Amritsar: Eminent sculptor Biman Das unveils bust of Tagore at art gallery

Neha Saini

Amritsar, May 9

Indian Academy of Fine Arts, in series of its centenary year celebrations, today hosted eminent sculptor and Padma Shree Biman Bihari Das to unveil a sculpture of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. The event also marked the 162nd birth anniversary of the Bard of Bengal.

While unveiling the statue, which has been created by Das, in bronze, the celebrated artist, who is also the chairman of India Art and Craft Society, New Delhi,

said that Tagore was an artist, who did not believe limiting to only one genre. “He started writing poetry at the age of eight. In 1877, at the age of 16 years, his first poetry collection under the pseudonym released. He was the first person not only in India but also in Asia who in 1913 was awarded the Nobel Prize for his composition Gitanjali. Even today Rabindra Sangeet is considered an integral part of Bengali culture. He was a painter, a composer,” said Das.

The event also saw presence of Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina, senior artists Shivdev Singh, Arvinder Chamak and others.

Das also called Amritsar his home away from home, as he fondly shared memories of his visits here. “I have many friends here, I have been observing the art landscape here and I believe that there is great amount of creative talent in Punjab as people here are still connected to their roots, their culture,” said the artist who was conferred Padma Shree in 2014. Das has also created sculptures of late Giani Zail Singh at Rashtrapati Bhavan and one of his rock sculptures is displayed at Open Sculpture Park at Kalagram, Chandigarh.

For someone, whose works has been installed across the globe, in Brazil, Japan, UK, Europe, and has exhibited his work in numerous solo and group exhibit and has received many awards and scholarships in his career, Das credits his Indianess behind the global recognition. “I have always tried to remain true to my art and my influences that come from my home, my country. We are such a great country, especially in the field of art and we have tremendous talent and inspiration here. We only need to focus on drawing inspiration and creative energy from our culture,” Das said.