I really liked the article. Its an encouraging one. ----- Original Message ----- From: "rajesh asudani" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2006 1:13 AM Subject: [AI] Against all odds
> 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 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
