He captured the soul of Himalayas
By Suman Sachar

BORN on October 9, 1874, the name of the Russian painter Nikolai Konstantinovich Roerich is very dear to India as the great soul spent his last years with his family in the lap of the Himalayas at Naggar in Kulu. An artist of international fame and crusader of "worldwideness", N.K. Roerich created more than 7000 works, that are now dispersed all over the world. The great original talent of the artist is projected in the sphere of his use of monumental and applied arts that border on scenographies and drawings. The archaeologist, ethnographer, lawyer, geographer, poet, historian, philosopher, scientist, traveller, fighter for peace, defender or cultural values of all nations and especially the Man devoted to common weal in the great painter, have together left for the world marvellous pieces such as "The Herald" (1897), "The Overseas Guests" (1901), "City in Growing" (1902), "Rostov the Great" (1903), "Three Joys" (1916), which together project Roerich’s dear motherland, his Russia, the breeding ground of his soft all-encompassing sensibility.

The famous painter was an unrelenting crusader for peace and oneness of international culture. About the power of culture, he once wrote: "Where there is culture ... there is peace. So long as culture is only a luxury, only a Christmas pudding, it would not improve life. Culture should come closest to everyday life, whether it is a hut or a palace."

Roerich strongly believed in the educative and transforming power of culture. His strength led him to form the "Roerich Pact" for the protection of culture and monuments of all humanity. Albert Einstein, Romain Roland, Bernard Shaw, Thomas Mann, Hubert Wells, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rabindranath Tagore and many other personalities worldwide backed up the "Roerich Pact."

The peace-loving Roerich had an exclusive place for India in his heart. He loved it for its beauty, culture, peaceful co-existence and multi-ethnicity.

Having worked 42 years in Russia and having travelled 10 years round European countries and the USA, the great painter spent last 20 years of his life in the East, particularly India. In 1928, Roerich founded the Himalayan Roerich Institute "Urusvati" which means "Morning star light." Living in the lap of inspiring Himalayas at Naggar in Kulu, the artistic soul sketched "The Himalayas" in a series.

The mountainous landscapes painted by Roerich have been hailed as monumental works, heroic and poetic in their interpretation of nature. The composition of the artist’s canvas is seen as well-thought out, balanced and harmonious.The form is invariably precise and expressive. Mentioning about the truthfulness of the painter’s landscapes, Indira Gandhi once commented: "The spirit of the Himalayas and soul of India are grasped in them." Writing about the great genius, Jawaharlal Nehru said: "When you look at the paintings, so many of them of the Himalayas, you seem to catch the spirit of these great mountains which have towered over the Indian plain and been our sentinels from ages. They remind us of spiritual heritage not merely of the India of the past but of something that is permanent and eternal about India, that we cannot help feeling a great sense of indebtedness to Nicholas Roerich who has enshrined that spirit in these magnificent canvases."

"Tibet" (1938) is another great painting by Roerich. This piece conforms well to Roerich’s generally bright and harmonious colours — blue, turquoise, liliac, pink, amber-yellow. His colours, interacting with the graphic system and philosophical content of any picture, transcend the limiting boundaries of nation, region or a culture as many as may be seen in "Tibet." Rabindranath Tagore once told him "Your pictures are distinct and yet not definable by words — your art is jealous of its independence because it is great."