by

Isidore Domnick Mendis

Jatin Das….Figurative painter, graphic artist, sculptor, muralist and poet

The grey-bearded Sagittarian who turned 60 on December 2 last year has till now held over 50 solo exhibitions in India and abroad; He has been an active participant of the India Triennial; the 4th Bharat Bhavan Biennale-Bhopal (1992); the 7^th British International Print Biennale-Bradford (1982); and Biennale Paris (1971) to name a few. He has also been part of numerous national and international auctions like Sotheby’s and Christies." I respect a person who buys a drawing or a graphic rather than someone who buys a painting."

He has been a teacher at the Delhi College of Art and the National School of Drama, a consultant for the Handicrafts Board and for Orissa’s Folk Art Museum. In 1991, the Lalit Kala Akademi held a retrospective of his works.

Das does not have a high opinion of today’s generation of artists. " Young people seem to think getting a degree from an art institution is enough. They feel a degree establishes them as artists and not hard work and dedication." Das, who studied painting under eminent professor-artist S.B. Palsikar, blames art schools, galleries and parents for destroying talent in young artists by overexposing them.

"Art Galleries showcase the work of young people who have potential. When some of their works sell these people start calling themselves masters of art and begin to believe they have achieved their goal of becoming true artists…as a result, they stop learning," says Das who strongly feels that every art student must serve as an apprentice to a senior artist for a few years.

Very few in the art circles know that Das is also a poet. His works have appeared in several journals and been published by Har Anand. Jacaranda Press in Bangalore is publishing a set of his new poems titled Kadappa. He says, " I don’t have any hobbies. I take things very seriously. When I am cooking it becomes more important than painting. Its the same with my collection of hand fans from around the subcontinent."

Besides being a painter, poet and avid collector, Das is also a talented sculptor. He has created several lithographs and serigraphs. His graphic installations adorn the Bhilai Steel Plant and he has done a large mural for the Parliament titled The journey of India from Mohenjodaro to Mahatma Gandhi.

Reminiscing his student days in Mumbai and his affection for the city, he rues that Mumbai has lost its erstwhile cosmopolitan character. "When I was a student there, it had a broad outlook. It represented a miniature India. Today it has lost its charm. It has become parochial…It has become a Maharashtrian city."

Das’s love for the cosmopolitan way of life can be seen in the way he has brought up his children, actress Nandita Das and son Siddhartha, a gradute from Ahmedabad’s premiere National Institute of Design. Both children speak Oriya, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi and English fluently.

" I am proud of my children as both are doing their own thing. They are independent of me. I have not given them anything except basic values like respecting the other person and not getting swayed by success."

Success definitely has not swayed the artist. Though deeply immersed in art, Das’ future plans are pegged on something entirely different---a museum for over 5000 hand fans he’s been collecting from different countries and regions for the past 40 years!

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