Indian art. The State ceased to control the economy thus opening the country up to private business. Although this was generally positive it also had the effect of generating religious and traditionalist friction. Between 1999 and 2000 Iranna acted as artist-in-residence at Wimbledon School of Art, London. His art is thought to be a stylistic challenge to post-modernism, using instead the representative, idealistic and modernist language of contemporary Indian painting. He has won several awards, held a series of one-man shows and participated in exhibitions in Amsterdam and Chicago. This is a meditation on the life and work of the artist. Ranjit Hoskote emphasises the spirituality of the artist's work and the importance of his Guru. Frequently, Iranna depicts a solitary figure in an unreal landscape, and this has been interpreted by the author as a self-portrait of one who feels estranged from his context. "The Dancer on the Horse" refers to a self-portrait by this name. The dancer must maintain both his own logical plan and take into account the movement of the horse which is unpredictable. This balancing act is a metaphor for the artist's obligation to find the appropriate relationship between the inner and outer realities and the private space of the studio and the public space of the gallery. For Ranjit Hoskote, Iranna is immensely successful in achieving this equilibrium.

Maqbool Fida Husain (1913-2011) is a central figure in Indian modern art, and the most represented artist in Mathaf's collection. A founding member of the Progressive Artists Group, formed in Bombay in 1947, Husain played a leading role in revolutionising art in India by parting ways with the dominant genres of academic painting and miniaturist nostalgia. This book investigates the work produced in all six decades of Husain's artistic practice, and includes paintings, prints, poetry, architecture, textile and film. It is divided into three themes: first, the idea of home as a habitat, a repository of Husain's childhood memories, and a space of exploration; second, the human passion for creativity and knowledge; and third, a multitude of approaches to the cosmic and divine aspects of being - expressed in myths, philosophies, world religions, narratives and symbols. The book also presents Husain's portfolio on Islamic Civilisations, a series of 99 works commissioned by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser in 2007.

Krishen Khanna is a painter whose work engages the social, historical and political landscape of India. He was a member of the Progressive Artists Group which promoted modernity in the art scene. The artist briefly worked in an abstract style but soon reverted to representational art. Khanna painted a series of musicians (bandwallah) and there are strong references to music in his work. The book looks at this theme in some detail. This is the first monograph of the artist and will be valuable for its care to set Khanna's paintings in a broader context.

Commenting on Hoskote's poetry on the Poetry International website, the poet and editor Arundhathi Subramaniam observes: "His writing has revealed a consistent and exceptional brilliance in its treatment of image. Hoskote's metaphors are finely wrought, luminous and sensuous, combining an artisanal virtuosity with passion, turning each poem into a many-angled, multifaced experience."