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"Tribute to Late Lain Singh Bangdel"
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Lain Singh Bangdel was born in 1924 in Darjeeling, East of
Nepal. He had been interested in Art and painting at early
age. After his high school, he went to Calcutta for his
higher education and graduated with a degree in Fine Arts
from government college of Arts and Crafts in 1945. In 1952
he went to Paris and attended Ecole Nationale Superieure des
Beaux Arts College. In 1953, he married with his beautiful
and talented lady Manu Bangdel. In 1954 he had his first
solo art exhibition in Stuttgart, Germany. He had other solo
exhibitions in Paris. During his stay in Paris he met
prominent Artist Pablo Picasso and Georges Brogue. In 1956,
he finished his school and went to London. There he worked
as deputy director for the Astral Art Group from 1958 to
1960. In 1959 he had another solo art exhibition in London.
In 1961 he was introduced to His majesty King Mahandra Bir
Bikram Shah Dev. King invited him to come back to Nepal.
That was the turning point of his life. With the consent of
his elegant wife Manu, he returned to Nepal. |
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He was appointed as the head of the faculty of fine art at
the Royal Nepal Academy. He became a member of Nepal
Association of Fine Arts in 1963. For consecutive five
years, he was training young artiest in designing and
landscape painting and in copying the ancient sculptures of
Nepal. For one year, in 1968 he went as a Fulbright visiting
professor to Denison University, Ohio in the US. During his
tenure in US he organized yet other solo art exhibitions in
Ohio in 1968 and in Washington in 1969. In 1972 he was
appointed as vice chancellor. In 1977 he became the
chancellor of Royal Nepal Academy. He was reappointed again
for the chancellor. In 1985 he became the president of NAFA.
He retired as chancellor of the Royal Nepal Academy in 1989.
Bangel’s versatile personality made him an artist, novelist,
art historian, avid observer and exceptional cultural
export. He had written more than two dozen books on Nepali
Literature. He had persuaded his art and literary journey
simultaneously. Bangdel began his literary career with a
story named ''Amawashya Ko Ratri'' in 1938. During his days
in Calcutta he was an editor of literary journal called
prabhat in 1949. His first novel Muluk Bahira, ‘Beyond the
Valley of Nepal’, was published in 1947. This is the first
Nepali novel with persistent realism. Other novels Maita
Ghar (1948), Langaro Ko Sathi (1949), and Spain Ko Samjhana
(travelogue, 1964) are popular among readers. Langaro Ko
Sathi is about the friendship between a human and a dog and
introduced the neo-realistic style in Nepal. Besides that,
he has written two biographies, two travelogues, three
historical books and Bishwa Katha Shangraha, a
translated-collection of stories from various countries.
As a foremost art historian and a cultural export, he had
conducted extensive research relating to Nepal's stone
sculptures. In his course of researching these valuable
pieces of Nepal's past and present he has published several
books, “Art and Architecture of Katmandu Valley (UNESCO,
1977)”, “Nepalese Painting, Nepal: A Conspectus (1977)”, “An
Early Sculpture of Gaja–Laksmi from Patan (1980)”, "Twenty
Five Hundred Years of Nepalese Art (German Edition, 1987).
As project director he compiled and catalogued all the
stolen images of the Katmandu Valley and published “Stolen
Images of Nepal” in 1989. He was the chief advisor for the
archaeological excavations at Hadigaon, Katmandu. During the
excavations, 52 ancient stone sculptures dating from the
first century BC to the fourth century AD were discovered in
Katmandu; the findings have added a new chapter to the
history of Nepalese art.
He had been decorated with many medals and honors. He was
awarded gorkha Daksina Bahu II in 1982, Prithvi Pragya
Puraskar in 1998, Birandra Gold Medal in 1965 and many
foreign prestigious awards such as Commander of the
Victorian Order, Grand Cruz, Commandatore.
At the age of 78, father of modern art in Nepal, honorable
Lain Sing Bangdel departed away for eternally in October 15,
2002. He is survived with his wife and the daughter. His
relentless effort and contribution for the preservation,
portrayal and publication of Nepalese Art, sculpture and
literature made him immortal and will always been bejeweled
in the history of Nepalese Art and literature.
Sources:
http://www.nepalnews.com.np/contents/englishweekly/spotlight/2002/nov/nov01/national11.htm
http://www.spinybabbler.org/visual_arts/personalities/lain_singh_bangdel.htm
http://www.nepalnews.com.np/contents/englishdaily/ktmpost/2002/oct/oct20/features.htm#1
http://www.kantipuronline.com/archive/kantipur/2002-10-24/kantipur_news4.htm#6
http://www.nepalnews.com.np/ntimes/issue117/society.htm
http://www.spacetimeonline.com/Pub/Nov_3/ST_Today_Feature.htm#1
http://kaladarshan.arts.ohio-state.edu/loststolen/Nepal/Bangdelbottom.html
http://www.himalmag.com/99Oct/bangdel.htm |
Resham Thapa
Omaha, Nebraska, USA
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