<i>Sultan Mela opens at Narail today </i>

6 April 2009, 18:00 PM

A Correspondent, Narail

Sultan Mela, held every year to pay tribute to renowned artist SM Sultan, will open at Narail today. Sultan Birth Anniversary Celebration Committee and Sultan Foundation have jointly chalked out a seven-day colourful fair. The programme which begins today includes children's art competition, discussion on life and works of the renowned artist, rural sports, cultural programme and prize distribution ceremony. M Yunusur Rahman, divisional commissioner of Khulna, will inaugurate the fair on the premises of Narail Government Victoria College at 3:00 pm. A children's art competition will also be held on the premises of SM Sultan Art Museum at village Masimdia in Narail. SM Sultan's (1923-1994) full name is Sheikh Mohammad Sultan. He was born on August 10, 1923 at Masimdia, a village in the district. His father worked as a mason and Sultan joined him after five years of schooling at the local Victoria Collegiate School. But Sultan had a strong liking for art. He knew that art education was only possible in Kolkata. As Sultan was poor, helped by local zamindar Dhirendranath Roy, he went to Kolkata in 1938. But Sultan did not have required qualification for admission to the then Government School of Art in Kolkata. With the help of another patron, Shahid Suhrawardy, who was a member of the governing body of the school, he finally got admitted to the art school. Sultan, however, did not complete his education. After three years in the school, he left it and chose to work as a freelance artist. Sultan had a strong Bohemian streak in his character. He travelled to different places of India. He held the first exhibition of his artwork in Simla in 1946. For a time, Sultan lived and worked in Kashmir. Then after the partition of the Sub-continent in 1947, he returned to Narail. Then again, in 1951, he left for Karachi. There he taught art at a school and came in contact with noted artists like Abdur Rahman Chughtai and Shaker Ali. In 1950, Sultan went to USA - exhibiting his work in New York, Washington, Chicago and Boston and later in London. In 1953, he returned to Narail. There he built a school for children and a menagerie. He lived in a house full of cats and snakes. Except for occasional visits to Dhaka (where he had his first exhibition in 1976) he lived in the quiet isolation of his house.