The humble man who began his early meditation in the narrow, serpentine lanes of a North Calcutta neighbourhood, became a silent revolutionary. Inspired by the folk traditions of Bengal, he created a unique artistic vision. Thus was the euphoric trajectory of Jamini Roy, the first native genius to have connected rural art to the global.

Jamini Roy: A Painter Who Revisited the Roots explores the remarkable career of the maestro from the late 1910s till his very last days. It closely examines not only the steep bends of Roy’s art that culminated in his signature style, but also the very process through which he reconnected with his indigenous rootedness. It engages in detail with the influence that various forms of folk art wielded over him. However, Roy’s located identity was mediated by the contemporary Modernist idiom, and the elements in his uniquely Bengal-based visual narratives are underpinned by a conscious intention to simplify, abbreviate, and thus reveal the essential, ‘significant’ form. It also addresses the plural lines of conflicts that underlie the very making of his art—between the urban and the rural, local and the global.

Told in a simple and engaging mode, the book explores the multiple facets of a man for whom art was both a livelihood and a meditative journey, and follows his life of disciplined simplicity along with his quirks and idiosyncrasies.

This book is a part of the series - Pioneers of Modern India. Other books in the series: a) Homi J. Bhaba, b) Heisnam Sabitri, c) RK Laxman & d) RK Laxman