Works of Haren Das on display

Delhi Art Gallery opens show at MSU to showcase artists work on printmaking in woodcuts

Devanshi Joshi. Vadodara/DNA
Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Delhi Art Gallery inaugurated 'Haren Das The End of Toil -Prints (1945-1970)' exhibition at Faculty of Fine Arts of MS University on Tuesday to pay tribute to Haren Das and his singular pursuit of printmaking in woodcuts and wood engravings embedded with rural texture. The exhibition will continue till August 10. The exhibition tries to position Haren Das vis-à-vis his contemporaries Chittaprosad and Somnath Hore. He chose to tread alone without trying to align with the contemporary stream. Well known artists of Vadodara like Jyotsana Bhatt and Gulam Mohommad appreciated his efforts. MSU students and art lovers have also joined in to appreciate the exhibition. Riyad Sharma, a student, says: "The exhibition has been carried very well. I am trying to understand the art work as it is difficult to understand the depth of the work of such a great artist and person. The printmaking in woodcuts and engraving is amazing. It's an opportunity of a lifetime to get a chance to see such work." Anchal Shinde, a representative of Delhi Art Gallery, said: "The purpose of the exhibition is to make the students understand the work of Haren Das. The exhibition is not just a show of his works, but his various achievements, correspondences, original documents and accumulated certificates that have not been given their due. Haren Das participated internationally in exhibitions and biennials and won laurels for his work globally." Das was one of the few who witnessed India fight for its independence. He supposedly kept away from any political alignment or propaganda, making no tall claims or artistic declarations. A simple man at heart, he preferred being a dedicated teacher to younger generations of artists. His works show glimpse of Nandalal Bose, influence of his teacher Ramendranath Chakravorty and affinity with contemporary Shaffiudin Ahmed. While nostalgia and sentimentality tend to surface in the works that restore the longing for an idyllic pastoral life in the distance, the sight of the smoking chimneys, factories and the changing fabric of the villages of Bengal cannot be missed. India in the early post-independence era was in transition, and the first signs of urbanity were awkwardly visible in the transformed landscape. Das was a witness to that change and his works move from vast unadulterated landscapes to incorporating semi-urban forms of construction and activities, sensing erasure of the rural in throes of urban life.