The New Nation - Internet Edition

Sheikh Arif Bulbon

“The year 1947 survives in the memory of a section of Bengalis more for the glory events of partition than for the tryst with destiny that ended two hundred years of colonial rule in India. The three-piece sub-continent that emerged as the British left India made it impossible for the Bengalis to think any more of one Bengal comprising East and West bound by culture and language, history and heritage. But, despite the religious and political divide the two Bengals are siblings with blood ties bonding them together. Those who crossed the borders around 1947 from either side have still some bits of their roots stuck deep underground somewhere on the banks of the Padma and the Ganga. Among them are there today's artists and poets who left, rather were forced to leave, their home before of after partition but only on the other side of the same country which was still intact as a cultural and geographical entity. Quite a few high-profile contemporary artists of Kolkata, who tower tall on the Indian art scene as well as now total strangers to what was once their birthplace or hometown in the erstwhile East Bengal. But thanks to the undying ties of culture between two Bengals, their past is no foreign country. The seven artists of the two countries have shared-in cultural genetics as the mainstay of their creative impulse," said Indian art critic Manasij Majumder at the exhibition of seven Bengali artists from India titled 'Return to the Roots' at the Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts in the capital.

"As an art-writer and art watcher for more than a quarter of a century, I have often had occasions to reflect on the life and works of the artists represented in this show. And it has often crossed my mind that art must have something to do with their having been born on the other side of Bengal. It is very difficult to trace any tangible evidence in their works of what is exclusive in their art which they owe to the native village or town, especially when Kolkata has played a dominant and decisive role to find and feed their talent, shape and succour their sensibility mostly in post independent India with the scars of partition still unhealed," said Manasij.

An eminent exception is Paritosh Sen, born in Dhaka in 1918, had his basic art education at Chennai, worked as a teacher in Indore, and finally went to Paris. As a member of the Kolkata Group, launched in 1943, he wanted to revitalize Indian art and relate it to the modernity of 20th century. However, he never lost sight of his native heritage as he voyaged though modern aesthetics. Paritosh has always had a strong liking for figurative contents, as he contemplates on men and women of all classes, and plays with their emotions of happiness and despair, love and hate.

Born in 1928 in Patuakhali, Barisal, Amitabha Banerjee grew up as a little child in Sandwip in Bangladesh, of which he carried indelible impressions. Later in Kolkata, he witnessed famine and riots, which were reflected in the pain and agony of the faces of women.

His Sandwip memories, however, sneaked back in his exotic aquatints and pastels, as he brought in flowers and birds in an idealised, lyrical manner.

Bijan Chowdhury, whose family originally came from Faridpur, grew up in Kalighat.

When his family had migrated there, he studied under Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin at the Institute of Dhaka in 1949. Bijan believed in a collective total rise of men through socialism and leftist politics, when he returned to Kolkata. He dreamt not only of political freedom but economical emancipation for all. These were reflected in the massive muscular proportions of his figures, with their allegorical backdrops. His sculpted figures have enormous inner strength and speak in praise of the success of the common man.

Ganesh Haloi, fled from his home in Jamalpur, in then Mymensingh, when he was nine, during the partition, and moved from one refugee camp to another. He lived on the platform of Howrah Station when he was a student of Government Art College. His pain and struggles, were not, however, reflected in his art, which carry the illustrative structure of nature seen in his childhood days of blue skies and flowing rivers of East Bengal. Nature leaves fluid imprints on his senses, as we study them today in the semi abstract forms.

Suhas Roy, born in 1936, in Tejgaon in Dhaka, settled with his widowed mother near Kolkatta. His visions were that of the Old Italian Renaissance Arts and French Classicists, which were his influences during his trip to Europe. He became a refugee during the Naxalite violence. He came into fame with his delineations of birds, trees and flowers. His glass paintings also speak of mystic ties with nature.

Dhiraj Choudhury also fled from his home in Brahmanbaria. He did his B.Sc at Darjeeling. He had a strong concern for man, nature and society. His articulated washes and fresh shades present lyrical landscapes.

Jogen Chowdhury, born in 1939, also came away from Faridpur, where his family had settled for generations. His artistic inclinations took their roots from his rural origin in East Bengal. He was full of fun and fantasy as he painted intriguing and erotic creatures.

These seven painters are the leading personalities in Indian art at present. The exhibition will end on May 9.