Page 349 - Art and Crafts of Bangladesh

346 ART AND CRAFTS

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After Sultan came back to Narail in 1953 he made several efforts at various times to
establish institutions of fine arts, definitely in his own way. In the 50s (1954?), he took
the initiative of establishing Nandan Kanan School of Fine Arts in the village of
Chachuri Purulia. He intended young rural children to learn painting along with
regular studies. However, Sultan left the School when it became an ordinary school.
In 1969, Sultan established Kurigram School of Fine Arts in Narail town; but it did not
last for long. After the independence of Bangladesh, in 1973, he established the
Academy of Fine Arts in Jessore which is still active as Charupith. In the early 80s
(1982), he established Shishuswarga at his own home. Although Sultan had initiative
and was a visionary, it cannot be asserted that, he was successful as an organizer. This
was not possible because of his restlessness and vagabond nature. Most probably the
only plan he could hold on to for a prolonged time was that of Shishuswarga. One of
the reasons might be that since the 80s Sultan was somewhat settled in Narail. Though
he possessed a non-formal and non-institutional character, he always had the desire to
do something for the nation, for the people of the country and especially for the future
generation. It may be noted here, he also visited children’s schools besides visiting the
art museums or art galleries during his tour of America in 1950. He took various
initiatives to apply his American experience in the context of Bangladesh to do
something for the future generation.
As noted earlier, in painting, Sultan was more or less inspired by the artists of the
Renaissance or by some of the Impressionists. However, it does not seem like he was
ever influenced by any Bangladeshi or Indian artist. In fact, we do not find any artist
of the succeeding generations who was influenced by Sultan’s art or his views on art.
From ancient times our country has been dependent on agriculture and is rural in
nature. Even now, most of the people of our country have roots in the villages and are
related to agriculture. Sultan could unmistakably identify the life of the majority of the
people of this land. The consciousness that inspired him by touching the essential
roots of the people of this land is in fact the indomitable spirit of the dreams and
struggles of the Bengali’s since time immemorial - this is what made them survive in
the face of hostile nature and foreign rulers. Sultan’s main achievement lies in his
correct understanding of the existence, struggle and dreams of these apparently very
common people and potraying them in his own ‘glorified’ manner. For this reason,
although Sultan’s art works may not be considered ‘realistic’ his people, nature and
other animals do not seem unfamiliar to us. Rather they consciously or unconsciously
touch the hearts of Bengalis. Moreover, at the same time Sultan’s paintings constructs
links with the evolution of human civilization of the world.

Translated by Sarah Subha, student, Viquarunnisa Noon College, Dhaka