I
am 72 years old from Hindu family of north India settled in Hyderabad. I am an
atheist in literal sense. Yet I have absorbed a good deal of mystical, symbolic
and ethereal overtones from my culture as well as an over-view of other religions.
I believe that too narrow a commitment to one's own religion often leads to denial
of, and antipathy to, other religions. I believe in a universal 'religion of man-in-nature'
that transcends the narrow limits of physical world (fragmented, distorted, and
self-centred) into the world of sublime -- pervasive realm of beauty, love, social-good;
and the eternal energy of creation, progression and destruction. I
was fond of painting from childhood. I was encouraged by famous artist Sudhir
Khastagir of Lucknow to join Kalabhavan (Fine Arts College) at Tagore's university
at Santiniketan. I joined Kalabhavan in 1951 but after three months I was shifted
to graduate school due to family compulsions. "As an artist you will starve"
my father said. While at Santiniketan from 1951 to 1957 first as a student and
then as a schoolteacher, I was closely associated with Kalabhavan as a part-time
student. I was close to Ramkinker and did many paintings and sculptures at the
young age. Only few of those works remain with me now. I
lost touch with art after entering a long academic career in social science. After
studying literature (M.A., Visva Bharati) and anthropology (M.A., Ph.D. at Lucknow
University), I specialised in Medical Sociology abroad (D.Sc. Johns Hopkins University).
I spent time whole-heartedly for research and teaching at five different universities
including Johns Hopkins University and Howard University. I was in USA for 6 years
and returned to Banaras Hindu University in 1976. I shifted to Central University,
Hyderabad from BHU in 1979. I retired as Professor of sociology in 1994. The
highlight of my academic career was to study and promote the folk culture and
practices of ordinary villagers - first in the field of health, hygiene and sanitation,
and then in the field of forestry and watershed development. Understanding the
richness and limitations of folk culture, and then facilitating development through
active and direct participation of primary stakeholders, was my obsession. Despite
a lot of lip service and private appreciation of participatory development, this
is totally against the mainstream of administration and professions in India.
Except for small-scale glimpses of the potential and possibilities of such an
approach, particularly when working with voluntary agencies, I was a lone crusader
and failed to get support of institutions, administrators & professionals in my
mission. But for few close friends and colleagues who worked with me and understood
me (or did they?), it was an exciting battle.
Getting back to my private world of
fine art was a healing consolation for my aging self.
An exoposure to the works of great
variety of digital artist on the internet, including Pygoya
and Ingrid Kamerbeek has opened my eyes to the vast
arena of cyber-art. They have encouraged me. I have visited digital
art sites on the Internet and I am overwhelmed by the variety, depth
and complexity of the digital art today. I am still learning and
exploring the possibilities of the digital medium. What I have done
so far is nothing but a beginning.
Here again perhaps I am up against
the mainstream by choosing the digital medium and calling myself
an 'artist'. What matters is that I thoroughly enjoy what I am doing.
It fills my life with a sense of fulfilment. It has charged the
lonely life of an aged widower.
Like all artists I like to share and
learn what others have to say. During last one year I have displayed
my works in a number of art related web sites. It is time I have
my own website.
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