This is an anecdotal account by one artist about her master. Set in the idyllic educational set up of Shantiniketan in the 1960s this is a peep into the life of one of the great artist and painter in the cultural history of Benagal.
 
Kinkarda is scripted as the teacher and the artist. The artist self comprehensively overwhelms the teacher self. The artist is introvert, indifferent of the space of reality around him and totally immersed in his art. This immersion within art represents itself in the stone sculpture of two thirsty animals with the body of fishes and the mouth of bulls, or in the image of Sujata.
 
The teacher Kinkarda insisted on instilling only one sense within his students – the sense of framing. A canvas does not allow unlimited space like a story. Therefore, the canvas should represent only the particular telling moment. Hence, a canvas should capture a hooded snake just outside its box and not the entire scenic expanse of the village.
 
As a person, Kinkarda was somebody living in a different space of reality. Totally indifferent of physical appearance and interpersonal relationships- Kinkarda was the model of the perennial artistic self- a man living inside a wonderful cloister.
 
Famous film director once came to Shantiniketan to make a documentary on Kinkarda. The meeting of two great personalities of contemporary Bengali cultural space resulted in a unique conversation between two different artistic selves.
 
Many other famous personalities make fleeting appearances in this journey down memory lane. Famous painter and artist Shree Nandalal Basu, vice chancellor Shree Sudhiranjan Das, Shree Dinkar Koushik, Shree Sankha Choudhuri, Shree Somnath Hor and many others come in referential mode. All of them are introduced to sketch the personality of Kinkarda – a personality where the individual and artistic selves are integrated into one unified space.

Close  | Print  | Home