Bengali artist Benode Behari Mukherjee instructed filmmaker Satyajit Ray, his former scholar at Santiniketan, when he was working on The Inner Eye, a documentary on the artist: “If you want to search for my spirit, the fundamental essence of all that my life stands for, you’ll discover it in the khoai. You might say, I’m it.”
The khoai, geological formation usually in the form of tiny hills, discovered in Birbhum, Bardhaman and Bankura districts of West Bengal, held deep significance for the artist. He noticed a mirrored image of himself in it and he painted the khoai in nice element.
His khoai handscrolls are on show on the Durbar Hall Art Gallery, together with different works that showcase his creative essence. The khoai handscrolls, on the primary ground of the gallery, have been displayed in lengthy stretches, which permit viewers to stroll alongside observing it simply as in the event that they had been strolling alongside the bodily panorama. Painted in tempera on Nepalese paper in the Thirties, the work in sepia, burnt pink, black and cream is a sign of his connection to his environment. Benode Behari taught at Visva-Bharati University at Santiniketan and spent most of his artistic life there.
Benode Behari’s handscroll
| Photo Credit:
Thulasi Kakkat
A window to Santiniketan
The show, organised by the Kolkata Centre for Creativity in collaboration with the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi and Gallery Rada, has a group of his uncommon handscrolls and an early mural. It is a window to Santiniketan and life round it — the detailed work providing greater than glimpses into the vegetation round Santiniketan, the village, and the folks. “At a time when Indian artists had been portray mythological and historic topics to rig up a nationwide and cultural identification, Benode Behari devoted himself to an intimate exploration of the place he lived in … with the place and time he lived in,” says Professor R Siva Kumar, the curator of the show in his curatorial assertion.
The artist was drawn to handscrolls, which has its roots in the East Asian panorama portray custom. Fragments from his Sal Forest work (ink of fabric) accomplished in the Thirties are half of this artistic section when he labored extensively in this format, exploring its each chance.
Born with a watch situation that deteriorated as he aged, Benode Behari continued to color. ‘Self Portrait as a Teacher’, a element from the mural Life on the Campus, which exhibits himself amongst his college students engaged in work and his meticulous remark. This is a fresco on the wall, which was accomplished in 1942.
Benode Behari’s handscroll
| Photo Credit:
Thulasi Kakkat
The exhibition additionally features a ceiling mural, which he painted on the ceiling of a dormitory verandah in Santiniketan in 1940. It represents the standard village life in the area, its flora, fauna included. A pair of Benod Behari’s self portaits are on show.
Visitors can watch a documentary on the artist on the bottom ground of the gallery, whereas an aural narrative of the show is out there on the higher ground, which could be accessed by scanning a QR code and utilizing the headphones offered.
Scenes from Santiniketan and Benode Behari’s Handscrolls is on until September 25.