Indore's oldest surviving art address is finally getting some money spent on it. Devlalikar Kala Veethika, the gallery-cum-institute that's been quietly hosting the city's painters, photographers and folk artists for close to a century, is set for a ₹75 lakh renovation, backed by MP Shankar Lalwani.

The building isn't young. It dates back to 1927, when artist Dattatray Damodar Deolalikar set up an art training institute that would eventually grow into the School of Art. The space itself came from Holkar ruler Yashwant Rao Holkar II, who handed it over for the purpose. Nearly a hundred years on, that same structure is still standing, and still being used exactly as intended.

What's notable here is the restraint. The renovation plan repairs and upgrades the building rather than knocking down what's there and putting up something contemporary in its place. So no glass facade, no gutting of the old form to make room for a sleeker version of itself. The idea, as far as the funding goes, is conservation first and function second.

That matters for a building like this one. Devlalikar Kala Veethika has spent decades as one of the few spaces in Indore where young and established artists alike can actually put work up on a wall and have people walk in to see it. Painting shows, photography exhibitions, folk art displays, it's all happened here. For students still finding their footing, it's often the first real venue they get.

The timing isn't accidental either. The restoration has been pegged for completion by March 2027, which lines up with the institution's hundredth anniversary. That's the kind of deadline that puts real pressure on a project, especially one dealing with a heritage structure where corners can't be cut just to hit a date.

Once the work wraps, the plan is for the gallery to reopen as a safer, better-equipped space without losing what made it worth preserving in the first place. That's a harder balance than it sounds. Old buildings tend to resist upgrades quietly, in ways that only show up once contractors are actually inside walls built a century ago.

For now, Indore's art community gets a date to work toward. March 2027 isn't far off, and if the centenary lands on schedule, Devlalikar Kala Veethika will mark a hundred years in a building that's finally been given the care to see out a few more.