Nandalal Bose’s Mahabharata
Filmmaker Satyajit Ray reminisces, ‘It was there that sitting at the feet of Mastermoshai, I learned how to look at nature and how to feel the rhythms inherent in nature.’ His Mastermoshai was none other than Nandalal Bose, the quintessential acharya who tirelessly assimilated from tradition and keen personal observation to transmit to his students a patently Indian and a radical approach to art practices.
Nandalal Bose was born 3 December 1882 at Haveli Kharagpur, a quiet obscure town in east Bihar. From childhood he was drawn to nature, his surroundings, and his land. His first inspiration was his mother, Kshetramoni, who was fond of carving clay moulds to improvise toys and dolls. He observed workings and methods of using various tools and materials by the craftsmen and spent hours watching his mother.
In 1905, he took admission in design section of Government School of Art to fulfill his passion for fine arts. Here, he learned the art of ornamental design and crafts such as stencil prints and stained-glass work. Principal E.B. Havell cast an immense influence on him.
Nanadalal Bose and Mahatma Gandhi were drawn to each other and the swadeshi movement got manifested into his paintings. On the invitation of Gandhiji Nandalal organized an Art and Craft exhibition during the famous Lucknow Session of the Indian National Congress in 1935. His aptitude to produce remarkable paintings with minimal materials awed Gandhiji. He admired him immensely.
Bose travelled extensively in Haripura, Gujarat to examine the way of life of the people, their daily activities and created 400 masterpiece posters for 51st session of the Indian National Congress at Haripura, Gujarat, 1938. This commission work by Gandhiji was an honour for Nandalal Bose. Nandalal Bose spent time at Jorasanko, the ancestral home of Rabindranath Tagore and came in contact with several luminary personalities of the Tagore family—Abanindranath Tagore, Gaganendranath Tagore, and Rathindranath Tagore. He also spent considerable time at Shantiniketan, learning under the guidance of Rabindranath and Abanindranath Tagore. Bose’s work also reflect that he adopted the Japanese and Chinese techniques and beautifully amalgamated in the Indian and art and tradition. This was the grooming he received in various institutions of art, including Shantiniketan.It is notable to say that the mud house, Shyamoli was built by Nandalal Bose for Rabindranath Tagore. Both of them enthusiastically participated in the play ‘Tasher Desh’ composed by Rabindranath Tagore for the art work. Jointly they built a new culture at Shantiniketan. Nandalal and his team of artists designed and produced the visual aspects of various seasonal and agricultural festivals that was in the annual calendar of Shantiniketan.
Gradually, one can see transition of Nandalal’s paintings from landscape and human figures to spiritual and mythological paintings. This too was because of his association Rabindranath Tagore and his Brahmo background. Nandalal Bose created eighty-four Kalighata patachitra showing the
rural environs—the folklore, life of craftsmen, chores of women, bullocks and carts, and gods and goddesses.Nandalal Bose grew up worshipping Shaivite and Vaishnavite gods and fold goddesses, such as Kali and Sitala. The Vedantic and Puranic literatures, messages of selfless service to making by Swami Vivekananda, and his close rapport with Sister Nivedita enriched and enlightened his artistic soul.Nandalal Bose was deeply influenced and connected to the divine nature and the Absolute. His tour of the Ajanta and studying the figures, their shapes and distinctive features, and the degree of light and shade got imprinted in his mind. The murals and temple carvings of Konark rejuvenated his thoughts and ideas on the types of paintings he produced. This classical style of painting is seen in his work titled Mahabharata (1910–1911).
Nandalal was not only one of the greatest artists but also a passionate teacher. He was affectionately called Mastermoshai. He welcomed and received artistic stimulation from myriad quarters and passed on his legacy to generations of artists and thinkers, who themselves later emerged as exponents in the evolution of Indian art. His pupils were Benode Behari Mukherjee, Ram Kinkar Baij, Pratima Thakur, Jahar Dasgupta, and Satyajit Ray to name a few.
Nandalal Bose became the principal of Kala Bhavan, Shantiniketan in 1921. Many of his students and artists of later generation show better understanding of Indian art because of Nandalal’s pioneering work. He symbolized a banyan tree under which pupils imbibed light and shade. One of his greatest achievements was that he and his group of artists, including disciple Rammanohar, designed 22 images representing the rich and vast heritage and culture of India, which was printed in chronological order in the manuscript of the Constitution of India. Indigenous methods were used to make the sketches by using gold leaf and stone colours. The emblem of the
awards given by the Government of India, including Padma Sri and Bharat Ratna were designed by Nandalal Bose upon the request of Jawaharlal Nehru.
Nandalal Bose was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1954. His works are declared a National Art Treasure under the Antiquities and Art Treasure Act, 1972. His works are preserved at the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi. While few are in the NGMA collection, the rest of the Haripura posters are kept in the Tribal Museum of Gujarat Vidyapith.
Nandalal Bose, 1954 He passed away on 16 April, 1966. This season Mr Prabhas Kejariwal of Chitrakoot Art Gallery and Mr Ashatit Halder of Charulata have conceptualized to present a series of about 30 paintings of Mahabharata by the legend Nandalal Bose. We hope this exhibition will inspire the passionate artists, art connoisseurs, and art lovers to appreciate and intimately engage with the works of the prolific artist, who left an indelible mark on modern Indian art.
The exhibition will continue from 10 May to 30 May, 2024 from 3 to 7 pm at Chitrakoot Art Gallery.
Written By
Devaleena Joardar
