Similar to that: Exploring the inventive world of Jatin Das and his legacy
A number of days in the past, my spouse and I spent a day with the celebrated artist, sculptor, and muralist Jatin Das at his studio — cramped with canvases and drawings, stacked on cabinets or piled into separate classes in an unbelievably tight area, the place solely he is aware of the place all the things is — within the coronary heart of Mehrauli, New Delhi.
Now we have identified Jatin for many years. Although not with out his share of controversies, there’s little doubt that, as an artist, he’s distinctive for 2 principal accomplishments. First, on the age of 84, he’s among the many few residing artists who’ve been private witnesses to and members in your complete fashionable Indian inventive motion, together with the Progressive Artists’ Motion and past. Second, there’s presumably no different artist with such an in depth assortment of work, sketches, portraits, and drawings to his credit score—some housed in his personal studio, with the remaining scattered internationally.
Jatin graduated from Sir J.J. Faculty of Artwork in Mumbai within the early Nineteen Sixties and after spending just a few years in Mumbai, he moved completely to Delhi on the invitation of Pupul Jayakar, the famend patron of India’s inventive heritage. This transition coincided with an invite from a number one artwork gallery in New Delhi for a solo exhibition.
Jatin’s oeuvre is exceptional. Other than his 1000’s of oil-on-canvas work, which he desperately tries to maintain monitor of since lots of them are mendacity with buddies or saved throughout the globe, he’s additionally a grasp portraitist. His catalogue of portraits is like watching pages of historical past unfold by way of the persona of virtually each determine of significance within the area of artistic arts, as additionally different iconic figures, in India and worldwide. It’s work of the very best inventive calibre. Moreover, he has created 1000’s of pen-and-ink drawings, as he’s an unstoppable sketcher, all the time carrying paper, pens, pencils, paints, and brushes within the leather-based sling bag that has turn out to be an important a part of his sartorial type.
Additionally Learn: Evaluate: Jatin Das; A Retrospective 1963-2023
In the middle of his inventive profession, Jatin has held over 70 solo exhibitions. As early as 1971, he participated within the Paris Biennale, and in 1978, the Venice Biennale. A muralist and sculptor, he was commissioned to create a mural for Parliament in 2001, titled ‘The Journey of India from Mohenjo-daro to Mahatma Gandhi’. In Odisha, his house state (he was born in Mayurbhanj in 1941), he established the enduring J.D. Centre for Arts in Bhubaneswar, designed by the famend architect B.V. Doshi. In 2012, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan. Most just lately, the Nationwide Gallery of Trendy Artwork hosted a retrospective of his works, which attracted giant crowds and supplied a charming glimpse into his versatility as an artist.
One among Jatin’s nice passions is his assortment of Pankhas, or hand-held followers, of which he has collected over 6,000 from everywhere in the world. These had been displayed on the Nationwide Crafts Museum and at the moment are saved, awaiting a everlasting house for show and preservation. The gathering is probably going the one one among its form, and I might strongly advocate that both the central authorities or the federal government of Odisha purchase it for posterity and everlasting show.
Additionally Learn: ‘One life is just not sufficient’, says Jatin Das
As soon as, once I was in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, on vacation with some buddies, I acquired an pressing name from Jatin. The Sahitya Akademi was publishing a e-book of poems on the Pankha, compiled by Jatin, and he wished me to contribute a poem throughout the subsequent hour. I used to be in an actual dilemma, as I used to be in the midst of a Bridge sport and didn’t wish to say no to Jatin. So, I wrote the poem whereas enjoying Bridge, jotting down verses throughout the pauses within the sport. The brief poem learn:
With out air
The opportunity of breeze
Nobody to ask
And but a caress
Fingers entwined
Making love silently:
Limb, leg, arm, strand
Strapped collectively
To create a floor
Cleaving a void
That grants deliverance.
Go discover me a pankha
The fan that offers
With out asking for something.
By the grace of God, Jatin is retaining effectively. He has his day by day rum and water, finishes a packet of cigarettes, and nonetheless works 12 hours a day. Regardless of his age, his thoughts stays a kaleidoscope of concepts that he’s keen to finish. Nonetheless, my recommendation to him has been to be rather less scattered in his creativity, deal with just a few priorities, and domesticate higher calmness of thoughts—an recommendation that his proficient actor and filmmaker daughter, Nandita Das, agrees with.
By the way, he’s additionally a very good poet, with a printed assortment of poetry. He desires to publish a second quantity and write his memoirs, each initiatives for which I’ve promised to assist. He additionally wants to ascertain a Belief to function a protected repository for all his works.
Jatin’s ordinary type of greeting is to exclaim, La la la la! I want him all the perfect of ‘la la la la’ within the years forward.
