Page 329 - Art and Crafts of Bangladesh

326 ART AND CRAFTS

woodcut from mainland Europe, came to Santiniketan on being invited by
Rabindranath. The trend in which she taught woodcut printmaking in Santiniketan
showed the visual world in broad essentials of black and white, which we can see in the
prints of Edward Munch. As a student Nandalal Bose learned metal etching-engraving-
drypoint in the Art School of Kolkata. He applied the new method of woodcut that he
learned from Andrée in the linocuts of the Shahajpath Prothom Bhag.
The creative tradition of printmaking was introduced in this country by Mukul
Chandra-Ramendranath-Surendranath-Bishwarup on their return from abroad after
learning the techniques of printmaking with the direct patronage of Rabindranath.
That same tradition was accepted and carried on by Safiuddin, Harendranath Das,
Muralidhar Tali and others as successors. This teacher to student chain of succession
was extended by Safiuddin to Pakistan and later to Bangladesh. This tradition
continues to the present in the subcontinent.
Safiuddin lost his father in his boyhood. He grew up under the care of his paternal
uncles and his mother. At that time education in the Art School was generally viewed
as a vocational education in Bengali society. Draftsmanship was also taught at the
school as a support to architecture. This discipline guaranteed a job. Safiuddin wanted
to study it. His guardians were of the same mind. But Principal Mukul Chandra could
sense the talent in this young student of his. If Safiuddin had learnt draftsmanship he
would have become a skilled craftsman, not an artist. As a result, he studied fine arts
following the wishes of his teacher. Safiuddin himself was divided and in conflict
about this. He was helped by Abdul Moin, a young teacher of the Art School, in
removing the unease caused by this dilemma. This sensitive, efficient and talented
teacher-artist died an untimely death at the age of only twenty-four. Safiuddin
flourished by his contact with Abdul Moin and through his encouragement calmness
was restored to his mind.
Safiuddin came into proximity with many people while studying in the Art School
from 1930 to 1942. As he practiced painting nature studies and landscapes and went
to draw people with the students to the bank of the Ganges, the zoo and the Sealdah
Station, likewise he went to the studio in the home of the teacher Prohlad Karmakar
in Kankurgachhi area for doing nude studies. At that time the Muslim graveyard
Kankurgachhi was a village in the suburbs of Kolkata. The studio of Prohlad, which
always had its door open to visitors, was also frequented by Dilip Dasgupta, Zainul
Abedin and others. This means, Safiuddin was one of those who spent most of the
hours of the day practicing art, through studies outside the school and in Prohlad’s
studio. Other than this, as students they regularly went to the Radha area at the western
border of Bengal to Birbhum and the adjacent Dumka area of Jharkhand. The
everyday life of the Santals of that area, the dry landscape, vegetation, slowly flowing
rivers, sky, horizons of Radha have repeatedly appeared as subjects of the paintings
and prints done during his student life. The Second World War started in Europe in
1939. From the early forties there began in Kolkata a widespread mass movement