01Festival2018

INDEX

EDITOR’S NOTE Page 04

ESSAYS

THE ARTIST WITH A DIFFERENCEVerna Blewett Page 06

A FORGOTTEN GENIUSKallol Basu Page16

STRIKINGLY ORIGINALShyam Sundar Padihari Page 26

GITANJALI BEYOND INDIAN SHORESSudeshna Basu Page 46

HERITAGE

ANCIENT PASTIME

BISHNUPUR’S DASAVATAR TAASHBuddhadev Nandi Page 61

HUMOUR

THE LIGHTER SIDE OF SCIENTISTSManas Das Page 65

PROFILE

INVESTIGATIV FOCUSGHOSTS OF DOUBTDr. K.K. Paul Page 86

OPINION

BEWAREPOET! Debasish Lahiri

Page 37

A TALE OF TWO

BRIDGESShyamal Roy

Page 54

THE PERSON THE PERSON AND HIS AND HIS

PERSONAPERSONASk Sadar NayeemSk Sadar Nayeem

Page 76Page 76

OF POPULAR BELIEFS,HISTORICITY AND

POETIC LICENCE

INDIAN EPICSUday Basu

Page 93

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INDEX

HABITAT

AROMATIC SPIRITUALITY

SCENTS AND SENSIBILITIESKrishnaraj Iyengar Page 106

CLASSICAL NOTES

HEART OF ART

INTO THE PAST

ANCIENT SITE OF KNOWLEDGESomen Sengupta Page 131

CULTURAL EBB & LOW

THE CONSUMMATE ARTISTKalyan Chatterjee Page 138

COURTROOM VIEWS

NOSTALGIA

HOME & AWAYShiv Dutta Page 154

CINEMA

TIGER BY THE TAILNiladri Kundu and Suddhasattwa Das

Page 100

THE ETHEREAL

TUNESMITHShreya RoyChowdhury

Page 112

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PPaaggee 111188

OF JUSTICEFOR LAWYERS

Dhruv Shekhar

Page 147

IN PURSUIT OF A

MIRAGEVidyarthy Chatterjee

Page 168

03FESTIVAL2018

KING LEAR ON SCREENPradipta Mukherjee Page 178

FORMIDABLE BODY, PATHETIC TAILVidyarthy Chatterjee Page 188

INDIAN CINEMA IN THE 1970SBibekananda Ray Page 198

WANDER AROUND

MOSCOW MUSINGSUday K Chakraborty Page 243

AN EXQUISITE PARADISE SET APARTV V Sundar Page 247

LURE OF THE MOUNTAINSIqbal Ahmed Page 253

ASTOUNDING AL- ANDALUSArnab Banerjee Page 259

THE PERFECT GETAWAYArjun Chaudhuri Page 264

VERSES OF LIFE

SELF, IMAGE, IDENTITYSanjukta Dasgupta Page 266

SOLVING A SEASIDE PUZZLEManas Bakshi Page 268

IN HER EYESAsoke Kumar Mitra Page 270

INFILTRATIONParthasarathi Banerjee Page 271

FICTION

A STORY I DID NOT WRITEP Raja Page 272

DISTRESSSanjukta Dasgupta Page 279

THEY BEAT ON AND ONAnirban Basu Page 283

SATIRE

THE KLAN IN CRISIS

Kurt Jacobsen & Sayeed Hasan Khan

Page 286

EEDDIITTOORR

Ravindra Kumar

PPRREESSIIDDEENNTT

K K Choudhary

FFEEAATTUURREESS EEDDIITTOORR

Gopali Bandyopadhyay

DDEESSIIGGNN EEDDIITTOORR

Partho Sheel

Published by SSAANNDDEEEEPP KKUUMMAARR AAGGRRAAWWAALL on behalf of THE STATESMAN LTD, 4, Chowringhee Square,Kolkata - 700001 and printed at Roman Printers Private Ltd.

GGEENNEERRAALL MMAANNAAGGEERR ((AAdd && MMaarrkkeettiinngg))

Ram Kumar Menan

GGEENNEERRAALL MMAANNAAGGEERR ((SSyysstteemm && PP rroodduuccttiioonn))

Indranil Dutta

GGEENNEERRAALL MMAANNAAGGEERR ((CCiirrccuullaattiioonn))

Suman Bhattacharya

CCIIRRCCUULLAATTIIOONN--IINN--CCHHAARRGGEE

Raj Kumar Chakrabarty

Cover Design: Partho

04 Festival2018

EDITOR’SNOTE

Dear Reader,

Greetings of the season!

s we embark on this trimester of festivals, it istime to reflect on the months that have gone by andthose that will follow. Festivities, like life, must beframed by reality, by an awareness of what we didwrong and what we can do right.

Our lives have seen several momentous changes,principally because our apex court has chosen to takea nuanced rather than a tradition-bound view ofinterpersonal relations and the relation between theindividual and the state, striking down sections of thepenal code while upholding the constitutional validityof the controversial Aadhaar scheme. Jurisprudence,too, is a work in progress and doubtless some of thequestions that have been answered now will surfaceafresh.

The other prongs of our polity have a little less toshow for themselves. The executive ducked importantquestions – leaving them for courts to answer – andthe legislature was not a particularly vibrantinstitution, lacking both substance and style. Unlikejurisprudence, they sometimes showed up as works inregress.

The season of festivals will doubtless be punctuatedby frenetic political activity as we ready ourselves fora renewed engagement with the ballot box. As we findthe time to put our feet up, or engage in revelry,perhaps we will deem it prudent to reflect at least alittle on the course we want our democracy to take.

But enough of that now. It is time to sit back andrelax with this collection of essays, fiction, satire andso much more that we have put together for you. Wehope you will enjoy this offering, painstakingly puttogether by my colleague Gopali Bandyopadhyay andher team. Design inputs have been provided by ParthoSheel and Amit Majhi.

Ravindra KumarEditor

Finding Kiron SinhaFinding Kiron Sinha

THE ARTIST WITH A

DIFFERENCETHE ARTIST WITH A

DIFFERENCE

VERNA BLEWETT

Kiron Sinha described his existence as “a life of loss”. This

extraordinary Bengali artist, who worked in many media, cer-

tainly had a remarkable life with its share of tragedy, but in a

broader sense he and his work were effectively lost.

Shokti, a sculpture built from cement,stands 1.75 m in the garden of Bulbul Art

Gallery, outside the Guha. The statue glori-fies motherhood and is dedicated toGertrude “at your worshipful feet”.

The artist and his wife withthe sculpture in 1988.

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ESSAYS

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ESSAYS

Kiron Sinha lived the last 60years of his life in Santiniketan andfor many of these years he and hisAustrian-born wife, Gertrude Sinha(née Hirsch) lived in the midst ofthis thriving arts community inself-imposed exile. When I firstvisited them in Santiniketan in2007, people there were surprisedto learn that they were still alive. Infact, Kiron passed away at the endof 2009 at the age of 93 years,while Gertrude celebrated her100th birthday in 2011 and died afew months later. For 15 years theyhad barely stepped outside their

compound, relying on a few trustedhelpers to meet their daily needs.Kiron was blind by the mid-1980s,although he continued to sculptuntil a few years before his death,and Gertrude was unable to walkwell following a severe accidentwhen she was 85. I ‘met’ Kiron andGertrude many years earlier, butnot face-to-face, rather it was inwriting. I joined the Australianbranch of the Hirsch family when Imarried Gertrude’s nephew. I was

The artist’s studio at Bulbul Art Gallery in 2008.Amongst the merry jumble of tools of the tradeare examples of his work: a sketch, ceramics,some small sculptures, a wood carving and apart of a cartoon for a weaving. On the desk sitsa book by Dr Jeanne Openshaw featuringKiron’s painting, The Singing Baul, on the frontcover. The Baul’s featured frequently in Kiron’spaintings.

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ESSAYS

immediately drawn into the regularletter writing to India - and wasgenerously included in the repliesfrom Gertrude. I finally met them inperson in 2007 and, overcome bythe beauty of Kiron’s body of work,became his appointed curator andthe ‘catalogue-er’ of his works. Hewas thrilled to have someone paysuch close attention to his work andideas and charged me with theresponsibility of helping to get himthe recognition that he deserved.My daughter, Dr Lily Hirsch, and Ihave been working on this task eversince.

Of course, the story starts muchearlier. Kiron was born in 1916 inthe village of Khalapara, in theNetrokona District (now inBangladesh). His folk artist motherencouraged her son’s obvious talentfrom an early age, but she was hisfirst loss. Following her death fromcholera when he was only twelveyears old, his school-teacher fathercontinued to encourage his growingtalent. At seventeen he was sent toKala Bhavana, Visva-Bharati in far off Santiniketan. The “village boy”

soon made his mark under thetutelage of Nandalal Bose and hisstaff, but he was shy of people. Herecalled how Rabindranath Tagorecame to view the students’ workand singled out Kiron’s painting asmeritorious, asking “who is thisboy?” But Kiron shrank away fromthe praise and failed to identifyhimself as the artist. Nonetheless,he regarded Tagore as his firstpatron, as an important person whoin acknowledging his talent gavehim confidence. Much later, hisclassmate and friend, IndiraGandhi, would also become animportant patron.

Later in his life, Kiron had adifficult relationship with his oldmaster, Nandalal Bose, but in 1937Bose awarded Kiron his Diploma ofFine Art and a travellingscholarship to Nanjing, China, tolearn Classical Painting from themasters there. His visit wascurtailed by the 2nd Sino-Japanese

Kiron was born in 1916 inthe village of Khalapara,in the Netrokona District(now in Bangladesh). Hisfolk artist mother encour-aged his obvious talentfrom an early age, butshe was his first loss.Following her death fromcholera when he was only12, his school-teacherfather continued toencourage his growingtalent

Santal Woman, textile dyes on homespun fabric (approx 90 x50 cm). From the 1940s to the 1960s Kiron carved wood-blocks that Gertrude printed on fabrics. At their many exhi-bitions these items were very popular, but sometimes Kironwould use the textile dyes to paint on fabric and Gertrudewould get quite cross with him. This piece was purchased atone of three exhibitions of Kiron’s work held in Australia in1963. It hangs in a private collection in Australia.

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ESSAYS

War and the Massacre of Nanjing.He recalled that he had to escapeand leave everything behind; hisclothes, his work, his papers.Jumping on the first ship back toIndia he took landfall in Madras andfound himself a job as an artteacher to senior students atKalakshetra, the education wing ofthe Theosophical Society.

It was at Kalakshetra that hisworld changed. There he met theyoung and beautiful 26-year-oldViennese artist, Gertrude Hirsch,who was Jewish. She had beenrecruited to teach art to youngchildren at Kalakshetra by RukmeniDevi Arundale during a briefinterlude in Vienna. For Gertrudethe appointment turned out to belife-saving as her Jewish identitywould have made her a victim ofthe Holocaust in Hitler’s Europe. Asit was, her whole family wasannihilated in variousextermination camps - except forher older brother, Leopold Hirsch,who immigrated to Australia in

1937 as a refugee and whoultimately became my father-in-law.

I suspect there were fireworkswhen Kiron and Gertrude met. Hetold me that “there were many mensniffing around, but I won!”. Theymarried in 1938 in Madras but werewarned that the marriage wouldn’tlast more than six months; Kironwould give a hearty chuckle whenrelating this, “I have the last laugh”.It lasted until their deaths morethan 70 years later. They remainedthe presidents of each other’s fanclubs for the rest of their lives. Sheregarded him as India’s best (“Whywould I want other artists’ work onmy walls when I have the best,” shewould say). He regarded her as hismuse, his inspiration, his mentor,his teacher and the love of his life.

Inside the guha. Radha Playing, fresco c1977. “You mustview the guha by candlelight”, Kiron instructed. And indeed,soft candle glow picks up the highlights on the human formsso that they seem to dance off the walls. Here are Radhaand the Gopis, playing with Krishna’s flute and riding thewaves in a boat that is not there. The ethereal nature of thiswork is compelling.

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And she was all these things.For the next fifteen years or so

the couple led a peripatetic dancearound India. Kiron soughtinspiration from Mahabalipuram toRajasthan painting and sketchinglandscapes and life in the villages.Gertrude gave up her own artisticcareer to support her husband, “Iam an Indian woman” she wouldsay proudly by way of explanation.She taught Kiron about the use ofoils and about anatomy using thenotes she’d made in her ownstudies in Vienna. She advised himon perspective and discussed thegreat European masters. Thesewere important influences inKiron’s work and he acknowledgedher role in his artistic development.Meanwhile, Gertrude found jobs forherself allowing Kiron to be a full-time artist. In 1945 Gertrude was inMussoorie escaping from the heatof the plains when their daughter,Kamona (aka Bulbul) was born. Herbirth signalled the time to ‘settledown’ so Kiron commenced

construction of their Santiniketanhome, Bulbul Art Gallery. But in themeantime, there was a job forGertrude in Lahore.

They did not anticipate theproblems of Partition; Gertrude wasforced to shelter with a Christiancommunity while Hindu Kiron fledwith their young daughter, leavingon the horror that was the last trainfrom Lahore. In the shemozzle theylost most of their possessions,including most of Kiron’s work.

Life settled somewhat after this.The family home, the only house inthe middle of an empty paddock inRattanpalli, Santiniketan, wasgradually completed and Bulbulgrew up there. Kiron’s studio wason the top floor and there heworked from 9 to 5 each day (“andon the weekends I did the garden”).He was driven to produce. Hispalette with its multiple influencesand strange to his contemporaries,inspired the work of others,according to Mukul Dey.Throughout the house he paintedthe walls in glorious colours:frescoes dedicated to Tagore, to life

Women at the Lily Pond depicts Radha playing Krishna’sflute in the moonlight surrounded by the Gopis. This oil onchatai (259 x 152 cm) is a fine example of the luscious workKiron did following the death of his beloved daughter, Bul-bul. Bulbul loved fireflies, so Kiron included them in hispaintings in her memory. Private collection, Australia.

At 17 he was sent to KalaBhavana, Visva-Bharatiin far off Santiniketan.The “village boy” soonmade his mark under thetutelage of Nandalal Boseand his staff, but he wasshy of people. He recalledhow Rabindranath Tagorecame to view the students’ work and singled out Kiron’s paint-ing as meritorious, asking “who is this boy?”

13Festival2018

and to love; friezes built into thewalls; sculptures and ceramics inthe house and the garden.

There were jobs for Gertrude inAssam and at the Dowhill School inKurseong, but nothing for Kiron atKala Bhavana, where he(unrealistically) expected to befêted. From time-to-time his patronand friend, Indira Gandhi, flew inby helicopter to visit the studio andbuy works that she placed in publicoffices or gifted to diplomats anddignitaries. Despite this influence,there was only a short appointmentat Silpa Sadan that introduced himto ceramics and weaving to add tohis repertoire. The family lived veryfrugally for much of this time andKiron developed a rich resentmentof Visva-Bharati that remained withhim until his death. To say he was adifficult man is an understatement.“He is so arrogant” Gertrude wouldsay in her Viennese accent while

ESSAYS

The frequent monsoonal thunderstorms with their threat oflightning, strong winds and pelting rain bring relief toparched ground and skin, but can be very intimidating.Kiron described The Storm (c1948, oil on unprimed silk, 81x 119cm, private collection, India) as follows, “This was oneof my very early oil paintings. I saw this scene from myhouse at a time when Santiniketan was very small, withonly a few houses. I saw people running down the lane out-side my house, struggling against the wind”.

Kiron started to decorate his new home, Bulbul Art Gallery,Rattanpalli, Santiniketan, even during its construction. Hepainted the walls with frescoes and built friezes fromcement. Many of these were coloured with cement oxidesso their colours are durable and their surfaces washable.This lyrical frieze, Krishna and Radha (123.5 x 95 x 10 cm)was sculpted from cement into wall of the entry hall of dur-ing its construction in the 1950s. Kiron built his first cementand oxide sculpture in 1952 and continued to sculpt, evenafter he lost his eyesight, until just a few years before hisdeath.

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ESSAYS

rolling her eyes. Unfortunately, hisartist’s temperament saw himdistance himself from much of theart community and he failed to dothe work necessary to have hiscontribution recognised.

Both Kiron and Gertrude weredevastated by the sudden anduntimely death of their daughter,Bulbul, following a fall in herbathroom. In response, Kiron’spost-1972 work focused on love, anexploration of the love betweenKrishna and Radha. The complexarray of this outpouring is seen onthe walls of the house and when heran out of walls he built a smallbuilding in the garden, a ‘Guha’,dedicated to this work. He alsopainted numerous large canvasesand chattai on this theme.

This was the final phase of hiswork. He stopped painting when helost his eyesight but continued tocreate sculptures until his fingersalso wore out.

The legacy of Kiron Sinha’s workis massive. It’s time to find KironSinha again and reassess the valueof his artistic contribution and hisplace in the pantheon ofSantiniketan painters. We have over800 pieces recorded in the catalogueand are gradually adding others aswe find them in public galleries andprivate collections in India and allover the world. The catalogue willbe freely available online atwww.bulbulart.com by the end of2018.

Verna Blewett is an Australian social scientist

and art lover. She is the niece and biographer

of Kiron and Gertrude Sinha. She and her

daughter, Dr Lily Hirsch, are researching and

writing the Sinha’s biography and completing

the catalogue of their works.

Living in Santiniketan gave Kiron immediate access to San-tali villages and he spent many days observing them at workand at leisure and sketching them from life, often accompa-nied by younger artists. Santal Melody, depicting theunique music and dance of the Santals, is painted with oilon canvas c1957 (54 x 74.5 cm). It was purchased in Mel-bourne, Australia, during an exhibition there in 1963. Itremains in a private collection in Melbourne.

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A ForgottenA Forgotten

Genius Genius Dwarakanath Tagore Dwarakanath Tagore