Book launch: Chinno Patar Shajai Toroni
Brought out by the Khulna Art College Ex-Students' Organisation, the book celebrates 101 years of the college. It brings into limelight the genius of Shoshibhushon Pal, the artist of the last century, who was the founder principal of the college. The book includes photographs of paintings done by Shoshibhushon Pal, his students (who were teachers at the said college) and recent works by contemporary teachers and their students, in turn. An exhibition of these paintings had been held in February this year at the National Museum. The articles included in the book focus on the history of the Khulna Art College, biography of Shoshibhushon Pal and a write up in appreciation of the work in progress at the institute.
The cover presents a self-portrait of the founder teacher, who had won many awards in the form of gold and silver medals during Queen Victoria's rule. The photographs included in the art book are eight paintings by Pal. There is also a picture of his wife, done by one of his students. There are two paintings by Shudhansho Kumar Pal, the founder teacher's son, and that by Salauddin Ahmed, once a principal of the college till 1983.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. There is also a sample of the works of eight teachers. The book also presents the works of 90 students of the Khulna Art College, including Shikhor Mondol, Liaqat Ali and Shukumar Bagchi.
A B M Salauddin, Director Fine Arts, Shilpakala Academy said, "The book is a good publication as it includes so many readable articles relevant to the present art scene, Khulna in particular. The focus is also on the Bangalees who once left Bangladesh during the partition of 1947 and later during the Liberation War: some of their names have been included in the book. Shoshibhushan Pal is an artist we can be justifiably proud of because of this many achievements and his recognition and awards from abroad, specially UK, Europe and USA. He said that the decision to renovate the existing decades old paintings by the Restoration and Preservation Department of the Shilpakala Academy is an important move.
Moinuddin Khalid, also speaking to The Daily Star, pointed out that Shoshibhushan Pal was very important in the Bangladeshi history of art as he taught his students that they did not have to go back to Bengal School of Art, or return to the roots like that of the caves of Ellora and Ajanta. Shoshibhushan Pal educated our artists to be progressive and dynamic, without losing sight of their origin, he added.