Challenging the notion of railway employees of primarily being associated with the mechanised world, an office superintendent of the Eastern Railway brought alive the philosophy and life of the iconic ‘bauls’ of the state on his canvas.
(photo:SNS)
Challenging the notion of railway employees of primarily being associated with the mechanised world, an office superintendent of the Eastern Railway brought alive the philosophy and life of the iconic ‘bauls’ of the state on his canvas. Sankar Tarafdar, is presently working at Liluah workshop under the ER. From canvas slate-pencil, watercolour or oil paint, he masters the art in all forms with his paintings that are vivid and realistic.
After passing BSc, he aimed for a job after passing five years’ diploma with first class in Visual Arts from Indian Art College, he got his first posting as a teacher at Railway ATP School in Azimganj in 1996. It was while working as a teacher at the railway school in Azimganj that he was attracted to the historic buildings of Murshidabad.
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During the holidays, he visited the historic buildings of the district and painted many pieces on the structures built in the old architecture. Along with this, there are many other biographical art forms such as the portrayal of the forgotten lifestyle of the Santals in the Don Bosco Church of Azimganj that have received much accolades. In 2002, he moved to Liluah to teach at Eastern Railway High School where his strokes with water colours depicted the much appreciated paintings of Bauls.
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Mr Tarafdar has participated in many exhibitions at home and abroad and has been honoured with numerous awards. Last year, an exhibition of paintings by 24 artists, including 16 expatriate Bengali painters, was held in the Netherlands, where the works of Mr Tarafdar were well appreciated, according to the ER.
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