Painter-minstrel Sheikh Mohammad Sultan
Sheikh Mohammad Sultan was indeed art personified, To call him simply a painter of high distinction would be an understatement. In the last days of his life, he built his home in the suburban parts of Narail town. There in the eyes of the public, he was a saintly personage loved by all and lost in his search for truth and beauty. From afar, people watched with reverence his impulses of singing and dancing in the open in a trance. At his instance, again, the locals had come forward to build boats for occupational purpose. On his initiative and with funds he collected, an informal primary school and later a regular secondary school was built. And all through, he also ran a studio for teaching how to paint pictures. A fugitive from material pursuits, he nevertheless got involved in productive enterprises and public welfare initiatives. And all through his activities ran a cordless sequence of creativity that bore the hallmark of his charming personality. His whole life was spent like the rhymes of an epic. In his early life, Sultan was altogether wayward, brooking no bindings. 'A maniac in angry search for a touchstone" that was the impression he made on the small world of his kith and kin in his years of adolescence. Underneath his apparently wayward conduct, he was always looking for some order. A creative inspiration, a passion for replication kept his mind seized all the time. He was curious to see more, to know more and was always trying to figure out how best to transmit on paper and record the impression left on his mind by a visual experience, He acquired this tendency right in his childhood. Sultan's place of birth was village Masumdia in the-then Narail sub-division of (Greater) Jessore.
He was born in apoor family on August 10, 1924. His father was
Sheikh Mescr Ali. Although the only child of his parents,
Sultan's family was able to afTord his primary education
only upto class five, After that primary schooling, Sultan
had begun earning at a very young age for the subsistence of
the family. Ile began as a helper for brick-laying work
of his father. His father was a mason, Child Sultan used
to draw materials for his father and watch him build. Distinguished writer Ahmed Safa described the
character- formation of Sultan from his childhood work
expenence as follows : 'There are some that are born, but the circumstances
of their birth cannot hold them. All of them cannot be
called rare-born either. There are some children born
'"ith a peculiar nature in this world. Their natural urge
ix to eat off the bindings of their birth. Not all of them
manage to transcend into another life-cycle in their
life-tirne. In crores, one may find only a few '*ho attain at
birth transmigration into a higher life-cycle. The gcxj
of life on his own comes forward to light that vsonderful
flarrE of transcendence in the lamp of the new-born life.
V.'hcther
Sheikh Mohammad Sultan blessed 'Aich that fortune and also cursed by that misfortune. Sultan alias Lal Mia was born in a rx-asunt family. father used to do hous.e-building in to
The beauty of traditional housing of
rural Bangladesh with wood, bamboo and cane as rudiments
is becoming extinct. Be that as it may, one can say
this much at most about young Lal Mia that his urge for
creating wonderful objects could be considered an
inheritance from his house-builder parent....Child Lal Mia would
draw with charcoal wherever he could, and if he could lay his
hands on paints, he would be carried away. But where
would hem get paints? Raw turmeric and 'pui' fruits provided
him natural colours for paintings. One day such
paintings of child Sultan caught the eyes of the local Zemindar.
The noble was very impressed (and arranged for his
further schooling). Details are not known how far his
schooling continued there. In fact Lal Mia ran away to
Calcutta before he was to sit for his last school
examination. In his childhood, Sultan saw how his brick-layer
father gave three-dimensional architectural shape to two-dimensional designs. Young Sultan's tendency
developed in the opposite direction. He was enamoured with
how to translate into two-dimensional designs the three- dimensional images of his visual experience. His
inborn genius for drawing drove him in that direction. As
Safa narrates, young Sultan's power of observation, his
talent for drawings, his eagerness to learn attracted the
attention of a rich Zemindar and local community bigwig Dhirendranath Roy. With charitable patronage, he continued his school education. His secondary
school education had formally begun in 1928 in Narail
Victoria Collegiate School. But before he finished high
school, he left for Calcutta to obtain special schooling in
art. Reaching Calcutta from a suburban rustic mofussil
milieu sustained by mystic-minstrel culture, Sultan could
not turn his eyes from anything he saw. And whatever he saw,
he wanted to reproduce on paper. Anyhow, he finally managed to get admission into Calcutta Art College
in 1940 on the recommendation of art-connoisseur
Shahed Suhrawardy, once Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta
University, to whom Sultan turned for help. Sultan himself
described this stroke of fortune in his life as follows :
"I ran away from home irked by stepmother's shenanigans. In Calcutta, I took shelter in the house of the
Zemindar of Narail. My father was a mason in the employ of this Zemindar. The younger brother of the Zemindar was impressed by my passion for drawing. If I got hold
of some supply of charcoal, I drew on the walls of the
house. He brought for me from Britain two large-sized
books with pictures and English writings. There were hosts of paintings and many types of sketches. The lord
Zemindar told me, 'If you want to be an artist you have to
learn these preliminary lessons in art.' I was a teenager at
that time. I spent two years in that house, The younger brother
of the art-connoisseur Zemindar then advised me, 'Lal Mia,
if you want to be a big artist, you have to take
lessons in art from a better teacher That means you have to get admission into an art school or college. Before
that, though, you will have to pass an interview.' I stood first in an interview for admission in
Calcutta Art School.
I had not passed matriculation (school
final examination). So I was short of qualification for admission. The lord Zemindar said, 'There is a way.
You have to approach Mr. Shahed Suhrawardy. He is a
memberof the admission committee. If he recommends, there
willbe no problem for you.'I took the address and set out for the house of Mr.Suhrawardy. 'When I reached there, he was going out
in hisprivate car I stood in front of the house. He
beckoned me to come forward, and asked me why I stood there. I
told a lie that I had no one to care for me. Mr.
Suhrawardy got out of the car and took me inside the house. He
showed me to a room and told me to go in and address the lady
seated in that room as my mother. The lady was childless,
wife of an uncle of Mr. Shahed Suhrawardy. I found her, an
aging pretty lady wearing gold ornaments, seated on a
large bed over a snow-white bed-spread. I called her,
'mother'. She looked at me tenderly, came down from the bed, and hugged me. I became a member of the Suhrawardy
family. The bar was lifted for my admission into the Art
School. I also became the care-taker of the big library of
the exceptional art-critic and savant, Shahed
Suhrawardy. I
was thrilled beyond measure." But before he completed his regular course of art- education in the college, Sultan again set out on a
tour of
the Metropole. That hotel was the hangout of
wealthy and an-loving Parsi community of Karachi at that time. Sultan, however, preferred to concentrate on
painting large canvases of ill-fed, starved unbecoming
features of the immigrant Mohajirs (refugees), instead of those
of
well-groomed rich people around him, except for the
portraits of a few that he was persuaded to paint
out of
personal affinity, The cardinal motif of his
drawings,
watercolours and oils at that time became the
raised fists
of will to live amongst destitute caravans and the
distressed looks of displaced families.
Then suddenly in the beaches of Karachi, where the
shore
and the waters and the skies met in an orgy, Sultan
felt a
tremendous urge to be alone, The unbound within the
bounds of nature seemed to lure him away, far from
the
madding crowds of cities, Ile went to the wooded
hills of
Kashmir adjoining Punjab to search for the essence
of
beauty and diversity of natural formations, PIT)e
flaming
colours of sunlight playing on the shaded forests
along the
slopes of mountain peaks became the refrain of his
paintings, 'Il)is was the most colourful period of
Sultan's
paintings, 'Ibe beauty of bright colours in
orchestration
almost obliterated the Visual dilll•renlialion of
lines and
forms in his compositions of Ibis period
Returning to Karachi, Sultan contributed O
art exhibitions. Ile also got involved with acting
on stage
in amateur theater for some lime, An obndged
paraphrased version of a critique of Sultan's of
period written by S, Amjad Ali, an ar(-cJjnc of
Pakistan distinction in quoled hereunder
It is ijuportan( Co note various incidents in S,M,
Sultan's
life to be able to appreciate his paintings. He
spenl lus
childhood in the rustic countryside of Bengal, He
gol
some formal art-education as a boy-wonder jn
ColclJ11a
Ans School, But he did finish school and left
jnsfead
as a wanderer traversing the enure sub-continent,
(One
may say he did not obtain any regular educaljon.
But wjlju
keen eyes he discerned the reproduction of works by
contemporary Inaster-paincers, albeit without fully
grasping the revolutionary injplications of
techniques and
aesthetic values they represented,
He is earning a living somehow with pen and brush
as bio
only resource, Ile knows no other vocation for Ijis
subsistence, He refuses to work on cornmercial an,
Nor
does he have the patience for any conjmercjal
endeavour
As a result he has been poor all his life, although
al lirnes
he did enjoy affluence and often acted profligate,
As be
grew up during the war, most of his buyers happened
incidentally to be British military officers who c
arried
back home his paintings along willi other curios
mementos of their stay in India, Sultan han indeed
been
greatly influenced by the taste and the ideah of'
the forejgn
art-lovers as well as other anists willi whorl) he
socialized
What has been said so far does not help a pail)lcv
to
develop a singular style, Jn fact in such a
circumstance a
painter may tend to create an-works in diverse
styleb. 11
would be a reasonable assumption that Sultan
pictures in old Mughal miniature style, as there a
high
demand for such paintings arnongst collectors
during the
war, But the painter in Sultan had an
exjuvssionBtic
that would not be satisfied by mechanical
representation,
Every true allist creates pictorial an 10 please
himself as
well as to please the buyer, Sultan the second
was a nece'Sity, but he was never persuaded to a
style that was not particularly suited 10 own
temperament, Like other young painters, he
to a style thal project» personality, when a
discontent continues key colour palette of his
watercolour landscapes of
Bengal, wherein the serenity of pastoral
environment is
depicted by the freedom of expanse of skies and
waters,
of the fading horizon, the cocoanut trees,
fishermen at
work and dainty cottages. They are flat, fluid and
flimsy.
Then there are the Kashmir landscapes, most of
which are
in oil colour, and all of them are very
picturesque, loud
with vivid colours. They display the depth of
violet
mountains, many kinds of shrubberies, trees, lakes
and
streams, variegated pictures quite the opposite of
the
monotone of Bengal landscapes.
Both these types of pictures evince a literary
interest. One
can say that interest is highlighted by the
restlessness of
the artist, whose aim is essentially to project an
identity of
attractive signs and important symbols as natural
objects,
and not to search for aesthetic values in the study
of forms
and colours or their synthesis in purposeful
configuration.
Severally or in totality, the narrative in these
pictures do
not qualify for structural credibility. They are
not the
products of instant viewing. His landscapes revolve
in fast
and fine movements of growth, and on large canvases
the
play of light on them becomes the motif of his
compositions. But that is not all of Sultan. In
many close-
range views and in some watercolour landscapes, one
is
struck by the drama of light and shade around a
lone tree,
on the shrubbery or a bright green paddy field. He
painted
these pictures keeping in mind the subtle changes
of tone
in the colours and shades of foliage brought about
by
shifting sunlight. He displays tremendous
excitement in
this type of works. Such works not only demand
skill and
artistry in presentation of objects and dexterity
in
mounting successive washes of transparent colours,
but
also requires capacity to animate every picture
with adroit
expressionistic touches and to rebuild reality in
mind with
the rhythm and intensity of the dynamics of life
The
characteristic of a tree thus not only lends itself
to many a
splendid interpretations, but also becomes a high-quality
object of art by permutation of lines and colours,
light and
shade.
In the works referred to as above, Sultan disturbs
his
pictorial background, forms and perspectives for
the
tremendous attraction of colours and colour harmony
But
the same is not very applicable to his small-sized
beautiful
landscapes, particularly those in which he applied
oil
colour with spatula. In these pictures, he is much
more
sensitive about the composite structure of
pictorial values,
of the plasticity of the content and of the
relativity
between the surface and the depth of the picture.
The
picture surface of such a painting is no more a
uniform
plane, but attains peculiarity by articulate
application of
thick broad coats of paints and loud colour combination.
Different tones of the same colour as well create a
cascade
of liveliness supplementing the sensitivity of the
subject
Side by side the accommodation of a variety of
colours
adds to the structural semblance of the picture and
creates
a faultless musical orchestration. Like Cezanne
said,
when the order of colours reaches the highest level
of
excellence, the forms also reach that peak. These
pictures
have no literary interesc They are only modes of
expression of the painter's personality and his own
realisation about forms and colours, trees and
rocks, hills
and valleys."
The editor of a collection entitled 'Art in
Pakistan'
published in the fifties recognized Sultan as the
most
promising painter of the-then Pakistan, East and
West put
together. About Sultanis life-style in this period,
Matlub
Ali writes as follows :
"It is difficult to imagine today Sultan
dressed as Mir
Zafar on stage throwing lines at the audience in a
loud
voice : 'By God I solemnly promise never ever to
betray
my master,' But surprisingly, that was the way it
happened. Towards the end of 1951 before the cold
of
winter fully set in, on stage in Katrak Hall in
Karachi,
capital of the-then Pakistan, Sultan appeared as
Mir Zafar
for two nights in the play Sirajuddowla in front of
an
audience of Bengali and non-Bengali spectators, I
learnt
about it from Radio-journalist Aftabuddin Ahmed. In
early fifties Artist Sultan reappeared in Karachi
and
lodged with Aftabuddin Ahmed. Screen, stage and
music
artist Khan Ataur Rahman was also staying in the
same
house. Two leading figures of people's music
(ganosangeet) of Bangladesh, Music Composer Altaf
Mahmood, a martyr of the liberation war, and Sheikh
Lutfar Rahman were also in Karachi at that time.
Others
from (East) Bengal who were there got together with
them
and decided to stage the play Sirajuddowla. Khan
Ataur
Rahman was to direct the play and also to act in
the
the role of Mir Zafar was not upto the mark. After
two
months of rehearsal, the problem remained with
acting
Mir Zafar. Who else could be found to perform that
role?
Sultan had a long thin beard and long locks of hair
flowing from his head. Like a padre he wore black
or
brown gowns. He also wore heavy 'shoes'. At that
time,
his Bengali pronunciation was not that good. He
spoke
fluent Urdu and also English. His voice was quite
loud
and sonorous. Everybody agreed that his theatrical
style
of speaking aloud, his tall figure and his gait
suited the
role of Mir Zafar. At first he was reluctant to
play that
part. But when persuaded to accept the role, he did
so in
earnest. He said, 'After all I am born Bengali. If
I practice
a little, the pronunciations will improve.'
Rehearsal took
place for three months in the residence of Aftab
Ahmed,
who also played the part of Mohanlal and a double
role as
well in that play.
Sultan appeared on stage in his own regular dress
of black
gown, natural beard and long locks, supplemented
only by
a golden fibre-belt around his waist and a turban
on his
head. His part was well-rehearsed, his
pronunciation
corrected by adequate practice by that time. The
director
curtailed his movement on the stage, since his long
gown
imposed limitations on walking freely. But all said
and
done, Sultan fared well in his first appearance as
an actor.
That ends the story of Sultan as a stage actor.
About this time Sultan alone was chosen to
represent
Pakistan as a whole, although he belonged the
eastern
parts, in an international conference on art in
Paris. He
read a paper in English in that conference.
I must narrate another story that I heard from Mr.
Aftab
(Ahmed). Khan Ataur Rahman was playing his
harmonium and Sultan was making a portraiture of
Aftab
on an ordinary writing paper with a pen filled with
red
ink, The portraiture was nearly finished, when
Sultan
suddenly left it and began humming to the tune of
harmonium music, and then began to move his spatula
in
the rhythm of the music to create forms by adding
paints
extraneously up and down over the portraiture.
For the person whose portrait was being done, it
was an
awkward situation. Sultan consoled him by an
explanation. Quite simply, Sultan explained that
what he
had added was the tune of the music. In other
words,
while humming with the music as he was doing the
portraiture, he was so carried away by the tune
that he had
begun rendering the notes of the music into visual
forms
on the canvas. The subject of portraiture got
momentarily
lost from his mind.
Sultan indeed was a born artist. He could easily
roam in
various fields of art. Music, of course, he studied
in depth.
A flute was his constant companion; he always
carried
one in the large pocket of the gown he used to wear
at that
time."
When he got the chance to go abroad, Sultan
embarked on
a world tour. In Europe and America wherever he
went, he
made shows of his paintings or in the least peddled
his
artful paintings by the roadside.
On return from America, Sultan did not feel like
carrying
on in Sind or Punjab. He returned to Dhaka in the
first half
of the fifties, towards the end of 1953. He was
allowed to
lodge for sometime in a room of the building in
Segunbagicha that was temporarily requisitioned for
the
Dhaka Government Institute of Arts. About his
life-style
at that time, Social Anthropologist Borhanuddin
Khan
Jahangir wrote : " Sometime in the middle of
the fifties'
decade, (Painter) Aminul told me: Sultan has come
to
Dhaka, after travelling around in America, England
and
(West) Pakistan. He wants to see everyone (in the
circle of
writers and artists). Sultan by that time was
already a
legend. An artist, a vagrant, a traveller, an
ascetic, a
maverick, a rake, he paints and throws away
paintings, his
pleasure is in making works of art, not in
possessing them.
And he plays the flute, takes narcotics, looks for
Radha
(goddess of love) or imagines himself to be Radha.
Aminul had a room in the Art School accommodation
at
that time. It was his studio. I saw Sultan there,
wearing a
black-bordered Sari, playing his flute. There was
sunlight
underneath a Bokul tree (in the yard), a crow was
sitting
with its back to the sun there, in the sky there
were
floating white clouds; in the melody of Sultan's
flute
twisted and turned the images of Dhaka city, beyond
Dhaka the villages, streams and woods, and all of
them
combined to utter the name Narail, the spoils of
Narail's
flute. As he finished playing the flute, Sultan
inhaled a
puff of smoke of ganja (Indian hemp), stood up and
said,
'Radha has come, I must go, she is waiting in a
boat on
the river Buriganga'. Along with and behind Sultan,
some
three of us also started on foot to reach the banks
of
Buriganga. With sporadic 'Radha, Radha' refrain and
somewhat dancing gait of Sultan, we also followed
miming the rhythms of imaginary drums and cymbals;
men on the streets were bewildered. On the
Buriganga, we
spent a longtime cruising on boat, and from time to
time
Sultan played flute which the waves on the river
seemed
to stretch their necks to hear. Back to the Art
School.
Sultan began drawing with rapid fingers trees,
rivers,
birds, all familiar objects traced with unfamiliar
suggestions, the beckoning of the invisible within
the
visible scene. Next day when I came back looking
for
Sultan, I was told he had disappeared. Perhaps he
had
gone off to Narail. He had left behind his
shoulder-bag,
some drawing sheets, his flute; with his Sultan
alone,
Sultan had left, again an ascetic, a wanderer,
vagrant,
maverick and a rake. Sultan always leaves behind
his
material possessions, but he takes along with him
one
possession without fail. That is Sultan's self.
Sultan has
never surrendered his own Sultan to anyone, did not
make
himself hostage to fame or to position or to money
or to
any institution or even to any woman. His self was
his
immovable property, his source, resource, focus,
base and
root of existence."
This writer also met Sultan for the first time that
year. I
was struck by his mental exercise of geometrical
abstraction in the natural fluency of landscapes
that he
painted, oblivious of visual reality, with earth
colours and
vegetable dyes. And I noticed he avoided
trigonometry in
his design-effects. His moods found spontaneous
expression by blithe brush movements in circles and
semicircles forming chains of foliage. Avoiding
right
angles, acute angles and obtuse angles alike, he
rhythmically bound his imagery in breaking waves of
bow-forms. After some twenty, twenty-two years, we
find
the tensile beauty of such bow-forms, in the
muscular
depiction of the sublimity of struggle for
existence of the
tiller of the soil, exhibited in the oils of
Sultan. The painter
portrayed the occupational fidelity of the working
man, in
various types of village scenes with abundance of
skies,
fields, riverbanks, clouds, woods and cottage
shelters,
both in receiving the gracious bounties and in
suffering
the wrathful retributions of nature. The looks in
prayer
and the aplomb of muscles of the toiling people are
presented by Sultan in the rhythmic spiral of his
brushstrokes in bow-from on extra-large canvases.
Some
connoisseurs have identified in his tendency to
magnify
muscular plethora in his figures the influence of
Michelangelo, the master-painter of Catholic art of
the
European Renaissance. If such an influence was
there,
Sultan fully assimilated that influence by his own
simplistic style of representation of the woman's
veil, the
man's brawn, the foliage, the clouds, the curves of
pathway, the swirls of river flow, et al.
Machine generated alternative text:
Sneaking away from Dhaka on his way to Narail,
Sultan
first arrived in Khulna. Recitation-artist
Shahabuddin
Ahmed writes about Sultan in this period : "It
was 1954. I
was a second-year science student of Doulatpur BL
College. Near the Doulatpur football ground at the
southwest corner, there was a large tree of kadomba
blossoms. I saw there a slim man in dhoti and
undershirt
in his thirties. He had his hair parted in the
middle like
women do-dense, dark, somewhat curly abundant hair
flowing upto his shoulders. His face was covered
with
beard and moustache. He was tall and brown-skinned.
And in his hand there was a bamboo flute. At first
sight,
Sultan appeared to be a madman released from the
Sanatorium in Hemayetpur, Pabna.
People steer clear of madmen out of fear, but are
also
curious about them. That curiosity is stronger
amongst
young people. Some of us students began to gather
around
that tree out of such curiosity. Our classes did
not start as
yet. The hour was about 9 or 10 in the morning. The
madman began playing on his flute. Not a hypnotic
fascinating tune, but it was clear the madman was
an
accomplished flute-player.
The bell rang for the class to begin. We entered
the
classroom. A notice came from the Principal. A
Bengali
artist returned from Europe would address the
students at
12 noon. We were asked to be present. Arriving on
time at
the assembly, we were surprised to see the same
flutist in
dhoti and undershirt present there. He was the
returnee
artist from Europe scheduled to give the lecture.
He had a
white chalk in his hand and a huge blackboard
behind
him.
Principal Fazlur Rahman introduced him to us as a
famous painter who had recently returned after his
tour of
USA, London and Paris. He would talk on modern art
and
explain to the audience what is art, what is
painting. He is
known as SM Sultan. His full name is Sheikh
Mohammad
Sultan.
The lecture started in English. Sultan spoke
fluently as if
English was his mother tongue. And from time to
time he
turned around and made some drawings on the black
board.
We were spellbound by the sketches, some of humans,
some of animals, some of nature. It was not the
content of
his sketches that overwhelmed us, but their speed
of
execution, their spontaneity and their vigorous
style.
Sultan's lecture was not limited to pictorial art
alone. It
stretched into materialistic philosophy and the
philosophy
of life. As he carried on his discourse, he also
answered
questions from inquisitive students. And he
repeatedly
said, we must go back to the void, we must return
to the
void. It is from nothingness that everything
evolved. We
have to return to that nothingness.
We realised that the man was not an ordinary
madman, he
was mad with a purpose. He was lodged in a room in
Daulatpur College hostel. After the classes ended,
we
went to see him there to find out more about this
peculiar
man.
He brought out a copy of the epic Meghnadbadh from
his
suitcase and began reciting parts from therein. My
friends
pointed to me and said, 'He is Shahabuddin, he is
good in
recitation'. Sultan said, 'Is that so? You do the
reading
then. I like Modhusudan more the Tagore. He is an
exceptional poet.'
My bond of friendship with Sultan was fonned by
that
recitation. But I did not know him well then. Some
old
newspapers in English like New York Times, Daily
Telegraph, Herald Tribune etc. were brought out
from
Sultan's suitcase. They contained reports on
Sultan's
paintings along with his picture, with beard and
long locks
of hair, wearing a sherwani (long coat). We
realised he
was not a madman but a genius.
We also learnt that, like Michael Madhusudan (the
poet),
Sultan was also a man from (greater) Jessore.
The two had some similarity of character. Both were
neglectful of regular life, reckless in habit. The
difference
was Madhusudan drank wine, while Sultan smoked
ganja
(Indian hemp).
Sultan (one day) was talking to us and smoking
ganja
while moodily making pencil sketches in an exercise
book
at the same time. He was drawing effortlessly and
very
fast many types of sketches, of men and animals. I
used to
do physical exercise at that time. As such, I had
some idea
about sinews and muscles. I found Sultan's
knowledge of
body anatomy like that of a physician. There was no
visible muscle in the body that Sultan did not know
about.
He was aware of muscular details not only of the
forearm
but also those around the joints of the fist and
the palm of
the hand. Not only that, the veins and tendons too
of a
physique came out animated by his brushstrokes and
pencil movements.
Suddenly he stopped drawing pictures and asked
whether
it was possible to bring a harmonium and a tabla
(finger
drum). In no time a harmonium and a tabla were
brought
in. He started singing. At one point, he snatched
the tabla
from the student who was playing accompaniment, and
began playing tabla himselL
There was more surprise to come. He started
lecturing us
about the art of dancing, and then began dancing
himself
keep beats on tabla. We realised Sultan was an
accomplished artist in many fields of art. He made
it
clear to us that if an artist had knowledge only
about the
branch of art that he practices, he would be an
imperfect
artist, not a consummate one. To be a perfect
artist, it was imperative to acquire knowledge about various fields and
motifs of art. I have not met a contemporary
painter as yet
who had knowledge about so many different subjects.
Suddenly Sultan got lost. Where did this crazy
genius go?
We heard, he was seen with a ganja-addict mendicant
of
Panbari temple, Maheshwarpasha. He was also seen
with
that mendicant gazing straight at the red rising
sun at
dawn with singular attention. Then we heard, Sultan
was
no longer in that temple. He had gone back to
Jessore, to
his own homestead. Sultan thus got lost creating a
great
wonderment and curiosity in our minds. But like
static
electricity, his short encounter with us remained
engraved
in our memory....
(In Dhaka) towards 1958-59, I found Sultan again in
the
house of poet Jasimuddin. The Sultan I saw this
time was
a different Sultan. The first thing I noticed was
his attire.
He had locks of hair as before, but his moustache
and
beard were clean-shaven. His clothings were changed
altogether. He had a roomy lungi of earthen yellow
colour
on him. There was no ektara or dotara (folk musical
instruments) in his hand, but a very large tanpura
(a
classical instrument for accompaniment).
Where were you so long?
In West Pakistan (he said).
He was speaking in a calm, low voice.
I understood he spent his days boarding with
several of his
Pakistani friends all this while and has been
painting a lot
as he pleased...
I had met (poet) Jasimuddin in a poetry-reading
event at
Jessore in the house of Zemindar Manujkanta
Majumdar
On the wall in a room of Manujkanta Majumdar's
house,
a watercolour portrait of Modhusudan Datta was
hanging.
I heard that Sultan made that portrait. Meek as he
was in
courtesy and conduct, Sultan could not say no to
requests
of his friends or persons he cherished or was fond
of.
Many people wanted to be intimate with a man of
genius
like him. They invited him to their homes and often
got
him to paint splendid pictures according to their
needs.
Generous and prodigal, Sultan from time to time
became
penniless. Some shrewd friends of his used to take
advantage of that, lodged him in their houses, and
with
petty amounts paid, obtained from him invaluable
paintings to beautify their homes or walls or to
flaunt their
elite status, Perhaps in some such friend's house,
Jasimuddin, the poet of' the bounty of spectacular
nature,
discovered Sultan, the lover of nature and the
spectacles
of nature,"
After that for a period of some twelve years,
Sultan was
indeed completely lost frorn the eyes; of the public
and
civic society. In the-then Narail subdivision of
Jessore
district, he ran a school for lessons in painting
for some
time.
He then retired again to the seclusion of rural
life away
from the humdrum of townships. He took shelter in a
dilapidated building. The hermit in him became so
misanthropic that he usually refused to see
anybody. He
kept himself in hiding, so to say. Sculptor Matiur
Rahman
has written about the establishment and the demise
of his
art school in Narail as follows :
"It was the year 1969. I left my employment
with
Kohinoor Group of Industries and took a job with
Ideal
Life Insurance. I arrived in my own sub-divisional
headquarter Narail town as Agency Manager (of the
Insurance Company), with a Motorcycle, some cash,
and
a certificate of registration as a second-class
contractor.
(One day) On the road at Rupganj Bazar, I saw a
melee in
front of a sweetmeat shop. The crowd blocked the
road.
No one was moving to make way for my Vespa despite
repeated honking. I stopped the motorbike to go
into the
crowd, and found some young men bloodied in the
face
on the road. A very agitated, tall lanky gentleman
who was
visible over the heads of others was shouting
abuses in
English. He had a bamboo flute in his hand which
had
been broken into strands like in a broom. I asked a
shopkeeper who was placidly standing by, 'Who is
that
man?' He said his name was Lal Mia, an artist. In
fact he
was a ganja addict. He takes tea and sweets in this
shop.
Some students threw him out of the tea-shop. And
see,
how he has beaten up and bloodied some of the boys
for
that.
Looking at him I was bewitched at first sight. I
had heard
a lot about him, that he plays with snakes, dances
in
groups playing ghetto (boy in love-lorn Radha role)
wearing a saree, plays on flute. On hearsay, I had
developed a contempt for that man. I do not know
how
that sense of contempt vanished right away. I was
angry
that he was ill-treated and asked how much money is
owed to the shopkeeper. At that, slowly the crowd
dispersed one by one. The shopkeepers who were
instigating the trouble also sneaked away. At that
point I
lost my temper, On the spur of the moment I hit the
sweetmeat-maker with my fist and threw tuy Inoneybag
at his face, asking him to take whatever money was
due.
I also denudes that he pays conu»ensation for the
dishonor of the artist on his account, The sweetmeat-
maker cowered, but quietly took the tnoney due,
only
seventy tak'as. I asked Sultan to goin tne on the
Vespa.
Sultan was silent all this while. He now said, 'But
I do not
know you. I live with coeliac in the Shiva temple.'
I
practically forced him to ride the Vespa with to
leave the
place and proceed to ruy establishtnent in the sub
divisional
town. Third he sat on tuy bedstead, exhumed,
resting his head on his hand. I took out some clay that was stored
under the bedstead, and quickly modelled a figure
with
that material. I put it on the table in front of
him, and told
him I was also a humble artist. That was why I had
been
so tnuch hurt by an artist's dishonour. I told him
not to
take ganja in a teashop ever from now. I asked him
to put
up in my office premises and take his meal in the
restaurant below. Bringing in some half a pound of
ganja,
I said, 'take it, smoke as much as you like.'
Sultan said,
'This is your office. You have farnily and
children. I have
none. I do not take much ganja by myself. Those who
smoke ganja with me would not dare to come and have
it
at your place. I am not a lone person, I have many
friends.' I asked who were they. He said, Ramgopal
the
pariah handler of corpses for autopsy in the
hospital was
one, and many such others. I assured him all of
them
would be welcome at my place. I had no caste
prejudice
nor was I selective in communion. I kept him
confined in
the premises for quite a few days, and he got the
impression that I want to control his ways. He said
at this
stage, 'For eighteen years, I had not taken a
regular meal
of rice. I do not have any regular place to stay.
The Shiva
temple is my refuge. I keep the company of the day-
labourer, the sweeper, the coolie and the like.' I
suggested
then, 'What about my joining that crowd?' Sultan
was
very happy at the suggestion. A newcomer with whom
he
can talk and have camaraderie is welcome to the
Shiva
temple. First we made a bet, for 21 days we shall
have no
solid food. I shall then stay with him in the Shiva
temple.
Thus began my life as a libertine, even in the same
town
where my wife and children were left at the
in-laws'
house. I earned ill-repute as a ganja addict.
Infamy spread
like a blaze that the son-in-law of Gani Munshi has
gone
crazy joining Sultan's ganja circle. On the
eighteenth day
Sultan went to his patron, namely Saidur who was a
friend
those in distress of hunger in Narail, and said,
'Saidur, I
am in a spell of lunacy. I did not take a meal for
the last
18 days. Give me some money to buy food.' Sultan
returned to the Shiva temple with fever from eating
water-
fermented rice with hilsha fish at Il O'clock in
the night
at Sonargaon hotel by the launch-terminal, with the
five
takas he had obtained from Saidur. I was waiting
for him
until midnight, when he sent word to me through a
rickshaw-puller to come to the Shiva temple. There
I
found him shivering with high temperature. As I
went in,
he confessed, 'I could not keep the wager. I
sneaked out
to take rice. You please have a meal as well.' I
said, 'No,
three more days have to pass as yet.' Three more
days (of
my fasting) passed. I lost eight pounds in weight.
And on
the streets, I was named a madcap and a narcotic.
As soon
as my Vespa went past. someone would say, if he did
not
say so in the face, 'There goes the son-in-law of
Gani
.9
Munshi, the new ganja addict.'
Our sustenance at this time came from the charity
of
Saidur in the kind of rice, and coarse and fine
flour for
staple food, and Sultan's flute at the cemented
poolside of
the zemindar's mansion overlooking the red water
lilies at
night. Sultan used to play on his flute in
moonlight. I saw
the red shapla flowers dancing in the lake to the
tune of
the flute. Unbelievable as they may be, I saw many
things
that could drive one out of one's wits. One day I
found a
serpent that had bitten Sultan and dropped dead, I
got
scared and left the Shiva temple. I had similar
other
experiences. As days passed, I was progressively
becoming a destitute. So I asked Sultan one day,
'You
have so many patrons. If you could think of one
whom we
could approach readily, let us do so. You are an
anist.
Your identity is your paintings. It does not befit
you to kill
time in idle talk and taming mongooses and foxes.'
That
day was a full moon. Sultan played on his flute for
a very
long time. We could not sleep. Around 12 midnight,
I felt
a little drowsy and was lying on bed. Sultan
suddenly got
up and said, 'Please bring me paper, pigments and
brushes. I want to paint. It was about quarter to
one past
midnight. The whole area was asleep. Where could I
get
brush and paints at that hour? I had an instant
brainwave.
Packing paper of cigarette cartons were there in
the shop
of Haripada Das. I left on my Vespa right away and
banged on the door of Haripada Das to wake him up,
I
asked for some packing paper. He was flabbergasted
and
said, 'Son-in-law, you have gone mad. You have come
for
some paper at this hour of the night for Lal Mia to
paint
pictures?' But the nice guy gave me a few sheets of
paper
all right. Brushes were made by chewing dried
sprigs of
date-trees. A yellow container left by a deranged
devotee
of the Shiva temple was used to mix colour with
lamp-oil.
The product was a 12"x9" picture that
looked practically
incomprehensible. In an exhibition in Khulna, that
picture
was named 'The dreams'.
Enam Ahmed Chowdhury was the Deputy Commissioner
of Jessore at that time. Shawkat Ali was the Sub-
Divisional Officer of Narail. I took Sultan to Mr.
Chowdhury. He was very happy to hear that Sultan
had
started painting again. As I said Sultan needed a
studio, he
immediately suggested that I submit an application
in
plain paper for space in the name of an Institute
of Fine
Art, Narail. I submitted the application (on
Sultan's
behalf). The proposed art college was so named.
Sultan
was named as Director, also to act as the
Principal. But
Sultan Bhai did not understand official
formalities. To
obtain any support from the government, it was
necessary
to abide by rules and regulations. Sitting in the
D.C.'s
office, we made out two applications in fact, one
for.
financial ascistancc for an art exhibition, and the
other for
an abandoned house. The I).C, got the applications
typcd
by his stenographer and signed by us, From the
I)istrict
Council, a grant of takas was qanctioned for thc
proposed art college, and an old building was
allocated by
the D.C. for that purpose, two-storied building
belonged to a Shailen Ghosh of Rupganj, and bore
the
name 'Kurigram', Paintings began to be executed in
right
earnest. Repair work of the house and work in the
garden
to grow flowers were undertaken at the same time,
Six or
seven persons were engaged for gardening work.
Living with Sultan for a year, I saw some of his
kith and
kin. Amongst them, his maternal uncle Nuru dear
used to
sell lime. I gave him a place to stay in the Art
College
without Sultan's consent and provided him with a
lot of
financial assistance. One of Sultan's stepbrothers
left his
employment in the army. Ile also visited the
collcgc
several times. In the area, Nanda's father Indu
Babu was
the rnan who actually regarded Sultan like a
demigod, and
was eager to entertain the latter in his own home,
Ile was
a clerk in our local Purulia Union. All the members
of his
household, his wife and children were artists, some
involved in singing, some in painting.
After eighteen years, Sultan had his first
exhibition (of
reappearance) in Khulna opening 20 September, 1969,
with thirty four paintings. In the meantime, Mr.
Enam
(Chowdhury) had been transferred and posted as
Deputy
Commissioner of Khulna. As soon as he joined his
(new)
post, he sent word to bring Sultan there (from
Narail,
Jessore). We reached Khulna. It was proposed that
Sultan's exhibition (funded by Jessore District
Council)
would take place in Khulna Club for one evening,
The
date was fixed, and arrangements began, keeping one
month's time in hand. All materials, including
indigenous
course cotton sheets, sticky clay, carbon black,
organic
yellow, fine powder and also proper hardboards were
provided, Stretches of canvas and large-sized
hardboards
were all treated first with boiled sago for
background
coating, Sketches were drawn on twenty to twenty
five
canvases and hardboards with charcoal. Brushworks
followed simultaneously on several drawings with
oil
colour. Patches of oil colour were also put by the
spatula.
And watercolour paintings went on at the same time
on
the drawing board. It seemed as if a single painter
was
doing the work of a plural exhibition, What an
outburst of
inconceivable energy! The scheduled date of the
exhibition was reached in no time, Only a wcck was
left.
The Sub-divisional Officer (of Narail) Mr Showkat
was
transferred meanwhile to Khulna„,. Sultan was
beginning
to turn listless. Earlier he had expressed his wish
that I
would join him in a group show. To humour him, I
started
doing sornc work too in clay-modeling and
I finjshcd sotnc twenty five to thirty works but
Sultan
continued to be listlcss, Mr, Enam was getting very
worried jndccd as the date of exhibition
approached, llc
was phoning mc again and agajn about the progress
of
Sultanfs pajnting«, Sornc members of the Khulna
Club
were unhappy about holding up (norrnal) Club
activities
for the exhibition, 'Il)cy were drumming into the
cars of
the Deputy Cornmio,ioncr and thc Commissioner :
Sultan
had forgotten how to paint, exhibition would fail
to
rnatcrialisc, There was no point depriving the Club
mcmbcrs of norrnal facilities. MC Enam felt obliged
to
ecnd his Al)C MC Shawkat with a car (to Narail) to
get thc
paintings, Sultan was upset to see Mr. Shawkat
corne and
press hard for complction of the paintings, HC
stopped
work and refused to finish the paintings, To save
the
situation, the Deputy Commissioner sent word
suggesting
a stratagem that the paintings would be finished in
Khulna, Accordingly, all paintings finished or
unfinished
and their colours still wet were arranged to be
carefully
transported in scvcral trips by a pick-up motor
vehicle to
reach the tin-shed auditorium of the Khulna Club,
People
wcrc skeptical that so many paintings could be
finished in
time for the exhibition, As Sultan resumed working
on
them there, the Commissioner, D.C., A.D.C, and a
magistrate came from tirnc to time to keep company,
Medicines and tonics were brought to the club for
the
asking, Sultan suddenly began working at an
astonishing
speed. Within two days, he finished all the
unfinished
compositions. But the colours remained wet.
Some thirty five thousand takas worth of paintings
wcrc
sold in that exhibition. All that money was
collected by
Khulna Club and through Mr Kamal Siddiqui, S.D,O.,
Narail, put in a bank account in the name of the
Art
Institute with the Manager of the United Bank,
Narail.
After the exhibition we remained in Hotcl Shahccn,
Khulna for a week as the guest of the Deputy
Commissioner, With some cash collections at the
exhibition, Mr. Enam Chowhdury bought for us art
materials worth about ten thousand takas. With all
the left-
over and new materials, we returned to the building
of
Shailcn Ghosh in Narial, Words went around
meanwhile
that Lal 'Sahcb' has obtained lakhs of takas by
sale of
paintings. Sultan's followers, holy men, monks,
fakirs,
lunatics, all began to come running to the
art-school (for
alms). Accounts were kept under the joint signature
of the
S.D,O, and Mr. Sultan, On a number of occasions,
Sultan
obtained the signature of the S.D.O. on chequcs to
draw
money from the bank and distribute amongst the
monks
and mendicants, At one point, the S.D.O, objected
saying
the money was for the art college and not for
reckless charity, Al that, some fifteen to twenty mendicants gathered
around the S.D„Os residence and began shunting at a
high
pitch, Tie signed some blank cheques and threw
down the chegue bwk in disgust from upstairs.
Within a
week, Sultan drew out all the money and distributed
the
money amongst the monks and mendicants- The
proposed
'UI college met its premature death and thus began
again a
life of starvation for Sultan--
For five years, Sultan maintained a reclusive
maniacal
minstrel's life-style. Some pet birds and beasts
and an
adopted family was his only company. But this time,
he
did not give up paintinv It is a pity that many of
his works
of this period made with vegetable dyes have either
been
spoiled for lack of care or simply lost.
In the last half of nineteen seventies, this
forgotten painter
was rediscovered in Dhaka through his exhibition.
The
looks of distress dug-out from the heart of rural
Bangladesh that was revealed in that exhibition
carried the
marks of sweat and blood, but not of despair. The
signature of the indomitable life-force of eternal
Bangla
Spirit that he brought out before the eyes of the
consumerism-bound citizens created a stir amongst
the
an-connoisseurs within and without the country.
There
was a craze amongst collectors to trace his
whereabouts
and persuade him to sign his name on paintings he
would
be paid in advance to compose with canvases and
colours
supplied by his clients, Regarding this
reappearance of
Sultan, Town Planner Professor Nazrul Islam
"Sultan materialised before the art-connoisseurs
of Dhaka,
particularly the younger generation, as an
extra-ordinary
genius in the first national art exhibition
organised by he
Shilpakala Academy (1975). Very few of the regular
viewers of art exhibitions were at all aware of the
painter
of promise of the fifties called Sultan. Thereafter
the art-
lovers of Dhaka were simply overwhelmed by Sultan's
solo exhibition of more than 75 paintings organised
by the
Academy in September 1976. A number of art-
connoisseurs became his devotee and his regular
companion- It is his popularity that led to his
name being
bracketed with Master-painter Zainul Abedin and
Painter
Quamrul HassarL These three painters are remembered
together primarily for the attribute of their
paintings, not
for seniority alone. Amongst other characteristics,
there is
a virtual common characteristic in these three
painters- the
cardinal motif recurring in the compositions of all
three
being the life of the toiling masses of rural
Bangladesh and
their struggle for existence. In pictorial style,
the three are
very different, but essentially tied to objective
reality
Albeit both Zainul Abedin and Quamrul Hassan
adhered
V) the grammar of modern paintings (in their
deviations)
compared to Sultan, the latter probably chose to be
intentionally non-modern or inclined to
"naive"
paintings... S, M,
Sultan's latest paintings hove bccn
cornprchcnsivcly
rcnliscd in his 1976 solo exhibition, In the three
dccadcs
that followed, those peculiarities did not change
but were
only further shnrpcncd, Thc working man, the
productive
mon, (how who arc the architects of the foundations
of' the
econojny, they conje out as heroes and heroines in
Sultan's
paintings, In case of' Bangladesh, it is
transparent in
Sultan's ruind that that role is played by the
peasant farmer
and his f'ajnily. It is also clear as n truth (o
Sultan that the
pcnsanl nnd the economy of Bangladesh arc still
very
dependent on nature, In Sultan's pictures, the
fight
anjongst the peasants themselves for the rights of'
land
which is the runin means of production gets more
importance than the civic struggle for the rights
of
language, liven the struggle for indcpcndcncc is
probably
counted as a theme lacking inuncdiatc rclcvancc,
Possession of the piece of' land that provides
basic
A peculiarity of Sultan's paintings is the physical
depiction of the Bangladeshi peasant as big-bodied
with
unusually strong and developed muscularity. Yct in
reality
one may rarely find in any other country around the
world
the typical lean and weakly appearance of thc
13angali
peasant, Such a weakly peasant is to Sultan truly
endowed
with immense power, At least that is what it should
be,
what he wishes to see, Whcn wc ourselves sec thin-
looking sexagenarian Painter Sultan, and by his
side the
plethora of animatcd figures on canvases thirty
fcct in
length and seven f'cct in breadth, we can imaginc
why
Sultan loved to attribute power to the apparently
weakling
Bcngalcc peasant, Indeed power comes from inside,
not
just from outward appearance."
The Shilpakala Academy awarded Sultan a special
stipend
and status of Resident Artist, Many art-lovers were
active
to persuade Sultan to come and live in Dhaka. But
he was
averse to city life, For short spells of time, he
would
accept the hospitality of someone or other in
Khulna,
Chittagong or Dhaka. But he would soon bccornc
restless
longing to return to the company of villagers and
the pct
animals in his zoo. Painter Sycd Jahangir wrote
about this
In 1977 1 was appointed Director of the
characteristic
Shilpakala Academy in charge of the Finc Arts
I)cpartmcnt, Somc time before that in 1976, a solo
exhibition of' Sultan was held in the Academy,
There were
many drawings on paper, some small-sized oils as
well as
bigger oil painting on canvases eight fcct in
length and
four fcct in height, J Ic also had some twenty
paintings on
hardboard in that exhibition, Ile used to stay in
the round
hall of the Gallery and work on his paintings
thcrc, The
initiative for the exhibition was (akcn by the-then
Director
General of the Academy, Dr. Sirajul Islam. Subir
Indccd Simon Pereira became Sultan's constant
companion at that time, Simon described to me the
trcmcndous courage and perseverance that Sultan had
to
maintain to bc able to execute those large
paintings. The
subject matters of his paintings included—the
liberation
war, the peasant of Bangladesh, the planting of
saplings
by the primordial human, and the people of this
country in
gcncral, And the theme in his own mind was the
visualisation of their struggle for existence.
Sometimes he
(Af'tcr the exhibition) Sultan Bhai used to often
get
excited about doing something novel, Suddenly he
was
struck with thc idea that if he could get hold of a
structure
that is still habitable in the decayed old township
of
Sonargaon, he could make it his studio. This was
done.
Shawkat Ali, the-then D.C. of Dhaka (who had
earlier
cxpcricnce of Sultan's moods during his postings in
Khulna and Narail) extended his cooperation for
obtaining permission for the use of such a
structure by
Sultan as his studio at a nominal rent. The
Shilpakala
Academy had no direct responsibility of oversight
in this
regard, but after I joined the Academy, I took it
upon
myself to go and visit Sultan Bhai from time to
time.
Sultan Bhai used to work on paper for drawings or
for
watercolour paintings. In between he used to do
some oils
on small-sized canvases. He hung these works like
in a
gallery. Some times some tourists used to come to
see
them. But what kept him more busy there was nightly
music sessions and parties. His companion was the
local
barbar who was also his cook and his assistant at
the same
time. This arrangement did not suit him for long
either.
Moreover, he did not even pay the nominal rent that
was
fixed for his accommodation. And on top of that,
there
were complaints about his nightly adda (open
house). So
Sultan had to pack up and leave that place to go
back to
Narail. He lived there in the ruined structure of a
Zemindar's homestead.
He left some of his large paintings from his
exhibition
held by the Academy in the house of National
Professor
Mr. Razzaq. A truck was obtained with the help of
his
admirers and in that truck, he took back (to
Narail) those
paintings madc on hard board, many of which had by
then
becn spoiled by carelessness and lack of
maintenance.
(Back in Narail,) it was a long story. In early
eighties
when once I went to see him there, Sultan Bhai
himself
told me the entire episode of cleaning up the
Zemindar's
residence to make it habitable for him to move in.
I found
him comfortable in that environment living with
pigeons,
chickens, cats, some other birds, and snakes, etc.
He used to live in the first floor. The corridor to
go from
one roonn to another was dilapidated and without a
roof. If
one's foot shipped, one would land on the shrubbery
underneath and invariably be snakebitten. Ilowever,
Sultan Bhai had in the tuean titue given shelter to
a Ilindu
fatnily them in a dilapidated room. A widow and two
daughters. In exchange they looked after Sultan
Bhai, Ile
used to teach earnestly one of the daughters how (o
paint.
He pulled out her works from under his bed to show
me.
He dtov my attention to nutny details in those
works,
Amateurish watercolours but pafls stood out where
the
sweeps of the teacher's brush were evident.
I went to see Sultan Bhai several times thereafter.
By then
he had changed residence. The new house (next door)
was
built for him by the-then General Officer
Commanding of
the Jessore Cantontuent. A nice neat three-roomed
residence. And a big room for working on paintings
with
an attached small ante-room. Sultan Bhai had
meanwhile
built a "Children's Paradise" there.
There was no other
such school at that time where children could have
lessons
in the lap of nature. Next to the art-school, he
built another
new structure — a ruini zoo. About a hundred
animals were
collected like an ostrich, crows, starlings, a host
of' cats, a
deer, a dozen rabbits, pigeons, chickens, doves etc.
Sultan
Bhai had difficulty just to obtain their regular
feed. It was
his habit to go around the zoo he had fondly raised
and the
garden with many varieties of crouton hedgeplant.
Sometimes he went by himself to the banks of the
Chitra
river nearby. He showed me around the riverbank and
told
me 'I would build a boat here like Noah's Ark. I
shall take
my young pupils in that boat on cruises to show
them the
splendid beauty of Bangladesh.' In fact, he built
such a
boat some time later. And he also took his school
children
on cruises in that boat once or twice.
In the mean time, the government granted him the
rare
honour as 'resident artist' of the Academy. In
practice that
meant the sanction of a fixed monthly stipend to
cover the
family expenses of Painter S. M. Sultan and the
costs of
requisite art-materials like canvas, brushes and
pigments
for his use. In exchange, he would give the Academy
six
paintings per year. The arrangernent was to
continue for
two years. In addition, he was to deliver one
lecture on art
in each of four major universities every year. The
purpose
was to make sure that he did not stop painting for
want of
money. Later, his status as Resident Painter was
extended
for life, upto the time of his death. During this
period, he
was indeed by and large regular in doing paintings.
He
executed many works on very large canvases. Other
painters in this country never attempted that as
yet,
Sometimes he maintained proper perspective throughout
his cornposition, sometirnes he juxtaposed two
clinjensional renderings of objects side by side, A
peculiarity was obtained in most of' his pictures
by his
preference for brown and yellow colours, with a
touch of
red now and then.
Sultan 13hai apparently seemed to be taciturn, but
in fact
he used to talk a lot. Once he stayed in my house
(Or three
days. At (hat except for the short spells in bed,
in bath
or for eating, he went on talking incessantly, And
the
person he talked with was my daughter Toki, Then at
nigh( he would converse with me and Rashid (artist
and
neighbor) sometimes, on philosophy, spiritualism
and
science, Sometimes we agreed, sometimes differed.
Sultan Bhai would not get easily provoked, hc would
astutely avoid controversy. Although he claimed he
had
got over his addiction to narcotics altogether, in
fact he
could never give up the habit. But he did minimisc
stuoking hash to a large extent.
If I was not there at night and Rashid had probably
left.
Sultan Bhai would start playing on his flute, Ile
would
never leave the flute out of his easy reach. And he
would
indicate it was high time for him to go back to
Narail by
casual remarks like, 'Perhaps the zoo animals are
starving,' or 'if I am not there, they do not get
their feed
properly', or 'they understand every thing. They
also take
umbrage', or 'if in a fit of umbrage, they would
not
respond to my calls. They would stay peeved.'
At government cost, a house of his choice was
rented for
him in Mirpur (for the convenience of his execution
of six
paintings for the Academy). The house was retained
for a
year. But he never lived there, and avoided doing
any
painting there on one pretext or another. Some of
his
disciples occupied that house. The landlord
demanded
compensation complaining of their rowdy drug-taking
parties (disaffecting his clientele) and gave
notice to
terminate the tenancy. So we had to give up that
house."
From that time onwards upto the end of his life.
Sultan
simply continued to live in the cradle of rural
Bangladesh,
doing painting in the company of his pet animals
and in
the care of his adopted family, or otherwise may be
engaging in some welfare activity and in children's
tuition
in his small village community. Not only his skills
in
painting, but also his life as a whole was
dedicated to
vivacious joy of creativity.
In 1987, a cojnprchensive exhibition of Sultan was
held in
Dhaka with more than a hundred of his oils, water
coloul
paintings and drawings executed in mid-eighties,
alonl
with some specimens of work from different periods
o
his life. In the words of Professor Nazrul Islant :
"Withou
doubt that was a renuu•kable event in the arena of
fint
ans in Dhaka. On the one hand it showed the attractive
landscapes (Woods) he executed in the fifties, on the other
many drawings that he executed right at the time of
the
exhibition- There were very very small pictures, as
well as
very very large panels. Perhaps no other painter in
this
country ever exhibited so many so very large oil
paintings.-
The principal sponsor of his exhibition in 1987 was
the
Goethe Institute of Dhaka (German Cultural
Institute).
The-then Director of the Institute, Peter Sevitz
observed:
Sultan is the most forceful painter amongst the few
outstanding painters of this subcontinent He is the
voice
of Asia- Sultan's source of strength is in his
capacity for
survival. The human figures in his compositions
carry the
message of man's '*ill to survive combating the
odds of
existence. Bangladesh and Bangladeshis have little
(resource) other than their capacity for survival.
One may
therefore recognise in his paintings the symbolism
of this
nation's particular characteristics.
Professor Nazrul Islam, the town-planer and
environmentalist compared the landscapes of young
Sultan as seen in this comprehensive exhibition
with his
landscapes done at more mature periods of his life.
"Sultan was a very talented landscape painter
from his
early life. It is clear from his older works. But
in the
eighties he has remained equally adept in turning
out
excellent watercolour landscapes. His 1987
exhibition
bears witness to that. Two reproductions of his
landscape
painting from the fifties can be seen from the book
(on
show) entitled Art In Pakistan, third edition, 1964
written
by Jalaluddin Ahmed and published by Pakistan
Publications.
Both were done in oil, perhaps based on natural
scenery in
Jessore region- In one, a bullock-cart is
proceeding along
a mud road shaded by trees. The reproduction is in
black
and white. In the other, some four poor villagers
are seen
relaxing and taking food under a tree on the bank
of a
meandering stream. Both the pictures were
well-balanced
in composition, though the focus of the second
picture
was somewhat indeterminate. The style of work was
impressionistic, of Van Gogh genre. His colour
selection
and pattern of brush strokes patently converged
with that
genre. The second picture was also somewhat
reflective of
Sultan's philosophical thinking of that period.
Nature was
dominant in that picture. The men there were cast
in an
insignificant part. The men were like pygmies
amidst the
large trees around them. Just the opposite is
noticeable in
the later, more mature philosophy of the art of Sultan.
Nature is unimportant there, the men are enormously
importanL In the catalogue of Sultan's solo
exhibition of
if'S;
1987 at the German Cultural Institute, the colour
reproduction of a third landscape painting of
Sultan (from
earlier period) is included. It is a pure natural
scenery,
three trees done in pastel colour No man or animal
is
there. It is not signed by the painter, nor dated.
An
exquisite work of impressionist genre, it is
difficult to be
recognised as Sultan's painting if seen in
isolation."
Sort of a confession was obtained from Sultan
himself
about his works, by Painter and Research Scholar Dr
Rafiqul Alam, to suggest that Sultan "shuns
spiritualism
but embraces mysticism". Perhaps he sought to
differentiate between the representational urges of
Sultan
from "the spiritual in art" thesis of
Kandinsky. And he
wrote as follows about a most fascinating picture
called
'The First Plantation" by Sultan : "When
at the fag end of
this (twentieth) century the whole world is worried
about
environment, his painting 'The First Plantation' is
projected in our minds. Adam coming down to earth
was
planting the first sapling. (We see) a brown-skin
man with
immense power His body is firmly bound to the
earth.
The colour of his skin and of the earth blend in
harmony.
Hovering above is a 'Cupid' of (European)
Renaissance
genre. In the eyes of Adam is a hypnotic vision.
What is
Adam looking at? Many unspoken words are gathered
in
those slightly slanted eyes! Sultan combining
religion and
history synthesized the perception he developed
through
his entire life about his country and (the sons of)
the soil."
Painter and Art-critic Abul Mansur wrote a detailed
critique on the psyche of Sultan, characterising it
as a
"liminal" frame of mind : "The first
impact that Sultan's
art of painting has on a viewer is that of express
power on
the verge of an explosion and of monumentality or
greatness. The viewer simply cannot take his eyes
off
unconcerned, he has to become involved, curious and
attracted. The basic theme of his pictures, even
inexpensive rural landscapes, remains the people.
Nature
is secondary there only as background
accompaniment, ...
But then, representation of nature is certainly not
the
purpose of Sultan. His job is to show ordinary
humans as
powerful and sky high, larger than nature in
natural
background. As a result, the proportions there (in
his
paintings) get reversed — man becomes big and
strong,
while nature recedes into insignificance. He is
somewhat
akin to Zainul Abedin in this respect. But the two
are also
remarkably different. In Zainul Abedin, nature is
large and
dynamic, to keep pace with which man is engaged in
an
excruciating struggle; in Sultan's paintings the
dominance
of man over nature is absolute. Man does not
contend with
nature, man rules nature. landscapes (Woods) he
executed in the fifties, on the other
many drawings that he executed right at the time of
the
exhibition- There were very very small pictures, as
well as
very very large panels. Perhaps no other painter in
this
country ever exhibited so many so very large oil
paintings.-
The principal sponsor of his exhibition in 1987 was
the
Goethe Institute of Dhaka (German Cultural
Institute).
The-then Director of the Institute, Peter Sevitz
observed:
Sultan is the most forceful painter amongst the few
outstanding painters of this subcontinent He is the
voice
of Asia- Sultan's source of strength is in his
capacity for
survival. The human figures in his compositions
carry the
message of man's '*ill to survive combating the
odds of
existence. Bangladesh and Bangladeshis have little
(resource) other than their capacity for survival.
One may
therefore recognise in his paintings the symbolism
of this
nation's particular characteristics.
Professor Nazrul Islam, the town-planer and
environmentalist compared the landscapes of young
Sultan as seen in this comprehensive exhibition
with his
landscapes done at more mature periods of his life.
"Sultan was a very talented landscape painter
from his
early life. It is clear from his older works. But
in the
eighties he has remained equally adept in turning
out
excellent watercolour landscapes. His 1987
exhibition
bears witness to that. Two reproductions of his
landscape
painting from the fifties can be seen from the book
(on
show) entitled Art In Pakistan, third edition, 1964
written
by Jalaluddin Ahmed and published by Pakistan
Publications.
Both were done in oil, perhaps based on natural
scenery in
Jessore region- In one, a bullock-cart is
proceeding along
a mud road shaded by trees. The reproduction is in
black
and white. In the other, some four poor villagers
are seen
relaxing and taking food under a tree on the bank
of a
meandering stream. Both the pictures were well-balanced
in composition, though the focus of the second
picture
was somewhat indeterminate. The style of work was
impressionistic, of Van Gogh genre. His colour
selection
and pattern of brush strokes patently converged
with that
genre. The second picture was also somewhat
reflective of
Sultan's philosophical thinking of that period.
Nature was
dominant in that picture. The men there were cast
in an
insignificant part. The men were like pygmies
amidst the
large trees around them. Just the opposite is
noticeable in
the later, more mature philosophy of the art of
Sultan.
Nature is unimportant there, the men are enormously
importanL In the catalogue of Sultan's solo
exhibition of
if'S;
1987 at the German Cultural Institute, the colour
reproduction of a third landscape painting of
Sultan (from
earlier period) is included. It is a pure natural
scenery,
three trees done in pastel colour No man or animal
is
there. It is not signed by the painter, nor dated.
An
exquisite work of impressionist genre, it is
difficult to be
recognised as Sultan's painting if seen in
isolation."
Sort of a confession was obtained from Sultan
himself
about his works, by Painter and Research Scholar Dr
Rafiqul Alam, to suggest that Sultan "shuns spiritualism
but embraces mysticism". Perhaps he sought to
differentiate between the representational urges of
Sultan
from "the spiritual in art" thesis of
Kandinsky. And he
wrote as follows about a most fascinating picture
called
'The First Plantation" by Sultan : "When
at the fag end of
this (twentieth) century the whole world is worried
about
environment, his painting 'The First Plantation' is
projected in our minds. Adam coming down to earth
was
planting the first sapling. (We see) a brown-skin man
with
immense power His body is firmly bound to the
earth.
The colour of his skin and of the earth blend in
harmony.
Hovering above is a 'Cupid' of (European)
Renaissance
genre. In the eyes of Adam is a hypnotic vision.
What is
Adam looking at? Many unspoken words are gathered
in
those slightly slanted eyes! Sultan combining
religion and
history synthesized the perception he developed
through
his entire life about his country and (the sons of)
the soil."
Painter and Art-critic Abul Mansur wrote a detailed
critique on the psyche of Sultan, characterising it
as a
"liminal" frame of mind : "The first
impact that Sultan's
art of painting has on a viewer is that of express
power on
the verge of an explosion and of monumentality or
greatness. The viewer simply cannot take his eyes
off
unconcerned, he has to become involved, curious and
attracted. The basic theme of his pictures, even
inexpensive rural landscapes, remains the people.
Nature
is secondary there only as background
accompaniment, ...
But then, representation of nature is certainly not
the
purpose of Sultan. His job is to show ordinary
humans as
powerful and sky high, larger than nature in
natural
background. As a result, the proportions there (in
his
paintings) get reversed — man becomes big and
strong,
while nature recedes into insignificance. He is
somewhat
akin to Zainul Abedin in this respect. But the two
are also
remarkably different. In Zainul Abedin, nature is
large and
dynamic, to keep pace with which man is engaged in
an
excruciating struggle; in Sultan's paintings the
dominance
of man over nature is absolute. Man does not
contend with
nature, man rules nature.
Sultan bccomcs unique and exceptional as he depicts
the
human phYQique, If the figures of men and women
were
tnkcn out from hiq paintings, then the remainder
would be
considcrcd very mundane indccd by artistic
criteria,
Indecd a distinctivc dissemination has been
obtained by
the inflated muscular male figures in his
paintings, that
Icar through the mcn)branc of measly banality of
his
pictures and take them to heights of aesthetic
preccntimcnt, It those figures that protect his
pictures
from cheap scntimcntalism of rural scenery, and
attains a
Awing of eternity. As if, Sultan was composing a
folk-tale
on the daily chores of the hard-working peasantry
of
Bangla countryside who arc the inheritors of the
children
of Adam, the pritncval sons of the soil that torc
the earth's
crust to bring out lhc first sheaf of' harvest, It
is their daily
routine of life that he portrays, but through the
panorama,
bc QCts human figures metamorphosed with explosive
physical strength that transcends the limits of the
ordinary.
In this way, Sultan may also have covered up the
limitations of his incomplete formal education by
cxaggcrating in his own way features of human
anatomy,
imparting an attractive quality of 'naive' or
unskilled art of
born-artists and steadfastly giving expression to
his faith
in linear repetition of a motif. His extra large
canvases arc
not meticulous representations of objective reality
of any
kind, They arc rather the reflections of a man's
inner faith
under the spell of memories and dreams
combined."
Abul Mansur regarded Sultan's male figures as
symbols of
haughty, vulgar physical power. In Sultan's
rendering of
female characters, on the other hand, Abul Mansur
found
a sort of hcQitation not to depart from norms. He
also
dclccted echoes of pre-Rephaelitc influences of the
Bengal School variety in Sultan's depiction of the
village
woman. "In most cases, his women are hesitant
to come
out of the bindings of formal schooling in
portrayal,
Somctirnes they are even affected by the
sentimentality of
the Bengal School, tender, rounded and puffed, By
the
side of the mud-covered toiling male figures, they
sometimes appear to be commonplace and non-
dcscript."According to Abu) Mansur, the basic
vitality of
Sultan's painting are derived from his lines.
"Not
lines as akin to acadcmic drawings as in Zainul,
nor the
accompaniment of courtly tradition of linear art of
Nandalal, nor lines that embrace the folk tradition
like in
Jamini Roy or Quarnft/l Hassan, Onc could say
Sultan's
lines were sorncthing like urbanised 'naive' art,
as can be
sccn in the patterm of our rickshaw
paintings,"
And this conscious or subconscious naivete had been
given an explanation by Abdul Mansur. European
anthropologists have noted a sequence of adoption
of a
state of retreat from life or "rite of
passage" by analysing
the old customs of primitive tribes of Africa. Abul
Mansur
found similarity of such a state in Sultan's
wayward
lifestyle. Anthropologist Van Genep identified in
the
second stage of mature life of a primitive man a
condition
called "liminality," which Abul Mansur
termed as
borderline of consciousness. "At that second
stage of ripe
age, the man's daily routine, social duties and
codes of
conduct all remain in suspension. It could be
compared to
the stage preceding birth or death. At the third
stage, the
individual reenters social existence, but in a new
shape
with new rights and obligations. Anthropologist
Victor
Turner has later expanded the idea of liminality
set forth
by Van Gencp. He applied it to various broad fields
of
contemporary social criticism and art-criticism.
Turner
showed that liminality is a condition that is not
peculiar to
primitive or tribal societies only. In all
societies at all
times, there are some people who voluntarily adopt
such
conditions of liminality. That liminality may find
expression in a number of ways, like self-inflicted
poverty, vagrant nature, perverse conduct, defiance
of
prevalent norms and even provocation of social
conflict.
Such aberrations might render them as immoral,
unsuccessful people in the eyes of the society.
Perhaps in
fact they are pursuing a different, possibly a
higher level
of morality. "
Abul Mansur detected an "intimate
correlation" between
the creativity of Sultan and his precarious
liminality of
life-style, which is also noticeable in Van Gogh,
Gaungin,
Michael Modhusudan or Kazi Nazrul. Sociologist and
Theoretician of Fine Arts Borhanuddin Khan
Jahangir, on
the other hand, ignored suggestions of Sultan's
"mysticism" or his "liminality"
or his "inspired-minstrel"
nature, and identified a language of protest in the
depiction of the peasant as a superman in Sultan's
paintings, calling it his native modernism :
"Is the
experience of life in the inferior (Third) world
marginal?
Sultan, returned from England-America-Pakistan, has
an
answer to that question. He says the painters of
the
subjugated world are not just ethnic painters, they
are not
just exponents of marginal life-experience which is
limited to the past and is distant from modernity;
they are
but the proponents of another reality from the
complex,
separate and unique experience of slavery,
dependence
and colonialism imposed on subjugated peoples. That
experience lends their communities distinctive
voice and
vision, power to think, observe and speak out
differently.
Such voice and vision are not outside the orbit of
modern
productivity They are but another kind of
modernity. It is
a native product of modernity, that of the peasant,
modernity of inspired-minstrel songs, it is the
story of
resistance by the defeated, humiliated subjugated
peasant,
by the righteous, the mendicant, the fakir. It is
rich from
the experience of every day life. In the power grid
called
modernity, that experience makes a different kind
of
selection and a different pattern of fabric. From
such
selection and fabric comes out native modernity...
(Sultan's native modernity) juxtaposes the
incongruity of
global modernity and exposes the ferocity of
colonialism.
That proposition is embedded in his search for
symbols.
That symbolism is therefore a narration of reality,
and that
narration Sultan did with skill and care. It is not
easy to
limit the identification of his narration to any
particular
phase of the history of Bangladesh or of Narail...
(The aim
of native modernity) is to reconnect through a
symbol.
That reconnection helps communities in finding
their
mode of expressions, so that they can again
assimilate
their own histories. Global modernity is not
conducive to
the discovery or recovery of one's own histories
and
colonial modernity subordinates one's own
histories.
Sultan has by this process (of native modernity)
brought
back the reality of the farmer's daily conduct of
life.
Sultan sought to return to Radha (heart-throb of
adoration), to the farmer, to the birds and beasts
through
the corridors of history, of diverse historical
legends, saga
and songs of Bangladesh. That is why he needs his
flute,
his (pet) birds and beasts, plough and oxen, et al
both as
the means of mental return journey and as materials
for
his physical conduct of life."
But from a different point of view, a range of
art-critics
from S. Amjad Ali to Professor Nazrul Islam
recognised
in Sultan's mind-set contemporary global modernism
or
even ultra-modernism. Sultan never liked to hold on
to the
immediate aesthetic experience he would go through
in
executing a particular painting. He was unconcerned
about the durability of the materials he used in
the
creation of his pictures. As if he was interested
only to
emit a flying spark : it would flicker for a while
and its
delight was in burning itself out. Professor Nazrul
wrote
about this disinterested creativity of Sultan as
follows .
"As in Sultan's exhibition of 1976, it was seen
in Sultan's
1987 exhibition as well that Sultan had used even
in his
fairly large paintings art materials that would not
last
long. Often the canvas on which he painted was of
an
inferior quality. Sometimes he manufactured the
pigments
for his paintings himself. In the end these
pigments
perhaps proved unstable, The English painter
William
Blake used to do the same. Many of his paintings
have
been worn out in course of time. Of course there
arc some
amongst painters who do not care about the
durability of
their works, To them, painting is the cnd in
itself, not its
exhibition or its permanence." A contemporary
expression
of creativity of the same genre can be found in
"Body
Art:" or "Performance Art" in the
West.
Painter Sultan held his first solo exhibition in
1946, in
Simla, the summer capital of British India. It was
organised by a Canadian Art. Connoisseur, Mrs.
Hudson.
She herself bore the expenses of that exhibition by
way of
a formal debut of a young talent, Sultan. His last
solo
exhibition was sponsored by two young artists of
this
country, Khaled Mahmud and Kanak Chanpa Chakma, in
the hall room of their petite Gallery Tone in
Dhanmondi,
Dhaka. Art historian Matlub Ali wrote about that
exhibition : "The last exhibition of Sultan
that was held in
his life time... deserves particular attention for
the purpose
of evaluation of Sultan. One may say the full power
of this
prolific creative painter was not represented
adequately in
this exhibition at the fag-end of his life. One
must also add
that nothing of Sultan was left underrepresented in
this
exhibition. Indeed the men and women appeared in
the
pictures of this exhibition in their own peculiar
form, that
is to say with the stamp of "Sultani"
significance. The
nature and environment of Bangladesh rural life and
range
of daily activities that intimately wear the
identity of
peasant humanity is exposed here (in this
exhibition) by
the characteristic survivalist compositions of S M
Sultan...
A total of 30 pictures were accommodated in the
exhibition. There were only a few watercolour
paintings.
The rest were sketches/ drawings on white paper
with
"marker" pen or broad soft-nibbed pen.
Although the
seven watercolours all had separate titles, the
drawings
were arranged in a series entitled "Life and
Nature."
One thing struck me standing in front of the works
of the
aged painter. There was no mark of the race for
advanced
ideas as amongst other creative artists around the
world
who have rendered the art of painting at the last
rung of
the twentieth century multiplex and brought about a
flood
of motley innovations in the East and West alike,
with
techniques, execution, application and components
of all
sorts. Yet it seemed to me that an immortal painter
was
physically omnipresent through his works there (in
the
exhibition). There was no hesitancy. S. M. Sultan,
truly
respectful of and entirely self-reliant about his
own
choices and layouts in the execution of works of
art or
about his manner of expression, genuinely gave vent
to
the bond of kinship and devotion existing between
creative arts and artists through ages. In his
drawings, S.
M. Sultan used a few specific types of brushwork.
Sometimes he built up a flowing rhythm of continuous
curvatures, some times he used broken lines in
sequence,
sometimes he freely gathered a profusion of
cross-strokes.
A captivating artistic ambience of surroundings is
thus
created for the composition of his drawings over a
white
background, Even in his watercolours, he had this
tendency always to apply similar (linear)
treatment.
But he was also amply faithful to distinctive
radiation of
colour and transparency peculiar to the watercolour
medium, All these characteristics were in evidence
in his
last exhibition that was held during his
lifetitne."
On the occasion of that exhibition, Sheikh
Mohanunacl
Sultan came for the last time to Dhaka. He was not
happy.
He was in tears to go back to Narail, to his
'Children's
Paradise' in Kurigram. Poet-journalist Mohsin
Hussain
recounted the situation : "On January Il
(1994), Artist
Mithu escorted me from Gallery Tone to Hotel de
Amazon. There I found emaciated asthmatic Sultan
Bhai.
He burst into tears like a child when he saw nne.
I-Ie said,
'You are a poet, please take me back fronn this
place.' I
agreed right away."
That very day the artist took the afternoon flight
to Jessore
and proceeded to Narail. Since then he never left
his
suburban village milieu in Kurigratll on the banks
of the
river Chitra. Upto the last day of his life, he
spent his time
painting, near to his adopted family, his pet birds
and
animals and mother nature, or doing some welfare
activity
for his small village community, particularly
children's
education. Not only his native skill of painting,
but also
his entire life was thus dedicated to the delight
of creative
satisfaction.
His final painting workshop was held that very year
in
Kurigram in the month of February. Painter Nasim
Ahmed
Nadvi wrote about that workshop as follows :
"The
benches laid out between the residence and studio
of
Sultan for open-air study by children were
temporarily
arranged to be covered by tin-roofing as additional
accommodation for the smooth conduct of the
workshop,
Some of us chose the roof of the house-boat
anchored at
river-ghat as our working studio. The participants
in the
workshop were each required to finish two
oil-paintings
of 3' x 3' size within its tenure, Accordingly 15
easels and
requisite quantities of canvas, oil colours and
brushes
were brought from Dhaka. Sultan was physically
indisposed and we realised it would not be possible
for
him to personally conduct the workshop. We
therefore
thought it fit to get on with the workshop without
him and
went to seek his permission for the same. Before we
could
say anything, he began to speak with a great deal
of
humility: I really do not have to guide you at all.
On top
of that, my body has turned rebellious. I anl happy
that
you all have conie to this backward village of
ruine. This
is the land of clie 'embroidered quilt'. The
tuakers of the art
of embroidered quilt never guide any one. They
execute
their beautiful designs spontaneously fronl their
own
minds. You please also do whatever you like
according to
your own styles. But I shall be very happy if the
people
and the natural surrounding of these parts find
sotue place
in your conuoositions."
At the end of the workshop there was a river
cruise,
during which Nadvi heard Sultan talking to himself
almost inaudibly : "In my youth, I went around
the entire
(British) India driven by curiosity of imagination
and
drawn by various attractions and sentinrnts, I was
not
contented, So I crossed 'seven seas and thirteen
rivers',
and went around the world led by my whirus, Then
suddenly on the screen of my mind the beauty and
the
I was
nature of lovely Chitra (the river) was flashed
nostalgic. I carne back to her. No, I could not
settle down
with her. Tirne rendered everything topsy-turvy....
Chitra
remained ever-flowing and I becotne a bohemian. I
raised
no family, so how could I get children! That is why
as the
light of my life is going out, I am building
'children's
paradise' on the banks of Chitra. If not in lily
lifetime,
before the flow of Chitra dries up, I hope by the
cooperation of many others put together, the
'children's
paradise' will be able to stand on its own feet...
That year on the I()th of October at 16 hours 35
minutes
in the afternoon, Sultan 'the golden man of fine
arts',
Sultan 'the angry humanist minstrel' breathed his
last. The
whole morning of October I l, his moflal retnains
in the
coffin lay in state in front of Public Library for
people to have a last look at his face. At 5 p.m.
on October
I l, this great artist was laid to eternal test in
the couflyard
of his residence in Kurigram. Rafiq Islam, a
devotee of
Sultan, wrote, "The journey of life that began
on August
10, 1923 canne to an end on October 10, 1994 by the
unsparing axe of time. A great septuagenarian
entity was
drowned in the sound of ripples from the heavenly
rivet'.
He will never wake up again. From all temporal
banality
and business he is far away. Far far away fmm
pigtuents,
brmshes, easel, canvas, banks of the river Chitrl,
woods
and jungles, birds and beasts, snakes and lizards,
creativity, kith and kin, wicked ones, dear ones,
friends
and all others."
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