Living Fossil

In every human being there lies a heart which, to an extent loves to observe the Beauty and Grace of Nature and Mankind. Hidden from the society at large, such people try to understand and delve deep down the façade of what appears to the naked eye! Thus begins man’s philosophical journey through which he derives pleasure either by singing, painting or doing just about anything which gives solace to the Soul. However, unfortunate are those people who can not express themselves or for the matter bring alive their dreams and aspirations. There are various reasons for that and I would not want to hurt the sentiment of mankind here….. I would rather take this opportunity to say something about myself. I, Tapos Das, was born in Behrampore on a winter night on 19th December 1965. Life for me , was difficult in my growing years enveloped in poverty in Katwa, Burdwan. During those times there was no professional school which taught art to students and even if there was, for my family it was like a day dream to send their child to one such institute. Leaving no time wasted I had to get down to drawing in copies and used to make sculptures out of clay. Little did I realize that a simple pleasure task would somehow one day become my passion and the very essence of my soul. Often when I used to visit my maternal uncle’s home I used to listen to my aunt singing Tagore songs and so I learnt to develop ‘a ear’ for these over the years. My love for Rabindrasangeet brought me to Shantiniketan. A soft touch much alike that of a feather at the heart is what generally people get just by uttering the name, Shanti-niketan, an abode of peace and tranquility. Once there, I began to learn Tagore songs under the guidance of Swastika Mukherjee. While leaving her residence at Guru Palli in the evenings to catch the bus for home, I used to observe in awe the works of Ramkinkor Bez and Somnath Hore while passing Kala Bhavan . My keen eye never missed out the students who were also engrossed in the art of sketching and sculpting in the premises. Watching them gain pleasure out of their passion for creativity instigated me to get involved in this wonderful game of Art! They are the ones responsible for planting the seed which took time to germinate in my heart and touched me immensely! Having no professional coaching in this field , sometimes I used to wonder what it would have been like had I a teacher or guru to guide me in this path. My ‘wanderlust’ attitude also paved the way for the painter in my self and took me away from the humdrum of life basic, far, far from the maddening crowd at times into jungles, mountains, sea-sides. It is from them that I learnt to weave a tapestry of Mother Nature’s true Art! A lot of time has passed ever since……….. Today, am highly indebted to my seniors at Katwa Municipal Corporation for having granted me the spare time to be with my first love and passion, painting while singing Tagore songs and making sculptures out of copper and bronze plates. God has blessed me and thus began my journey as an art teacher at the Rabindra Parishad Cultural Institute at Katwa. Gradually I got engaged in other centres as well. Teaching art to children made way for exhibitons of paintings with them. Slowly I got the opportunity to come to Kolkata and to Gaganendra Pradarshashala. The search for greener pastures took me to Shantiniketan Pous Mela, a handicrafts fair held every year in December and to Silchar, Assam. My work was appreciated by lovers of art and even today are appreciated and collected by many. With the love of such patrons and the help of friends I still continue this journey of painting my dreams on canvas and giving shape to metal. A sincere prayer to the Almighty is, “MOREY ARO ARO ARO DAO PRAN”, to grant me the privilege to keep up this good work thereby touching the heart of millions……….!!