Painter Dhirendra Nath Brahma passes away

Celebrated artist Dhirendra Nath Brahma, a legend of the Bengal school of painting, died at a state-run hospital here on Wednesday following old-age complications, an associate said. He was 90.

Brahma, passed away at the S S K M Hospital.

A master of calligraphy, who carried the legacy of the Bengal school of artists, Brahma followed the style and artistic vision of master artists Abanindranath Tagore and Nandalal Bose, under whom he had trained.

Born in 1924 at Barishal, now in Bangladesh, Brahma taught for long in the Government College of Art here imparting in his innumerable students the nuances of the neo-Bengal school of painting.

Two of his mural paintings - "Pushyamitra Sunga and Patanjali" and "Heliodorus with his pillar in the background in a court scene " - now adorn the hallowed corridors of the parliament in New Delhi.

In 2014, he had been presented the lifetime achievement award by the West Bengal government.

Condoling Brahma's death, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said: "I pray for the departed soul".

--IANS

ssp/vd