Tribute to a forgotten artist

Shankar Rao Alandkar, who turned Kalaburagi into a cradle of visual art and groomed artistes like M.T. Bhople, S.M. Pandit and Vidyabhushan Kumar Chandrashekar, is a forgotten man.

Born in March 1905 and having graduated in fine arts from Sir. J.J. School of Art, Mumbai, in 1920s, Alandkar was a child prodigy and his artistic instinct was spotted by mathematics teacher B.G. Sathe, who made him take up art classes.

Urge for recognition

Senior artistes of the region, led by Rehaman Patel, have now urged the State government to name the new art gallery established by the Kannada and Culture Department in Kalaburagi city as ‘Shankar Rao Alandkar Art Gallery’ as a fitting tribute to the great artist.

Dr. Patel said the State government should make an announcement in this regard as a mark of respect to the great artist whose death anniversary falls on May 31.

His series of paintings of Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, and Jawaharlal Nehru are a treat for the eyes, and the fine lines and experimentative art form is a lesson to budding artists. Alandkar was bestowed with the State honour by the then Mysore government in 1966.