Artist Sisir Sahana has a piece of advice for people of the Andhra region: “Shun materialism and embrace aesthetics”.
The Professor of Art from Viswa Bharati University at Santiniketan, West Bengal, is in the city to teach local children the art of painting and glass sculpting. “People in this part of Andhra are very wealthy but spend money only on good clothes and jewellery. AP will soon be a sophisticated destination, and people, accordingly, should develop refined taste and embrace art,” he told The Hindu .
One of the most prominent glass sculptors in the country, he elaborates how he transforms a molten blob of glass into images using a select kit of tools, solutions and a lifetime of practice.
“I use a combination of sand and soda lime, along with colouring agents, to produce a raw material, which melts together to form molten glass,” he says.
The 52-year-old artist, who hails from Bankura district of West Bengal, is famous for his terracotta temples. Though fascinated by drawing and painting since childhood, he was not allowed to do it openly. “My uncle, an amateur artist, committed suicide after being branded a ‘loser’ in life. My father was afraid that if allowed to draw and paint, I may end up as a non-achiever, too.”
But, the lure of doodling far exceeded the fear of his father, and he practised regularly behind closed doors. If his brother helped him join painting classes on weekends at high school, his drawing teacher encouraged him to join Santhiniketan. “I would pedal for 8 km and travel by two buses to attend classes,” he recalls.
