He was an artist, storyteller, author, and illustrator. He started painting without any formal training and his first public showing was in 1949. In 1954, he exhibited a solo show. There are more the 50 solo shows by Badri Narayan and his artworks are in several collections such as the National Gallery of Modern Art and the National Museum in New Delhi.
Earlier, he worked on tiles and ceramics. His most paintings are intimate and appealing with the addition of fantasy as well as in two-dimensional stylized representations. Most of his works are in ink, pastel, and watercolor.
He illustrated children’s books, wrote short stories, and verses. He was subject to a documentary by Mumbai All India Radio. In 1987, he received Padma Shri and in 1990 Maharashtra Gourav Puruskar.
Vikash Kalra is a self-taught artist and writer based in New Delhi whose work has been exhibited across India and is held in several private and corporate collections.