Page 365 - Art and Crafts of Bangladesh

362 ART AND CRAFTS

conduct the Bengali program ‘Anjuman’ from BBC. FDC’s founder-director, a famous
personality Nazir Ahmed assisted Fateh Lohani in making his films Asiya and Aakash
ar Mati. Besides, he played a role in producing the country’s first short film- Salaamat.
Hamid’s younger brother Sayeed Ahmed practiced playing the sitar with deep devotion
in his early life and later earned fame as a playwright.
It was not only the family ambience, the traditional art of old Dhaka also considerably
influenced the child Hamid. In a write-up read on the occasion of his exhibition in
1959 Hamid says, ‘In various areas of old Dhaka groups of craftsmen displayed
different skills in their artistic creations. In my childhood, I would go to those areas
not far from our house. The most delicate works on conch shells by the Sankharis and
the designs of the saris by the weavers attracted me very much. Besides, the forms of
toy elephants and tigers also fascinated me. To tell the truth, those color schemes and
designs have been the source of inspiration of many famous artists of Bengal. 1
The family atmosphere and the visual arts of the city of his birth, Dhaka, first sowed
the seeds of art in Hamid’s mind. But the inclination to create was first manifested not
visually but with words; not in pictures, but in poems. In his teens Hamid set his mind
to composing literature. Later on, in the intimacy of his friendship with poet Shamsur
Rahman and artist Aminul Islam he left poetry for paintings.
He studied till class VII at St. Gregory’s School. Passing the entrance examination in
1944 from East Bengal Institute, he studied for two years at Dhaka College. Being
residents of the same locality, a bond of friendship grew between Aminul Islam and
Hamidur Rahman. Thus, both were admitted to Dhaka’s Fine Art Institute established
in 1948 and later on these two classmates played an epoch making role in the history
of art practice in this country.
The majority of the artists and litterateurs of this country became conscious of
themselves in the decade of the forties. In the troubled times during and after the war
human minds received extraordinary experiences and creative beings wanted to
project the stirrings of the soul through creation. At the end of the decade of the 1940s
artists, poets, litterateurs built a strong circle of mutual friendship. A group of artists-
litterateurs feeling an identical unified strength between themselves called themselves
Saptarshimandal. The ‘saints’ of this mandala were Aminul Islam, Borhanuddin Khan
Jahangir, Alauddin Al Azad, Shamsur Rahman, Hamidur Rahman, Akhtaruzzaman
and Hasan Hafizur Rahman. Hamidur Rahman deeply felt the significance of the
association. Saptarshimandal is a main source of his self-discovery. In later times,
reminiscing in this regard the artist says, ‘The self-initiated activities of 1948 may
seem as disconnected occurances, but they were not disconnected. An era like the
Kallol Yuga was created. Many of us together made a circle. We used to meet on an
abandoned barge at Sadarghat. It created an opportunity for the enthusiasts of poetry,
drama, painting and related matters to get together.’ 2
Before admission to the Institute of Fine Art, in 1948, Hamidur Rahman tried his hand
in drawing and painting by copying pictures printed in different newspapers. Works of