The Sculptor who Carved the Ordinary

Saumya Saini

The Sculptor who Carved the Ordinary

The Father of Indian Modern Sculpture and a pioneer of Contextual Modernism, Ramkinkar Baij was a non-conformist artist who broke the shackles of governed art during his time, paving the road for other contemporary sculptures.

The Father of Indian Modern Sculpture; Image Source: Engrave

The fate of a poor barber’s family in the Bankura district of Bengal drastically turned when they gave birth to their son named Ramkinkar. He was a boy who saw the world quite differently than the rest, for he saw something special in the ordinary. While roaming around the streets of his village, he bumped into a local sculptor, utilising the red soil abundant in the region to make impressive idols. Thus began Ramkinkar’s story as an artist, for he found an outlet to make the world see its surroundings through his lens.

As a boy who grew up during the battle for independence, he heard great stories about the nation’s freedom fighters and nationalists. Baji began making sculptures of these great men, which soon caught the attention of the locals and Ramananda Chatterjee, the journalist and editor of ‘Prabasi’ and ‘Modern Review.’ Astonished by our teenage boy’s talent, he ensured Ramkinkar got a spot in the esteemed Santiniketan School of Art.

Over here, he was brought under the guidance of legendary artists like Nandalal Bose and Rabindranath Tagore. They deeply influenced his artistic style and individuality which was aided by the liberating environment provided by Santiniketan. He was also exposed to various forms of art, with one being European contemporary art. However, the more he got familiarised with Western forms, the more he felt the need to stick to his roots.

Although from a humble background, Baij never shied away from showcasing his origins to the world and took upon himself to depict the simplicity of his surroundings, which was otherwise undermined.

No one could tell him what to do, for he made his own rules and broke from the traditional boundaries set by governed art. He tried every art style imagined, ranging from impressionism, cubism, realism and Gauche. Yet he never conformed to any one style, for all his works were an amalgamation of everything he had learnt. Ramkinkar was an experimentalist in the truest sense.

After he completed his studies, he went on to become a member of the faculty and a key player in establishing Santiniketan as the most important centre for modern art in pre-Independence India.

During a time when the artistic expression of grandeur, divinity and grace was only reserved for gods and the royalty, Ramkinkar shattered all such barriers by elegantly depicting a tribal family in one of his most famous sculptures titled- Santhal Family. Growing up, he was deeply fascinated by the tribal migrants moving from one place to another, and his depiction of a tribal family in such beauty was considered his radical departure from the norms of traditional art.

Baij was far from being a fan of technologically advanced equipment and good quality materials. Inspired by the local craft makers of his own town who utilized whatever was available, he created masterpieces from regular materials like hay, strings and bamboo sticks. His first environmental sculptures, arguably India’s first titled ‘Sujata’ stands tall in the gardens of Santiniketan.

With Ramkinkar finding his own seminal style, came recognition from national and international artists alike. In 1970 the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan, which was followed by various awards bestowed on him.

In fact, Baij’s art resonated so deeply that he was commissioned to erect statues guarding the Reserve Bank of India gates in New Delhi under Nehru’s authority. Going leaps and bounds to find a stone appropriate for his creation, he finally found it in the Kangra valley and took years to carve his Yaksha-Yakshi statues. The modern-looking Yaksha and the natural feminine beauty of Yakshi now stand as iconic sculptures in Indian art history.

Ramkinkar had his own set of haters too, for some of his works did not look like the real-life people he based them on. However, he believed in art’s essence rather than appearance and continued to stay true to his own understanding of beauty. Baij’s representation of lower castes made him a striking figure in the world of art, bagging him a larger audience.

Ramkinkar Baij sadly departed on this day in 1980 yet his soul has remained intact in every piece of work he created with his bare hands. Most of his works are now publicly displayed outdoors, for he never wanted to confine his art to indoor ceilings but wanted them to breathe the air from where he found his inspiration!