Gandhi recalled thru young Bangladeshi artists' works

Young Bangladeshi at Gandhi@150 Art Camp recently. Photo: UNB
Young Bangladeshi at Gandhi@150 Art Camp recently. Photo: UNB

Young Bangladeshi artists commemorated the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi through a four-day art camp titled Gandhi@150 Art Camp that concluded on Sunday, reports UNB.

Fifteen young artists from Bangladesh participated in the art camp from 12 to 15 December at Sreemangal, Sylhet organised by Indian High Commission in Dhaka.

The artworks produced in the Gandhi@150 Art Camp would be displayed at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy early January.

Rokeya Sultana, a renowned artist and professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Dhaka University was the mentor of the camp, said the Indian High Commission on Saturday.

Indian high commissioner in Dhaka Riva Ganguly Das inaugurated the art camp at the High Commission on 11 December.

Deputy high commissioner Bishwadip Dey visited the art camp on Saturday and interacted with the artists.

"I’m pleased to see the enthusiastic participation by the young artists in the camp. Their works are indeed a reflection of their understanding of the Gandhian way of thought,” said Riva Ganguly.

The high commissioner said Gandhi's principles are timeless and she is encouraged to see that it had found resonance in the minds of these young participating artists.

The government of India has been commemorating the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi across the country and in Indian Missions abroad.

The Gandhi@150 Art Camp is part of the High Commission of India's commemoration of this significant year.

Earlier, the high commission had organised a vegetarian food festival, tree plantation and a cycling event.

Schoolchildren from over 50 schools participated in a quiz on Mahatma Gandhi as well.

A high-level event celebrating Mahatma was held at the UN headquarters on 24 September which was graced by the presence of prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

The artists, working on themes based on Gandhian philosophy brought out artwork in the nature of sculpture, paintings and batik work.

Rokeya Sultana said today's youths were Bangladesh's future. She firmly believed that the art camp would guide them.

“This generation will understand Gandhi's ideology and the aim of building a compassionate world. They’ll become better citizens of the world and engage themselves in maintaining peace,” she said.

"I’ve tried to depict on canvas, Mahatma Gandhi's lifelong work for peace. He showed us the path of peace and proved with his life that one can achieve one's goal without resorting to violence,” said Tahia Hossain, a participating artist.

Another artist, Rahul Rahat, said Gandhi dedicated his life for the greater purpose of searching for the truth. “I’ve tried to present through my work his pursuit of the truth and how he made the cotton yarn the medium through which India fought for freedom and self-reliance."

Md Ashraful Alam said Satya in Satyagraha means truth. “Therefore, Satyagraha is the force borne out of truth, love and non-violence. It’s this understanding of Satyagraha that I’m trying to depict through my work.”