Like every admirer of human sensibilities Pranabendu Bikash Dhar has a mind which has deep faith in men and women. The early mathematical as well as scientific bent of his mind has prefigured the extremely deliberate intellectual nature of his approach. When he went up to the elite St. Martin’s School of Art, London in 1980, it was to study a postgraduate course in Advance Sculpture.
Gradually, the studious introvert ‘man’ grew up in the unreal atmosphere of ill-fated Assam. In a conversation with this writer he recalled how around that time he had to face various odds. The legends and traditions and folklore of his own State were being lost. Imagining and trying to remember those things, he was greatly disturbed. The act of trying to remember and the act of creating began to overlap. And that is the reason why he took up his hammer and chisel and started his own form of sculpture. He tried to reproduce them using the methods of advance sculpture that he has studied in India and abroad. His use of highly developed ideas to structure his works further exacerbates his quarrel with the traditionalism of Indian sculpture. But because of his perception and a higher kind of insight he has retained an interest in both western sculptors such as Tim Scott, Henry Moore and the Indian sculptors like Ram Kinkor Baij etc.
His complex impacted style has a consistent poetic ambition too. So, the critical reaction to his work is generally enthusiastic, though his style and forms prefigure a contentious aspect of Indian sculpture. Actually it is nothing, but the Indian influence.
Like all great artists, Dhar believes that the nature of creation is not an ordinary phenomenon. It follows a systematic route. When both our body and the soul together feel an inner urge for creating something new, then actually can an artist create in the real sense of the term. Thus the imprints of different aspects, set in the mind already, find an opportunity to blossom out.
However, anybody who tries to highlight the beautiful side of life is an artist. An artist has immense opportunity and capacity to shape the world as he desires. This is the viewpoint of Pranabendu B Dhar who has been contributing a lot to our society. Many young students have been nurtured under his careful guidance at the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Guwahati.
It’s known to all that life is in turmoil everywhere. The artist himself is facing lots of problems. But he knows how to exploit these things. So, notwithstanding any other problems, he always creates a new object out of those responses aroused in his mind. Dhar thinks that the present scenario of art and sculpture in Assam is very hopeful. According to him, nowadays people in Assam are more enlightened. They know what is art, sculpture and architecture. That is why, an artist has to create something new which would fulfil various needs of the people. Generally an artist has to create or formulate his objects for a group of certain people who are more intelligent and sensible. Dhar is always aware of these aspects. He considers form, rhythm and force as three major aspects of sculpture. Above all it should have a very strong sense of existence. This is not an ordinary fact, rather he holds it in the core of his heart.
Pranabendu did his higher education in Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan. He completed five years DFA with first class first position (1977) with specialization in sculpture and sub-graphic art. In Hackney College Popular Centre, London he built a successful career. He also completed the operation of electric arc welding and oxy-fuel gas cutting equipment training under ILEA, London. Perhaps because of his serious passion for art he could pave a golden path for himself. He believes that any beautiful creation, whether it is created by nature or any living being, is a piece of art. The nest of a weaver bird or a beautifully cooked dish by his mother is art for him.
Pranabendu has a particular philosophy of life. He can perceive or realize what an ordinary man cannot. He also envisages the possibilities and hardships of human beings. But he does not remain in an imaginary world. He always maintains a close relationship between reality and society. He observes that our society is full of black and white features. He collects many of these features, but selects a few as his subject matter. During this process, from observation to creation, he covers several steps in which he gets immense scope to observe a society or to react to a particular situation. But he just cannot react positively or negatively to a situation or to an imbalanced society. It is because he believes that by reacting so, no one can shake off his or her responsibility to balance the society. So he devotes himself in the never ending process of creation. And he wants to exist through his work. Moreover, he speaks through his works.
Dhar has a wide ranging outlook. His vision does not hold any geographical barrier. So he is often attracted towards the colourful milieu of the societies of both the plains and hills. Their living condition and style are exhibited throughout his creative sculpture. He is a celebrated artist with a traditional folk style too. In recognition of this in 1980 he was awarded the prestigious President’s Fellowship from the Government of India in sculpture on folk traditional style of terracotta. Again in 1984 he was awarded the President’s Fellowship given to outstanding artists in performing literary and plastic arts, on folk traditional style on scrap metal. Recently he got the Senior Fellowship from the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. His contribution to the field of sculpture is absolutely remarkable. People all over the country have already accepted this brilliant artist and felicitated him with several prizes, scholarships and honours.
Undoubtedly Dhar is a sincere performer. He has no vanity, rather he always tries to do his work at the right moment. He thinks that talent is an inborn quality to do things perfectly. Everybody possesses that talent in different fields. But talent may die without devotion. If an artist is not devoted to his work, his talent becomes a waste. Again only devotion without talent cannot create an outstanding piece of art. Pranabendu Bikash Dhar himself represents this great tradition.
