National Gallery of Modern Art-Parikraman

Nandalal Bose

A Sketch from Album No. 88 9242 Nandalal Bose Pen & Ink on postcard

Nandalal's exploration of the different ways of delineating a line allowed him to experiment in representation of lines in its varying forms, adding rhythm, vigour and life to the figures. In this drawing of a village man carrying an umbrella in one hand and in the other a small siting stool and a bag with a small saw and other tools is an earnest representation of a village repairman or carpenter. These repairmen are forever on the move and setup their shop wherever a mending is required to be done. The perceptible representation is executed with a range of linear styles with pen and ink that lends tonal variations and brings out the true form of the repairman or carpenter. Nandalal was indefatigable in his sketching routines which formed an adjunct part of his daily life. Making instantaneous visual records of anything amusing happening in his surroundings or of social events, or observing the demeanour and mannerisms of people, the cattle and observing intently the ways of nature was inspiring and a source of delight for Nanadalal. His smaller sketches are testimony of Nandalal's keenness to observe and his empathy for the environment in which he lived.