Pics: Satpal Gandhi/Bhumesh Bharti
By Satpal S Gandhi
DEHRADUN, 25 Dec: Kala Kendra celebrated the 103rd Anniversary of the late Mr. Dwijen Sen whom they popularly call “Dada”. On the occasion of his birth anniversary, an Art Exhibition was curated at what is one of the oldest art schools of Dehradun. The Exhibition, titled “Tribute to our Guru”, will be displayed at two locations, Kala Kendra and Doon Library, and will remain open till 30 December 2025 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Every year since 2005, the annual exhibition is organised under the guidance of Lt Col VK Dougall (Retd), the caretaker and Principal of Kala Kendra. Unlikely any other exhibition, there is no Special Guest or Chief Guest invited. As per Dougall’s words, “Every artist and every spectator is a Special Guest.”
Prior to the exhibition, a 5 day workshop was also conducted this year at the Kala Kendra. About 25 artists participated in the workshop, where they painted canvas, sculpted stone sculpture. A demonstration of Junk art technique was done by Satpal Singh Gandhi, in which he demonstrated the process of making a sculpture from metal junk material. Day one was mould making and next day was crafting the sculpture with nuts and junk material by welding them piece by piece. Mr Rasaily made a stone sculpture and also played the flute during the workshop. Young students, professional artists, budding artists, everyone from different walks of life, had a good time learning and creating the art. The 5 day art residency workshop offered the participants tea every hour, lunch and snacks all day round. Some artists celebrated their birthdays during the workshop with Chai, Jalebi and Pakoras, etc.
According to Anjali Thapa, a renowned artist, the residency workshop was fun filled and a learning experience for all the artists and spectators. She added, “Artists collect moments the world overlooks and give them colour.” During the residency workshop, she painted an old broken door of a barn at the back of the Kala Kendra adding some imaginary objects like a rooster and chickens, threads, etc. A magnificent work of art on canvas in acrylic is also displayed in the exhibition. Someone has truly said, “Where others see a blank wall, an artist sees a doorway”.
No entry fee was charged for the workshop or the exhibition. According to Col Dougall, “All sales proceeds shall go to the artist without any cut. The motive of the annual feature is just to promote the art and legacy of Dada.” He added, “When words expire, art continues the story.”
The exhibits included about 400 artworks which included paintings and sculptures. Though photography was not part of the exhibition, but a wild card entry of Bhumesh Bharti’s smoke art on canvas was displayed. He clicked smoke in his camera and displayed it in a set of 4 frames, titled “Dancing Smoke”.
Some sculptures made by the veteran Dada which have been preserved by Lt Col Dougall at the Kala Kendra were also part of the exhibits. Sculptures made of Plaster of Paris, Stone, clay, bronze and Metal-Auto Junk art were special attractions.
Paintings on canvas and paper were displayed by various artists, using different mediums like water colour, oil, ink, pencil, crayons, fabric colours, acrylic, etc. A life sized sculpture of “Fasting Buddha” made by Sanjay Gupta was a special attraction.
Jaspal Duggal, Pradip Sharma & Lt Col Vijay Kumar Dougall, whom we call “Guru Bhai”, the direct disciples of Dada, displayed the sculptures made by them. The professional work of these three artist stands apart in the exhibits. Pradip Sharma who is not keeping well and due to health issues could not be present at the function gladly shared his sculptures for the exhibition.
Junk Artist Satpal Singh Gandhi displayed some sculptures made from Auto Junk which included life size Female Torso, small torsos, Ganesha, Bull Skull trophy and were depicted as a new form of art. According to Satpal Singh Gandhi, “Every visual art needs a medium, be it colours, stone, wood, metal clay, plaster, etc. He said he chose Junk as his medium of art. He adds that the medium he chose to make the sculptures is not being used by many artists, that is why his art work stands apart and is being appreciated. He says that his works have been purchased by private collectors in India and abroad. According to him unless the artist gets paid or rewarded for art work, they cannot sustain it for long. So art needs buyers so that the artist can follow his/her passion.
Satpal gives all the credit to his Guru, Pradip Sharma, who taught him various techniques and skills of art.
Sculptor Chandra B Rasaily, who is a well known amongst the art fraternity uses various mediums like stone, cement, fibre and paints for his art work. His sculptures and paintings have also been an attraction.
The legacy of Dada is being carried forward by Lt Col VK Dougall, who inspires and teaches art to the community and younger generation. In his ‘80s, he travels around 100 kms every day (to and fro) from his home to Kala Kendra despite his age and medical issues. One can see the energy of a young man in him. His team of dedicated people also join him from Vikas Nagar every day to keep the Kala Kendra going. Deepshikha and Akanksha Sonkar the art teachers, greet every one with “Jai Hind”, Dinesh Kumar Chauhan and Reeta offer every visitor at Kala Kendra Chai and Pakoras. The complete team of Kala Kendra is dedicated towards Art.
Photographers, sculptors, painters, media techies, influencers, teachers, students, housewives, professionals, retired people contributed their time, energy and skills to curate the exhibition and to pay their tribute to Dada Dwijen Sen.
Prof BK Joshi, Dr Vandana Shiva, former DGP and author Aloke Lal, Retd IAS Vibha Puri Das, Former Chief Secretary N Ravi Shanker, were present amongst others.
Artists in the exhibition include, Shabnam Anand, Satpal Gandhi, Zakir Hussain, Deepshika Singh, Bhumesh Bharti, Akansha Sonkar, Mohd. Moin, Anjali Thapa, Naveen Kanwasi, Hari Gurung to name a few.
About The Author
