Page 280 - Art and Crafts of Bangladesh

WOMEN ARTISTS 277

paintings called Bhakti-Argha she fig. 7.10 Painting by
illustrated her father’s childhood. She Sunayani Devi
expressed the grief of the death of her
husband and son and the pain of her
own lonely life in her paintings. 21
Sunayani Devi (1875-1862) was born
at the Tagore residence in Jorasanko.
She was the sister of Gaganendranath,
Samarendranath and Abanindranath.
Her husband Rajanimohan
Chattapadhyaya was an attorney. She
had no teacher for her art. She was
encouraged by her elder siblings to
begin her journey in the world of art,
but she became more productive after
reaching the age of thirty. After her
marriage she practiced her art
alongside taking care of and directing her children, husband and the joint family. In
her paintings in water color myths of gods and goddesses, Krishna, Ramayana and
Mahabharata were the subject. The image of the Bengali household and portraits of
women was the subject of her work. Kamal Sarkar has said that her paintings are
executed in the original local style and based on the pata painting. The Indian Society
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of Oriental Art organized a number of exhibitions of her paintings in Europe but she
had no shows at home during her lifetime. The inspiration of folk art that we observe
in her painting (fig. 7.10) was later more fully explored by Jamini Roy. It was perhaps
because she had no desire to establish herself as a great artist that experimentation and
originality were boldly present in her work. She was a prolific worker using thrown
away cardboard to covers of exercise books. This shows her easy and spontaneous
attitude towards her work. Kishore Chatterjee comments, ‘. . . Sunayani Devi painted
straight from her heart and her matriarchal duties could not prevent her from creating
a world of simple and innocent pleasures, an art whose beauty lies in its total lack of
pretentiousness, in its quiet originality.’ 23
Meherbanu Khanam (1885-1925) was born in the Nawab family of Dhaka. Her father
was Nawab Sir Khwaja Ahsanullah and her mother Kamrunnessa Khanam.
Meherbanu sent in one of her paintings for printing in the journal Moslem Bharat
published from Kolkata. It is learnt that the poet Kazi Nazrul Islam composed his
poem Kheyaparer Tarani upon seeing this painting. The age and family into which
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Meherbanu was born and grew up, her conservative Muslim background made her
painting most unexpected (fig. 7.11). Perhaps she did not depict living beings in her
paintings due to religious reasons. She was used to viewing the painting collection of
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the nawab family. Her father was a very cultured person which is perhaps why her