Vasudev Smart dies at 74

Smart left for Vedchhi around 5 pm from his house in the city to meet noted Gandhian Narayan Desai. He breathed his last around 6:45 pm in Desai8217;s house itself, family members here said. He did not have any children and his wife passed away a decade ago.

Born in Surat on July 17, 1925, in a poor family, Vasudev Smart completed his schooling in the city before joining the freedom movement. He went underground for his role in the 1942 uprising, but later completed a degree in painting from the famous J J School of Art, Mumbai.

He also received a scholarship at the Benares Hindu University BHU, where he then taught painting for 25 years. Smart was felicitated with practically all awards in the field of art by the state government in the past and had received many national-level awards as well. A master of the traditional decorative style of painting, Smart rated Pushpavatika8217;, a 1984 creation, as his best ever. The painting, with minute details of a garden with 350 different trees, shows Sita in exile while Ram and Laxman look on. He also compiled a collection of paintings on Indian Art and Frescoes8217; while at the BHU which have been acclaimed even outside the country.