Poonam Kishor

from The Blue Lotus Asian arts and cultures magazine issue 54

Josh Claytom

Haren Thakur

By Poonam Kishor Born on 22nd February 1953 at Pathardih, Jharkhand, Thakur first began to pursue his passion for art at a very young age. His early work took inspiration from, and is still reflective of various elements of, nature.

He then went on to join the prestigious Kala Bhavan, Vishvabharti at Shantiniketan, West Bengal and finished his Diploma in Fine Arts with a Merit Scholarship in 1975.

He was greatly influenced by the art works of Rabindranath Tagore, and completed his education under the tutelage of eminent artists like Ramkinkar Baij, Binode Behari Mukherjee, Somnath Hore, Dinkar Kaushik, Sarbari Roy Choudhury, Gauri Bhanja(D/O Shilpaguru Acharya Nandlal Bose).

In 1976, he moved to Ranchi and found himself completely immersed in the study of tribal life and nature. He spent the next four decades nurturing his creative appetite by partaking in the culture and lifestyle of the tribal communities of Jharkhand.

His work encompasses different natural elements inspired by the serene surroundings of Jharkhand while depicting faith, harmony, simplicity and peace through colour form and the use of camouflaged tribal icons alongside contemporary blends.

His work has explored several essential structural patterns of tribal art and fused its geometric sophistication with visual concepts culled from Egyptian wall paintings of the Thutmosis IV era. Thakur’s unique work is expressed mostly through mix-medium on Nepalese Rice Paper.

"TREE" Always Holistic

Waiting for customer

SERENE SAGA. Haren Thakur artist’s note.

My sincere pursuit is to fathom the infinite in finite, ephemeral surroundings which is either based on my imagination or got a conduit when the unalloyed purity unfolded before my eyes in its pristine glory.

Our past history or the primitive civilisation is a treasure trove. The primitive period is not entirely barbaric. We need to gather the remnants of brilliance from the past. I profoundly believe the present aestheticism emanates from the primitive past. The representations of ghastly unnatural structures have overshadowed the primitive life force. The tree is a great communicator, shows love, empathy, bonhomie and camaraderie.

I give more importance to spontaneity, rhythm and flow rather than the outer sheen, sophistication and façade. This is just a small step to showcase my journey as an artist, being invoked by the internal yarning to quench my thirst for manifestation, to dabble with - canvas, art and splash of colour.

We the artists have nothing new to deliver since the great Creator had already showered us with His bounties – the nature. My pursuit is to delve in the past to grope for the hidden wealth and splash on the canvas. Mere tenets or theory / doctrine cannot interpret the creation rather the creation should expound the theory.

My voyage as an artist started when I joined Shantiniketan as a student, being blessed and honoured to have received the tutelage, guidance from the legendary, iconic sculptor Shri Ramkinkar and great stalwarts like S/Shri Somnath Hore, Sarbari Roychowdhury, Binod Bihari Mukherjee. The idyllic, sylvan surroundings of Shantiniketan coupled with the impact of the simplicity laced with the beauty of the Santhalis had have greatly influenced me, likewise the images were conjured. Shantiniketan taught me to comprehend the varied emotions of a tree – love, zeal, passion, restlessness, subtleties which was furthered and enhanced over the years during my stay in Jharkhand (Ranchi).

As an artist my objective is to access the nature and the sapiens vis-à-vis their relations and the undercurrent of rhythm, coherence and the driving life-force that work eternally. “How one form merges into the other with his robust stroke and becomes effervescent like the fizz popping out from a champagne bottle!!” - once a critic remarked on my exhibits.