| Brief Description |
His attitude was never of a professional artist's. He painted and
involved himself in folk traditions to satisfy his own creative
urges. In fact, he never held an exhibition of his works while he
lived. Born in Orissa in 1908, but moving on to Bihar in 1931,
Maharathi's stays at various places were marked by "a couple of
private hours in the morning, when he would lock himself up in a
room and just paint." He was deeply influenced by the artistic
idiom of the Bengal School. And, several other influences
contributed to the process of his artistic growth: for instance,
Orissa's folk art and culture, Madhubani paintings, the tribal
art of Chhotanagpur.
He wasn't a romantic who lived in the cocoon
of his own creations while delinked from the cadence of the world
outside. Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, he involved himself with the
textile industry, creating elegant artistic designs in the
process.
He worked with wood, bamboo and other similar materials,
using them with his aesthetic sense to develop creations with
heightened levels of beauty and charm. |
