and Sakti

Yet,Burman did not always tread this fantasy path. His earliest works such as Temple in Puri,made in the ’50s,show the usual landscapes and landmarks of India. “Most of my works from that period are lost. Fortunately,the Government Art College in Kolkata has one or two pieces,” he says. And then,in late ’50s,Burman went to Paris to study at the prestigious Ecole des Beaux-Arts.

It was cold and snowy (“When you have to live with snow,it isn’t fun,” he says) and Burman had only a clammy rooftop studio to work in — but this is where he met his Masters. Burman studied the works of Marc Chagall,the exiled Russian artist who depicted his homeland in colours such as bright blue; Pierre Bonnard,the Frenchman best known for his powerful use of colour and subtle brushworks; Henri Matisse,another French artist who worked with fluid colours,and Pablo Picasso,the godfather of Cubism.

Individual pieces in the exhibition show how Burman was influenced by these artists,easily using western forms to depict Indian subjects like mythological and

religious figures.

Then,in the ’60s,Burman made a whirlwind tour of India with his new wife,French artist Maite Delteil,and when he returned to Paris,“the fellow had developed his own style,” he says. India became more pronounced in his works,and the first marbling effects began to appear in his paintings,creating mosaic-like peeling-paint effect characteristic of the murals at Ajanta and Ellora caves.

Moreover,nobody is lonely in his oils or watercolours. His canvases are packed with figures,not all of who traditionally belong together. Durga Et le Monde,for instance,is a typical Burman — Durga and Ganesha sit astride an animal form that bears Burman’s own bearded head while gunmen take aim and a child sits pensive. Gandhiji,Messenger of Non-Violence shows the Mahatma surrounded by the markers of different faiths such as Shiva,Hanuman,Buddha and a mosque besides a child aiming with a gun and a half man-half animal figure riding. Scenes and figures from his own life — like his wife and daughter,artist Maya Burman,recur in his images,like a continuing conversation.

In Joyful Moment in the Garden,he has a child on a swing,another riding a cycle,and yet another running as well as a crowned boy riding an animal with the familiar head of Burman. “These things and people may not be together,but they share the space at different times and sometimes they come together only in imagination,” he says. Clearly,he believes in fairy tales.

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