Ecstatic Delineations of Old Dhaka

Dhaka New Market, 40x75cm, 2014.

Shahanoor Mamun is talented and is persevering enough to have a second solo to fill the exhibit room of Alliance Française. Nevertheless, perhaps it isn't as exhilarating as his earlier solo “Jolbindu”, which was seen last August at the same venue. Yet considering his tender age, the solo “Jol Chobi” is magnificent. Surely one has no right to compare him with master painters like Zainul Abedin, Quamrul Hassan, Qayyum Chowdhury, Rafiqun Nabi and Hamiduzzaman Khan who have painted ad lib, and whose works remain indelible, if not done in watercolour—the most delicate and difficult medium to handle in visual art.

In one of his paintings called “Jalrang” one sees two people in Old Dhaka in a rickshaw followed by   more rickshaws. Behind are bars of gold with circles in them. One sees turrets, balconies and parts of houses, steeples and windows. There are more vehicles behind the rickshaws that are paddling on the same narrow road.
In another delineation of Old Dhaka streets, in the golden light of the morning we see the people going helter skelter – one gets the feel of the place in depth, despite the use of only water colour on paper. There are houses on two sides of the road. There is the huddle of people under umbrellas and crisscrossing of electrical wires, and the juxtaposition of the electric poles which adds to the beauty and authenticity. If one were to buy such an item in the art shops it would create a hole in the pocket of an average Dhakaite if not a foreign art lover. The reflection in front is in gold. Part of the area in front has been left unpainted. This adds to the beauty of the work.

Dhaka City, 70x44cm, 2014.

One sees many more representations of the place. In one of them, the left side is dark while the top is blue and black. The right is painted red and burnt sienna. The cycles seen on the road have scarlet tops and rest is black. In between the paper is shaded delicately with a streak of grey.

Then there are the boats, seen in the fog that envelopes them. We see the details of the boats in black while there are washes. There are three boats in all. A single boat is over crowded. Behind it are more boats and buildings on the shore. There are more waves in the distance amidst the abounding waves.

There is one with details of the boats in black. The rest are waves in grey depicting the smothering fog. There is one with a single man with water splashing over. There are bars of colour in the painting—blue, white and purple. Another painting has two men bending over and one is bent in the process of assisting them. Purple and grey form the sky and the river which merge together in the wet weather. There is a man with an umbrella and the other is sitting and fishing with his back to the viewers.

We see three boats coming to the harbour. The details of the harbour are exquisite, with the sun rays falling on the place. One feels the pulsating rhythm of the people going about their work in this. One dingy is empty. The boat with a dozen people is waiting to be unloaded. Half a dozen people are waiting on a smaller adjacent boat. The houses are painted in shades of blue. There is a fairly good depiction of the clear sky and the greyish water at the back.

Expression of Nature 6, 45x64cm, 2014.

There is more delineation of Old Dhaka with houses in black and burnt sienna. There are two men carrying goods. There are vehicles at the side. While the buildings are in burnt umber they are highlighted with beige and black. There is crisscrossing of wires, while down below are vendors.

There are more such scenes of wires, electric poles, rickshaws and the general pandemonium of people found coexisting with contentment. There are tall shadows. One of them is truly picturesque with coloured clothing spilling over the cardboard box and other colourful saris hanging out to be sold with the gay, fancy-free anchal of the saris on exhibit. The bonhomie of the people of Old Dhaka is obvious. There are four people on a rickshaw, the top of which is orange. The details of the rickshaw are in jet-black.
The exhibition ends on August 26.