http://www.hindu.com/mag/2006/09/24/stories/2006092400350500.htm
Against all odds HARIHARAN BALAKRISHNAN Bipin Bihari Choudhury never let his disability come in the way of his art. He was the first hearing and speech challenged student at Royal College of Art, London, and the only Oriya to become an Associate of the RCA. He COULD HAVE stayED abroad. But Bipin's heart was in Orissa. PHOTO: COURTESY THE CHOUDHURY FAMILY Artist extraordinary: Bipin Bihari Choudhury. HAD he been alive, he would have been 101 on September 22. Bipin Bihari Choudhury, an extraordinary artist, was the first hearing and speech challenged person to be admitted into, and to have graduated from, the Royal College of Art, London. As a student in London, he held a one-man exhibition of paintings and one of his portraits of ex-Prime Minister Lloyd George was selected for permanent display at the India House Art Gallery in London. During his visit to the U.S. in 1949, Choudhury met Helen Keller. The York Times of October 27, 1949 reported: "Maj. M. Charles Migel, president of the American Foundation for the Blind, gave a luncheon yesterday at Chez Jean for Miss Helen Keller, author and lecturer, and Bipin Behari Choudhury, who arrived recently from Cuttack, India for a two months' stay." She was a great inspiration and the two became lifelong friends. During that visit, he also drew a pencil-sketch of President Truman during an interview. Early days Choudhury was the grandson of Fakir Mohan Senapati, considered the father of modern Oriya literature. He was born in Uluberia, West Bengal, but made Orissa his home. He was a normal, healthy child but a severe bout of malaria at the age of two left him unable to speak. Against all odds, he finished schooling at the Calcutta Deaf and Dumb School, where his latent talent as an artist bloomed. That was in 1922. He went on to graduate with Honours from the Government School of Art and Crafts in 1929. During this period, he came to know Netaji Subhas Bose, Sarojini Naidu and C.F. Andrews. Andrews wanted this gifted young man to go places and not be confined to Calcutta. Netaji, who knew Bipin Choudhury's father, urged him to "reach London somehow" and try his luck there. He gave the boy a letter of introduction to Sarojini Naidu. Choudhury met the poet at the Taj Hotel in Bombay and, on her advice, postponed his trip to London by a year. He joined the Sir JJ School of Art instead. While in Bombay, he met Jamshed Naorojee and Chunilal Mehta who gave him financial help. He also earned some money from the sale of his paintings and odd jobs, ultimately saving Rs. 1000, just enough for a trip to London by sea. Though he was not qualified for admission into the Royal College of Art, he made it by sheer perseverance and some luck. His granddaughter Monalisa Jena captured the event in a monograph published in his centenary year: "A young Indian artist sat quietly but resolutely seeking admission to London's prestigious Royal College of Art. He was deaf and mute and had arrived in London to study art. The little money he had carried with him was already exhausted and he was virtually on the street, penniless. All he possessed was enormous talent and a burning ambition to become a great painter. With him was Mr. C.F. Andrews who was trying to convince the Principal, Sir William Rosenstein, to give the artist a chance to prove himself... ." At the RCA All along, the artist was intently looking at a picture of "St. Mary with the Infant Jesus Christ in her lap". Ultimately, he was given a chance the next day - the theme was the birth of Jesus. Bipin Bihari Choudhury from India topped the list! He was the first hearing and speech challenged student at RCA, and the only Oriya to become an Associate of the Royal College of Art. Choudhury became famous and could have stayed abroad. Alfred Potts, a Britisher, was also hearing and speech challenged. Bipin and Alfred took to each other after they first met at the YMCA. Alfred offered him free lodging and Bipin spent four years in Alfred's spacious house where he could paint at will. Alfred wanted his friend to stay on in London, and even arranged to bequeath his property to the gifted artist. But Bipin's heart was in Orissa. So, he decided to come back and serve the cause of those like him. Back in his country during the peak of the Independence movement, he put his heart and soul into improving the lot of the hearing and speech challenged, particularly those with artistic talent. With his efforts, the All-Orissa Deaf and Dumb School was established at Cuttack in 1938. Later, he worked assiduously to develop the Khallikote Art School on the shores of the Chilka Lake. Rarely does one come across an artist who also excels in photography. Choudhury carried his Kodak wherever he went. He even had a dark room in his house where he would spend hours developing and printing his pictures. Among the family's prized possessions are striking photographs of Helen Keller at Washington and Mahatma Gandhi in Delang, Orissa. The man himself For someone who came back with laurels from London, Choudhury was a simple and down-to-earth man. His eldest son Debu recalls, "Father was a courageous man who would tolerate no injustice, particularly towards the weak. In some cases, I remember his challenging people to a duel in the old-world style! He treated his deaf-mute students just as he treated us. All six of us in the family could easily communicate with these `brothers and sisters'. Even today, many of them, some retired, visit us." For the 20th year running, the Rotary Club of Bhubaneswar organised the Bipin Bihari Memorial painting competition among school children on September 10. More than 300 students participated. Debu Choudhury donated a giant running trophy for this purpose in 1987. History will remember Bipin Bihari Choudhury as an artist par excellence, challenging fate to a duel and winning. To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
