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Pratibha Chauhan
Art is a human creative activity which connects the inner self with the ultimate reality, without which life is brutality as against spirituality.
This is how supremely gifted artist Harish Chandra Rai’s affair with art, creativity, music, dance and everything that was beautiful and imaginative can be described.
Rai passed away at the age of 95 recently, not letting age come in the way of his continuing passion with art as he painted till his last breath.
Except for the fact that he was born at Bareilly in 1923, Rai spent most of his life in Shimla, loving the state and its people. He showed interest in art at the tender age of four. However, many obstacles impeded his will to pursue his passion. In spite of these, he could achieve great heights in visual arts and aesthetics.
Educated at Government School of Arts, Lucknow, and Sir JJ School of Arts, Mumbai, he worked as a professor of art at Bareilly College for about a decade and then was appointed Principal, Government College of Fine Arts, Shimla, where he worked relentlessly till his retirement. During World War-II, he served in the Indian Army as an artist.
Rai experimented with Bengal School of painting, graduating to highly academic aspects of portraiture, landscape, still life and sculpture in various media like water colour, pastels, crayons, oils and clay. He made many large size nudes in clay and oils, with most remarkable being a realistic human body in clay, perfectly hollow from within.
His interest in Indian and Western aesthetics, iconography and poetry helped him maintain high standards in whatever he did. His deep interest in Indian classical music and architecture supplemented his refinement. Rai is the chief architect of famous Ram Mandir in Shimla. He could play every instrument — be it violin, sitar, tabla, harmonium or flute with equal ease.
Twice, Rai was selected by the government of India for Veteran Artist’s Award. He was awarded Life Time Achievement Award by the Government of Himachal Pradesh, the amount of which he doubled and contributed to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. He strongly felt that art should be the wealth of common man and not a statement of the elite.
“The Simla story, the glow and afterglow of the Raj: a sketch book” was published by Maria Bros. in 1992, which was co-authored by OC Sud. All illustrations for that book were sketched by HC Rai. The book contains sketches of all monumental heritage buildings of Shimla.
His art works are bought and spread around many corners of the world. Rai’s paintings still adorn the Summit Hall, where the historic Indira-Bhutto summit took place at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS).
After such a rich ‘arty’ life in the mountains, wherein he received many accolades and appreciation, Rai had to per force move to Mumbai after an accident at the age of 86. The affair with art bloomed further in Mumbai, where he lived with his daughter Amla Rai, actor and theatre artiste, till he peacefully passed away in sleep, last month.
“Celebrating his Life” is how the town will remember Rai, as a tribute to such a supremely talented man at a function to be held here today evening at Jain Hall in Middle Bazaar.
“His zest for life and art continued till he breathed his last, as he sat resolutely every day, painting passionately for four to six hours,” says his daughter Amla, a National School of Drama (NSD) pass-out. The passion to turn out masterpieces as only a great master can continued till the last breath.
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