Badri Narayan was a self-taught artist independent from conventional academic training. Born in Secunderabad his works are windows to a fantasy land showing his creative imagination that he could weave with such simplicity, painted in glowing colours and few monochromatic patches. Drawing inspirations not only from Indian but western art trends, his style stands out as a distinctive pictorial vocabulary. Badri Narayan began his career in his late forties working with mediums like ceramic tiles and mosaics and later moving to ink, pastel and watercolour as his primary mediums. His first artist appearance to the public was in 1949 at Hyderabad Art Society, followed by a solo show in 1954 leading him to secure Gold medals in both years. In 1963 and 1964 he exhibited solo at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai. In 1986 he had a solo show at the University of North Dakota, USA. He had over 50 solo shows and his works are part of several prestigious collections in India and abroad, including the National Gallery of Modern Art and the National Museum in New Delhi as well as the Philadelphia Museum of Art's South Asian Collection. In the decade of 1960s, he was honoured with Andhra Pradesh Lalit Kala Academy, Hyderabad several times. In 1965 he received the National Award from Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi. In 1987 he was honoured with the Padma Shri from the Government of India, New Delhi. In 1990 he was conferred the Gaurav Puraskar from the Government of Maharashtra, Mumbai.