Though he had found his protagonists in the Lohars of Jamia Nagar in Delhi and the Bhil tribes of Rajasthan, whom he visited multiple times over decades, it took some years for his vibrant natural settings and his nayikas to gain recognition from connoisseurs.
As a retrospective of his sculptures is held in the Capital, A Ramachandran, 88, talks about his days at Santiniketan, finding images in the words of Dostoevsky and why his canvas changed from the dark to the lyrical
Giving up city life for rural living. On World Tourism Day, September 27, and days after receiving the UNESCO World Heritage Site tag, here s how Santiniketan changed this Bengali man s relationship with Rabindranath Tagore, from rebelling against the Rabindrik overkill to embracing it and building his own house in Tagore s abode of peace.
Rabindranath Tagore s philosophy of unrestrained learning in open-air classes, respect for nature and famers needs, and education for change defines Santiniketan s contemporary relevance. An ex-vice-chancellor of Visva-Bharati, a former Kala Bhavana principal, and Tagore s great grand-nephew speak about India s 41st UNESCO World Heritage site.