‘Art is our dharma’

While passion for art is what keeps an artist going,recognition and support undoubtedly gives them an impetus,” said Krishen Khanna,after receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Haryana Institute of Fine Arts (HIFA) on Friday. Khanna went into a nostalgic mode as he viewed the works of young artists at the group exhibition by HIFA. A renowned name in the Indian contemporary art scene,Khanna,along with his friends MF Hussain,Tyeb Mehta,Ram Kumar,SH Raza,FN Souza and VS Gaitonde,was an integral part of the Progressive Art Movement. It’s this reference that makes Khanna comment on the present art scene,which he strongly feels lacks a bonding between artists. The absence of a wonderful tradition to meet,connect,share,appreciate,criticise one another’s works,limits creative and personal growth,as well as learning,said Khanna. “I was fortunate to be in the esteemed company. There was honesty and comradeship within us and the drive to achieve excellence,so that we could all create a legacy. You can’t only learn from teachers and institutes,there is a bigger picture and artists today need to realise that,” he said.

Khanna’s canvas evokes matchless situations and the images are created from his memory. “To understand where we came from and the art and times of our movement do pick a copy of a book titled,My Dear: Letters Between Sayed Haider Raza & Krishen Khanna. It’s a true picture,” he urged. Khanna also talked about how an artist is a part of the community and art is not a piece of commodity,but an artist’s dharma,which comes to him as a blessing from a higher power. “Everyone is free to do what one wants,but we as artists have a larger role than just making pretty pictures. You can’t train an artist to have insight,and it’s important to take risks,even if it means destroying your work. There has to be single-minded vision. Money and fame are corrupting elements and an eye-wash. What I paint is a sum of my inner energies and thinking,” said Khanna.

Born in pre-Partition India,in 1925,in Lyallpur district (present day Pakistan),Khanna moved to Shimla during Partition. In Lahore,Khanna attended evening classes at the Mayo School of Art.

After coming to India,he took up a job with Grindlays Bank and was placed in Mumbai. “But I realised I wasn’t being fair to either my art or job by pursuing both at the same time. I decided to quit and lose position,power and money for I believed in myself. I can look back and say I didn’t make a cheap decision and yes,I can never undermine the support of my wife,who pursued a job so that I could follow my dream. Indian art at that time was suffering from sentimentality and we did not want to go in reverse gear,” he said.