Rickshaw Painting in Bangladesh
Art Events
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Jolrong News
Page 4-5 Issue 1, January 2009
Executive Director's Message To begin with, I would like to thank all the members of Jolrong.com family, friends, and most importantly, our partners for the successful launch of a dream. You are reading this newsletter because you, like us, acknowledge art in its true sense. And it is only people like you and us who have the capability to inspire and encourage our artists to make a place for themselves in international art. At Jolrong.com, we believe that if our art spreads its wings within our country and abroad, we will be able to turn our society into a liberated, intelligent, and self-sufficient one. So, as you read the first issue of "Art of Bangladesh", you have also become a part of this dream. I hope you find this newsletter well-researched and interesting. We are constantly working to make it comprehensive enough to give even a novice a clear idea of Bangladeshi art. We see our future as one of the finest galleries of Bangladeshi art. And that can happen only if you help us by your comments and suggestions. Warm wishes for the new year.
Imrad Zulkarnine
Rickshaw Painting in Bangladesh Shawon Akand
This three-wheeler is something that the inhabitants of Bangladesh cannot imagine their life without. Its history goes back to around the year 1870, and it was introduced in Bangladesh in the mid 1950's when a local zamindar had it brought to Dhaka as a luxury vehicle. Rickshaw painting also began from that very time. To be specific, it was around the 60's in the then East Pakistan that rickshaw art became a popular practice throughout the country. The pioneer rickshaw painters like R. K. Das, Ali Nur, Dawood Ustad, Alauddin and others can be said to have actually originated this practice ever since then. According to them, the demand for this sort of art was then very high, and this increasing demand, coupled with their love for painting, inspired them to become rickshaw painters. Among these artists, many were initially involved in other family professions or trades. For instance, R. K. Das was into his family business of leather goods, but he and his successors later turned into rickshaw painters. The production of a simple Its history goes back to around the rickshaw takes the painstaking year 1870, and it was introduced in creativity of many workmen. Bangladesh in the mid 1950's when However, the work of the painter is a local zamindar had it brought to no less credible, for it is eventually Dhaka as a luxury vehicle. he who customizes it to make it attractive. And it is these painters who have introduced this as a critically acclaimed form of art practice/style. Even in the international level rickshaw painting has gained immense attention. Take the 1982 exhibit in London and the exhibit at Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, of which the latter has kept a private collection of this art. But the biggest rickshaw painting exhibition took place in Dhaka in 1999 at the Alliance Franรงaise, where 500 rickshaw painters and 83 baby taxi painters took part. The main objective of rickshaw painting is to decorate the body of the vehicle. And for this, different subjects are chosen at different times. Basically, the artist has to paint according to the fancies and demands of the dealers/buyers. The last fifty years have seen different faces in this art. For example in the 60's, rickshaws were painted with the portraits of top film stars of the time. Then there was the 70's post liberation war era, when the war the main theme. When Dhaka became the new capital of a fresh, liberated Bangladesh, the rickshaw artists painted imaginary utopian pictures of the capital. At the same time, pictures of the countryside, landscape, local flowers, birds, trees, etc. have always remained common elements of rickshaw art and are usually combined with other themes. An important phase in rickshaw art emerged when during the 70's, the government banned the painting of human forms. Thus, the artists started composing entire pictures with just animals and birds. There were paintings where a fox would be seen controlling traffic, or scenes from a road where a tiger would be crossing it along with a school going rabbit. It was as if our familiar city Dhaka was inhabited by animals that lived, worked, and struggled like humans.