Zainul Utsab 2016
By Bipul K Debnath
It was dawn of December 29 when the sun started to appear. The grass surrounding the tomb of Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin was covered with petals of floral offerings. Thus began Zainul Utsab 2016 marking the 102nd birth anniversary of the great artist and teacher at the premises of Faculty of Fine Arts (FFA), popularly known as Charukala, in the University of Dhaka.
Needless to say, the Shilpacharya (Great Teacher of the Arts) paid great attention to folk art. Zainul Abedin had immense belief that the arts would never flourish by disregarding folk artists and artisans.
Outlets from around the country showcased the diversity of local heritage with displays of rare collections of folk art such as sokher hari of Rajshahi, hatpankha of Narayanganj, sola shilpa of Magura, sital pati of Bikrampur and tepa putul of Rajshahi at the three-day festival on the grounds of Charukala.
The festival also included installation of the Shilpacharyas statue, open discourse, sculpture competition, display and sale of conceptual art works by students and teachers of FFA, presentation of honorary awards, and display of articles detailing the life of Zainul Abedin.
After the discourse, Jahanara Abedin, the artists widow, unveiled a bust of Zainul Abedin made by Tarak Gorai, a famous sculptor of India. Meanwhile, Sumon Paul won the sculpture competition on Zainul phenomena for his bust of the great artist.
While sharing the background of the festival, Nisar Hossain, Dean of FFA, said: In 1947, philanthropist and artist Zainul Abedin returned to this country (from Kolkata) and took the initiative for establishing a full-fledged Government Institute of Arts _ the first time ever in Bangladesh_ in 1948 in one small room at Dhakas Johnson Road. In 1983, that institute (at its present premises on the DU campus) was considered as an autonomous institution under the University of Dhaka. So, we recognise him as the pioneer-founder of the Institute of Fine Arts. Through this institute, the genres of modern arts have intensely flourished in this country. Every year since 2009, Zainul Abedins birthday on December 29 is observed with a festival.
Two eminent artists who have made great contributions to the arts arena of the Subcontinent were honoured with this years Zainul Award. They are Sri Jogen Chowdhury, Professor Emeritus of Rabindra Bharati University in Kolkata, India, and Hashem Khan, professor and prominent artist of Bangladesh.
After receiving the award, Hashem Khan expressed his joy and gratitude to the institute from where he graduated, and later taught. Khan, from Chandpur, completed his BFA degree from the then Government Institute of Arts (now FFA), established by Zainul Abedin. He later joined there as a teacher and retired from the Praschokala (Oriental Arts) department in 2007.
On the other hand, Sri Jogen Chowdhury, one of the most eminent contemporary artists, was born in 1939 at a village near Kotalihpara in Faridpur in present-day Bangladesh. After a difficult upbringing in a Kolkata refugee settlement, he completed his art education from the Government College of Art and Craft, Calcutta, in 1960. He started working as an art teacher at Howra Zila School and later moved to Santiniketan as a teacher at Kala Bhavana (painting department) of Visva-Bharati and retired in 1999.
Photos: Internet
