Capturing Kathmandu, people and places on canvass

"Unlike in a photograph, you can manipulate your subjects in a painting. You can let your imagination run wild while painting. You can even twist reality here. Painting like any work of art is the place where reality and imagination blend to give a unique fusion." Meet the artist Dil Bahadur Chitrakar with Pragya Rajouria

A funny incident marks the beginning of my artistic journey," says Dil Bahadur Chitrakar. " My father assigned me a task to draw Ganesh giving me a two paisa coin. I in turn gave the money to my elderly relative and made him draw the picture for me. My father blew me up when he came to know about it later," he says. "After this incident I began to pay serious attention to whatever my dad taught me," he adds.

A six-year course at Shree Juddha kala pathshala, which is now known by the name Nepal lalit kala campus, readied him to join the artistic world on his own. After his graduation he began his work as an illustrator for textbooks published by Janak Sikshya Samagri Kendra. Those who read the former Mahendra Mala(before Tara Nath Sharma’s meddling) might remember the memorable illustrations signed ‘Dil’ in Devanagari. After he won the first and second place in the second and third National Art Exhibition, Chitrakar became well known among the art lovers in Kathmandu and art enthusiasts from foreign lands.

Few artists in Nepal can draw portrait like Chitrakar. In his deft strokes and superb colour combination the subjects become alive. He admits that portrait painting is his forte but he calls it a ‘restrictive art’. "When people ask you to draw their portrait you can’t play with your imagination and manipulate your subject. Just imagine how boring it can be to an artist when he has to curb his artistic impulses," expresses Chitrakar.

In his landscape paintings and paintings of ordinary people, Kathmandu valley comes alive in a myriad colours and subjects. There are peasants working in the paddy fields, women filling water pots from ancient spouts or carrying baskets and babies on their back in his paintings. He has captured the fleeting and unique gestures of his subjects in an unbelievably realistic way. Another distinguishing point of these paintings is the play of colours. The colour combinations in his works range from the vibrant hues to mute shades of all colours. And he is not scared of the colours. He uses them confidently and perfectly. "I feel that the primary purpose of art is to delight the beholder. But art even churns the viewers’ heart and intellect," says Chitrakar.

Chitrakar basically employs realistic and semi-abstract style in his paintings. When asked why his pictures are predominantly realistic he says laughingly, "Des anusar ko bhes garnu parena?" "In Nepal people appreciate and understand this genre of art and this is the reason why I draw real-to-life paintings. Very few people appreciate and understand abstract and modern art here," he adds. "Abstract art isn’t a cryptic piece of work which you draw on a runaway impulse. It takes years of practice and careful study to become a good abstract artist. Viewers should understand what you are trying to say through your painting," he explains.

What are the attributes of a good artist? Chitrakar has a fine answer. " It’s a matter of personal choice. There is no such thing as a fine artist and a bad artist. Some people appreciate some kind of art and others the other kind of art. I can say only one thing with certainty: casual interest in art won’t make you an artist. Perfection in this field is just a fleeting metaphor. You can never become a perfect artist because there is unlimited things to learn in this field," he says.

Chitrakar is the first artist in Nepal to work on pastel colour (special kind of chalk). In 1991 he held his pastel colour painting exhibition which was a big success. National and international buyers bought every single painting he made. Now a days he draws pictures both as artistic pursuit and for his clients. He keeps on experimenting with different techniques and shades of colours and usually comes up with brilliant piece of work. Like arts of all great artists, his paintings are his signature works. His works are breathing, alive entities. Even his inanimate objects become alive once he puts them on the canvass.

Terracotta creating matrix in clay

Terracotta items have changed shapes down the centuries. Clay and terracotta objects are not indispensable to modern man but he will continue to work on this medium since clay is very malleable and moldable

The word terracotta is of Italian origin. In this language it means, ‘baked clay’. Earthenware made this way are usually grey, ocher or reddish in colour. People around the globe have used terracotta since prehistoric times. They have used it down the centuries to make cooking utensils, sculptures, figurines, vases, tiles and bricks. In the hands of Greeks and Romans, terracotta became an object for architectural decoration. In the East, the Chinese produced fine wares of terracotta thousands of years back.

In Nepal also terracotta figurines, shards of pottery and bricks have surfaced from many excavation sites. This shows that Nepalese too were proficient in clay craft since ancient days. In Nepal terracotta work is getting continuity in the form of bricks, architectural decoration objects, pottery and works of art like statues and utility objects.

From the religious point of view, terracotta retains a special place among the Hindus. Rich people have worshipped idols of gods and goddess made from expensive metals like gold and silver down the ages. For poor, statues of deity made from clay have served religious purpose since ancient times. Today making clay idols and statues has become a special branch of art. Artistically superb clay works are made for religious as well as decoration purposes.

In Kathmandu there are two outstanding works of terracotta, besides houses and hotels made from terracotta bricks. One is Mahaboudha temple in Patan and another is the huge statue of Bishu situated in the Pashupatinath temple premises.

The Buddha temple at Patan is a wonder in terracotta bricks. Each red brick in the temple has a statue of Buddha carved in either ‘dhyan mudra’ or ‘bhumisparsa mudra’. This temple is around 55 ft tall and was made during the reign of king Amar Malla. The surprising aspect of this monument is that unlike other such structures, it has private patrons. Three generations of Shakya artists, Avaya Raj, Devju and Jeev Raj worked to complete this unusual structure. The first floor of the temple houses a huge statue of Sakyamuni. Statue of Amitabh Buddha is kept on the second floor. Mayadevi temple is situated close by this beautiful temple. This temple didn’t exist when the Shakyas built the bigger temple. The 1934 earthquake badly damaged the Buddha temple. In the restoration process, some of the original bricks remained unused. With these bricks, was made this temple.

Terracotta idols are rarely found in the temples of Kathmandu valley. Usually stone deities are worshipped in the temples. One such rare object of worship, is the enormous terracotta idol of Bishnu in the Pashupatinath temple complex. Though huge, the statue is proportionate and has calm and graceful aura about it. It is believed that a Prajapati (one who works in clay) from Thimi made this unique icon. The terracotta Bishu is not housed inside a traditional temple like other deities. It is placed in a curvaceous shelf like structure with no door. The Bishnu stands above a lotus and carries his customary sankha, chakra, gadha and padma. Bricks of different sizes and shapes have been put together to make this statue. The artist who created it must have made different molds to cast different body parts of the statue. Terracotta idols of other deities like Ganesh, Bhirav and Buddha adorn the outer wall of the shelf-like structure.

Terracotta items have changed shapes down the centuries. Clay and terracotta objects are not indispensable to modern man but he will continue to work on this medium since clay is very malleable and moldable.

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