Carving up a career

Sunny day, oil on canvas

Expanding on his experiences at the Art College, Jahangir said, "I was in the third batch after Aminul Islam, Rashid Chowdhury, Quamrul Hassan. There were not as many students then as now, naturally. However, I had the drive to express my self through paintings as once, going down memory lane, I had seen my uncle's portraiture which was so incredibly life like. Sure, my father was unhappy as he had 'better' expectations from me. I was not that confident about my future even after a five-year course. Even after I'd completed my course the future was like a big black screen. I didn't know whether I should continue as an artist or diversify elsewhere. I did a bit of illustration for book covers in my second year, learning from Quamrul Hassan. My other teachers had been Zainul Abedin, Safiuddin Ahmed and Anwarul Haq. For two years, my education was very academic, learning to sketch furniture, and being told how to get our perspectives correct. I felt I must learn how to paint portraits, human figures and present the daily life around me. 'The grammar and language' of art was being drummed into me. By the fourth year I was much more contented with my studies and became more confident about my prospects".

Requested to speak of the support he obtained during his earlier years as a painter, Jahangir said, "Initially, after my graduation, I was determined to continue with my paintings, and those days I would sell my water colours for Tk 50 and sold them to expatriates. I, during the mid fifties, would hire a boat to sail on the River Buriganga for only Tk 4. The British Council and the USIS supported the contemporary artists at that time. Personalities like Jeffrey Hedley sponsored me often by proving me colours and other art materials along with buying my works. He even accompanied me on my sketching expeditions. Gaylord Hoftizer of the USIS also sponsored me, along with other contemporary artists of that time. Claude Colvin, another of my sponsors, who used to act in USIS plays, treated me with extreme understanding and great camaraderie."

Dwelling on his training for a number of months in USA, and his sojourn in Pakistan, Jahangir said, "I visited 22 states there and give lecture on Pakistani artists and interpreting their work. I held an exhibition in Washington DC and in Philadelphia with the paintings that I was doing during my travel in USA. Later, I wanted to see the world in the other side of Pakistan to see places like Lahore and Rawalpindi. I sold my works quite easily to people in the Pakistani capital and once again my patrons were overseas people. Consequently I decided to stay there to continue my paintings. I married there and my wife, Anis, who is originally from Lucknow, worked there in the ministry of commerce co-operatives. I had met her first in 1959. Her relatives, of the Zubair family, incidentally originally built the Rajshahi University. It was in 1973 that I came back to Dhaka." Continuing about his career, Jahangir said, "All along , during my stay in Pakistan, I was a free-lance artist."

To be continued