Save the Girl Child

Violence against women and children is widespread in South Asia. Many conscious people are raising their voices against this inhuman practice. Some have resorted to creative media to express their concerns. And thus, Indian artist Madhusudan Das has chosen brush and paint to highlight the deplorable state of women and children in our society.  

“The theme of my exhibition is ‘save the girl child’, which represents the bad condition of women and girls at present. Sometimes, newborn baby girls are thrown in the dustbin, sewerage drain or river, and even in woodland.  Everybody wants to have a baby boy, but there is no any difference between a boy child and a girl child. I wanted to express that message through my paintings. I hope the people will become more conscious about this inhuman practice,” the 43-year-old artist said, explaining the background of his recent solo exhibition in Dhaka. 
Portraits of babies asleep amid leaves or flowers, a child cradling another child, and women, gazing passively or screaming, were among the 27 paintings, mostly done in acrylics, which were on show at the exhibition, held at the main lobby of the Bangladesh National Museum at Shahbagh from June 11-14.  
“Twelve are my regular works on nature and the rest are representative works on the current state of our society. Through my art, I dream to create a society which will be free from women repression and child abuse,” Das said. 
“Many years ago, I came to Bangladesh to visit my relatives when I saw the beautiful landscape of the villages in Kishoreganj district. I also spent some time at Santiniketan while studying there. Thus, I got inspired to draw the landscapes of both Bangladesh and India,” added the artist, who graduated from Kala Bhavan of Visva Bharti University in Santiniketan, West Bengal.
After browsing through the exhibition, Nisar Hossain, Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts at Dhaka University, said: “In the paintings of Madhusudan, there is a common trend, but there are some differences in the use of colours. Undoubtedly, he has proven his excellence in subjective and figurative art. In his figurative works, the bitter conditions of women and children have been depicted, which represents the picture of global humanity.”
“Beautiful landscapes and display of the mental complexity of human beings are depicted in Madhusudan’s paintings. He has expressed fear, innocence of nature, human anguish and the destitute condition of children in his works,” added Ranjit Das, a prominent Bangladeshi artist. 
Nilima Choudhury, a teacher of Dhaka University, said: “Repression against women and torturing of female children are highlighted through the expressions of his subjects. Standing before the paintings of Madhusudan, I see the burning of a female foetus inside the womb of its mother which is really touchy and pathetic. Through his works, we get to see the present condition of women and girls in our society.” 
“At first glance, I got puzzled with two features of his paintings. One is the random use of blue and green colours, and another is the figurative representation,” said Mahua Mukherjee, a teacher of Rabindra Bharati University in India who is presently a visiting professor of Tagore Chair at Dhaka University’s dance department. 
“The artist has given different dimensions on the canvas, applying his artistic imagination to show the colours of nature. He has also featured the wind by using deep blue colour. Here, he has chosen blue and red colours passionately to express killing of women and children and female foetuses, and child abuse in our present world,” Mukherjee added. 
Jayashree Kundu, director of India Gandhi Culture Centre in Dhaka which organised the exhibition, said: “I really enjoyed the facial expressions in his paintings, which seemed to me lively and I believe his works will convey a specific message to the visitors. “We feel good for presenting his works before the art connoisseurs of Bangladesh.”
Artists who have received ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations) scholarships, art lovers and critics joined the exhibition to make it a grand success. 

Photos: Courtesy
Edited by Parveen Ahmed.

Save the Girl Child

Violence against women and children is widespread in South Asia. Many conscious people are raising their voices against this inhuman practice. Some have resorted to creative media to express their concerns. And thus, Indian artist Madhusudan Das has chosen brush and paint to highlight the deplorable state of women and children in our society. The theme of my exhibition is save the girl child, which represents the bad condition of women and girls at present. Sometimes, newborn baby girls are thrown in the dustbin, sewerage drain or river, and even in woodland. Everybody wants to have a baby boy, but there is no any difference between a boy child and a girl child. I wanted to express that message through my paintings. I hope the people will become more conscious about this inhuman practice, the 43-year-old artist said, explaining the background of his recent solo exhibition in Dhaka. Portraits of babies asleep amid leaves or flowers, a child cradling another child, and women, gazing passively or screaming, were among the 27 paintings, mostly done in acrylics, which were on show at the exhibition, held at the main lobby of the Bangladesh National Museum at Shahbagh from June 11-14. Twelve are my regular works on nature and the rest are representative works on the current state of our society. Through my art, I dream to create a society which will be free from women repression and child abuse, Das said. Many years ago, I came to Bangladesh to visit my relatives when I saw the beautiful landscape of the villages in Kishoreganj district. I also spent some time at Santiniketan while studying there. Thus, I got inspired to draw the landscapes of both Bangladesh and India, added the artist, who graduated from Kala Bhavan of Visva Bharti University in Santiniketan, West Bengal. After browsing through the exhibition, Nisar Hossain, Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts at Dhaka University, said: In the paintings of Madhusudan, there is a common trend, but there are some differences in the use of colours. Undoubtedly, he has proven his excellence in subjective and figurative art. In his figurative works, the bitter conditions of women and children have been depicted, which represents the picture of global humanity. Beautiful landscapes and display of the mental complexity of human beings are depicted in Madhusudans paintings. He has expressed fear, innocence of nature, human anguish and the destitute condition of children in his works, added Ranjit Das, a prominent Bangladeshi artist. Nilima Choudhury, a teacher of Dhaka University, said: Repression against women and torturing of female children are highlighted through the expressions of his subjects. Standing before the paintings of Madhusudan, I see the burning of a female foetus inside the womb of its mother which is really touchy and pathetic. Through his works, we get to see the present condition of women and girls in our society. At first glance, I got puzzled with two features of his paintings. One is the random use of blue and green colours, and another is the figurative representation, said Mahua Mukherjee, a teacher of Rabindra Bharati University in India who is presently a visiting professor of Tagore Chair at Dhaka Universitys dance department. The artist has given different dimensions on the canvas, applying his artistic imagination to show the colours of nature. He has also featured the wind by using deep blue colour. Here, he has chosen blue and red colours passionately to express killing of women and children and female foetuses, and child abuse in our present world, Mukherjee added. Jayashree Kundu, director of India Gandhi Culture Centre in Dhaka which organised the exhibition, said: I really enjoyed the facial expressions in his paintings, which seemed to me lively and I believe his works will convey a specific message to the visitors. We feel good for presenting his works before the art connoisseurs of Bangladesh. Artists who have received ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations) scholarships, art lovers and critics joined the exhibition to make it a grand success. Photos: Courtesy Edited by Parveen Ahmed.