1928, the principal of the Government Arts School, Mr. Percy Brown was to retire. There were still two years left until the retirement of the Vice Principal Mr. J.P. Ganguly ( Jamini Prakash Gangooly) and he was owed two years of leave. It was heard then that artist Mukul Dey would be appointed as the principal of the Government Art School soon. At that time, Mr.T.A. Achary was serving as the headmaster and Nandalal Roy Choudhury was the head clerk of Arts School and the superintendent of the contemporary Student’s Hostel which was situated on the Corporation Street and he used to live in that hostel.
We could learn about the situation of the school from them. Even some news of such discussions among the teachers of the school would occasionally reach the students. In the year 1928, shortly before the appointment of the artist Mukul Dey as the principal of the Government Arts School, a solo exhibition was held at the Samabay Manson of Kolkata on his paintings. After exhibiting his paintings the students of the Government Arts School approximately guessed his style of painting. In other words, until Mukul Dey’s arrival at the Arts School, during the principal Mr. Percy Brown's tenure, under the teaching of the vice principal Mr.J.P. Ganguly, the work of painting on various subjects had been carried out in a manner that was completely different from the painting style and subject of Mukul Dey’s paintings displayed in the exhibition. It can be described as unconventional.
It was heard that, despite having two years left until his retirement, Vice Principal Mr.J.P.Ganguly would take voluntary retirement if Mukul Dey would be appointed as the principal of the Government Arts School. He was not ready to work under Mukul Dey’s principalship in any circumstances. He would apply for voluntary retirement - it was certain and we learnt that the news was true. From that point of time a feeling of helplessness became apparent among the students. The question was - if the Vice Principal will take voluntary retirement then who will be there after him? Who will teach the Fine Arts Department drawing and painting in Academic style?
This concern had become intensified especially among the students of Life Class 1st year and Life Class 2nd year of the fine Arts Department, meaning the students of the final year. After hearing such discussions among the students of the final year, starting from the 1st year to the 4th year, all students who had enrolled in this arts school for a proper education in the Fine Arts Department became very much anxious. Students who wished to enrol in the Fine Arts Department before joining the Government Arts School and their guardians, after much consideration had admitted the students in the Government Arts School because it was a matter of great opportunity and prestige for anyone to learn drawing and painting in an arts school where Mr. Percy Brown is the principal and Mr. J. P. Ganguly, the renowned artist (oil painter) of the contemporary time, whose paintings were highly praised not only in India but also outside of the country, is the vice principal and this exciting matter could be understood by any one who was passionate about painting. Now, two leading personas of the Government Arts School - Principal Mr. Percy Brown and Vice Principal Mr. J.P.Ganguly - willretire at almost the same time - this news felt like a nightmare to the students and a latent feeling of frustration had taken hold in everyone’s mind.
At that time, this arts school had several departments - Fine Art, Clay Modeling, Indian Painting, Commercial art, Wood Cut, Lithograph, Draftsmanship and Teachership. Mr. J.P.Ganguly was in the Fine Arts department; Chintamani Manna was in the Clay Modeling Department and Iswari Prasad Barman was in the Indian Painting department. Due to forgetting the names of the teachers of other departments, it could not be included. According to the norm of the Government Arts School, before getting admitted to any particular department every student must have to complete the Elementary Course - in the 1st year of the Elementary Course the students have to complete Memory Drawing and to draw on the blackboard with chalk after observing the Chart Drawing in the Blackboard Class; in the 2nd year Copy Class the students have to reduce the size of the big chart drawing and to draw Relief Cast Drawing; in the 3rd year they have to draw from nature, Foliage, Flower Painting, Zoo Study - Animal and Birds, Perspective drawing, Model drawing with light and shade etc. Only after the completion of the Elementary Course, students could enrol themselves in their desired departments.
In those days, the practice of giving marks in the examination was not like it is now. At that time, the result was given as - 1st class, 2nd class and 3rd class plucked. Classes were held five days a week. There used to be a two-day break on Saturday and Sunday- especially for those who wished to paint outdoors at their convenience. Those who were the teachers in the Elementary Course are - Balai Das in the 1st year, Hrishen Mitra in the 2nd year and Sontosh Das in the 3rd year. Antique Class of Fine Arts, means from 4th year to Life Class 1st year (5th year) and Life Class 2nd year (6th year - Final Year), everything was under the control of Jamini Prakash Ganguly.
Instead of being an artist of Fine Art, Prahlad Karmakar had to work for the Commercial class. At that time, The Commercial Department was existing merely in name. After a few days, Kushal Mukherjee returned from England as a Commercial expert with the title A.R.C.A and was appointed to the Commercial Department of the Government Arts School. It was during his tenure that the department became fully operational. But his stay here was brief. In a short period of time, he resigned from his job here and moved to Joypur Arts School, where he was appointed as the principal. At that time there was a person in this department, named Some Roy. Having graduated from this school, he was appointed here as a teacher but he passed away within a short period. After that, Satish Chandra Sinha was appointed as the teacher of the Commercial Department.
The students of Fine Art department, especially the students of Realistic Art felt that a principal like Mr. Percy Brown who always addressed any issues related to students’ education with sincerity and assisted the students, even though he was a foreigner, he was sympathetic towards Indian students, he is leaving. What kind of treatment they would get from the person who was coming in the place of Mr. Percy Brown, was something to be concerned about. Besides that, in the realm of education, Jamini Prakash Ganguly was the sole place of reliance. If he also leaves this arts school, then we would be left in a dire situation. These streams of thought continued to flow through the minds of the students.
In the Fine Art Department, for the students of the Indian Painting class, however, it is an exception, because they did not paint realistic artworks. However, The thought of what the new principal’s character would be like was present to some extent among the students from all the departments. At that time, there was a sense of camaraderie among all the students. This was evident through the various events like singing, performance and dramas held at the arts school on the occasion of Vishwakarma Puja.
In the year 1928, Mr. Percy Brown retired from his position of principal and was appointed as the curator of Victoria Memorial Hall, meaning he continued to stay in Kolkata. Under the patronage of the Poet Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, the artist Mukul Dey became the principal of the Government Arts School. Without any delay, vice principal Mr. J.P. Ganguly resigned from his job, despite having nearly two years of service remaining, citing the excuse that he had two years of pending leave. Shortly after Mukul Dey joined his position, student protests began. Because for ages, the various equipment like easels, boards and models for Life Study have been provided to the students by the arts school, but new principal Mukul Dey put an end to all of that. The consequence of it was dire.
The class activities almost came to a halt. At that time, I was a 3rd year student. According to the class routine, we students, batch by batch, would obtain a get-pass from the school and visit the zoo once a week to study animals, birds and so on. I can recall very clearly the first day when a crowd of agitated students erupted into protest in front of the principal’s office, to claim their rightful dues and to protest against injustice; as I went to the zoo garden for animal study with our batch of students on that day, I couldn’t get a clear view of the horrific situation of that incident. I don’t know why, but that day we returned a bit earlier than usual.
The commotion has not yet stopped. A large number of students had assembled, with the majority being from the Fine Arts department. The leading figures of this protest included- Jatin Saha, Suren Mukherjee, Gyanabrata Ghosh, Amar Das Gupta, Pankaj Basu, Haridas Ganguly, Haripada Das, Hemda Bandyopadhyay, Mani Ghosh, Mani Roy, Sachin Dhar, Kalikinkar Ghosh Dastidar, Devi Ghatak, Barin Nag and so on. Many more students had gathered around. That very day, it was decided in the students’ assembly meeting that our protest would continue until a logical resolution would reach for this matter. From this moment, the student strike at the Government Arts School began and from tomorrow students from all the departments will not attend their classes.
We intend to promptly present to the authorities of the Government Arts School the response to principal Mukul Dey’s anti-student attitude, hold the principal responsible for the overall harm to the students, and details of the cause leading to such a situation. All the students from every department participated in this student strike , although not everyone was actively involved. Almost everyday, nearly all the students came to school, and instead of going to the class, they used to gather outside the school to discuss and decide the next course of action. The overall condition of the school rapidly deteriorated to a critical level. During the turmoil of 1928, the Poet Laureate Rabindranath Tagore stayed for a while in Mukul Dey’s quarter at the Arts School and in an attempt to resolve these disputes, the students were summoned before the Poet laureate in a meeting held in the Arts School hall one day. The Poet Laureate out of his affection for Mukul Dey, explained the ideal of devotion to the “guru” to save him from this crisis, placing all the blame on the students, and gently expressed his mild reproach in a sweet tone and he advised all the students to calm down and to concentrate on their respective tasks. A proper ceremony was organised to honour the Poet Laureate at the beginning of the meeting and in addition, arrangements were made for some refreshments, including fried flattened rice (Chire Bhaja) and sweets, served in earthenware pots.
Temporarily, the strike was called off due to the intervention of the Poet Laureate. But the students’ dissatisfaction remained like a smouldering fire. Since the tension didn’t subside, it continued to flare up intermittently in a smouldering manner. After that, the disturbance continued to escalate. In the department of Life Study, a student strike has resumed with the demands of timely provision of appropriate models and the establishment of a proper system for education by qualified teachers. The students made a demand to the authorities of the Arts School - we want only the most outstanding individuals with a profound expertise in teaching Fine Arts through the appropriate academic method- Atul Chandra Bose, a renowned contemporary artist and skilled teacher trained at the Royal Academy in Britain. In this challenging time for education, may the authorities of the Arts School grant our request,- this written petition was formally submitted to the authorities of the Government Arts School.
As an outcome of this, a concept was articulated by the government - in this matter, it appears that Atul Chandra Bose has incited the students,- so that the government is compelled to appoint him as a teacher at the Arts School. But this is not a real occurrence. For a long time, the students of Fine Arts have been in a deplorable condition in terms of education and they have been seeking a change by breaking the boundaries of conventionality in their artwork, they were looking for new directions. Under these circumstances, after the students became acquainted with the exceptional personality and artistic accomplishments of the artist Atul Chandra Bose, they were so impressed by his qualities that they spontaneously appealed to the government authorities, mentioning the name of Atul Chandra Bose. To cope with the situation, the government invited artist Atul Chandra Bose to take the responsibility of a teacher in the Fine Arts Department of the Government Arts School, and he naturally accepted the position and joined the Arts School by 1928.
The country was then awakening to the struggle for independence. One must stake their life to break free from the shackles of subjugation, and to achieve independence. At that time, the central focus was the liberation of Mother India. The mantra “Vande Mataram” was echoing through the sky and the air of the entire nation. At that juncture, the nation was experiencing a “renaissance”. Fueled by new inspirations, the blood flowing through the veins of the freedom fighters is driven by the longing for the liberation of the motherland. In literature, poetry and music that reverberation can be heard, with the message of valour resonating in harmonious tones.
But in the field of painting, the tide has ebbed. In that challenging period, Atul Chandra Bose appeared in the workplace of the Government Arts School. It was evident that his artistic endeavours and mode of expression were resolute and firmly assured. While teaching students how to paint, he demonstrated that application of colour should leave a bold impression, making the artwork come alive. In drawing and painting techniques, Mass Treatment (first a sense of totality, followed by an understanding of the specifics) is fearless, rigidity-free, tonal harmony and vibrant in excellence. Starting from charcoal and moving on to oil paints or any other medium, the artist discovers methods and approaches to unravel the mysteries of nature through their unique perception. These encouraging lessons were given to the students by demonstrating them practically. He inspired the doubtful students, who were oscillating between yes or no, by showing them the way, as if bringing a surge to a dead river. A deep sense of affection for art blossomed among the students, awakening their artistic consciousness. At this time, only male models were provided for Life Study, but there was still an objection in providing a female model. The 4th year Antique Class, Life Class 1st year (5th year), Life Class 2nd year (6th- Final year) of the Fine Art Department began to be conducted under the supervision of Atul Chandra Bose. The students, having found a new insight in their education, felt a sense of relief.
In 1929, I was a student of 4th year Antique Class. In this class, I had Atul Chandra Bose as my teacher and through his inspiring teaching I was able to grasp the profound mysteries of drawing, painting and perspective which had been shrouded in darkness until then. In the Antique Class, paintings were typically done in monochrome. After adhering to this system for a while, we suddenly got the news that Atul Chandra Bose, from India had received a commission to paint a Royal Portrait at Buckingham Palace in London and he would soon be travelling to England and there he would stay as a royal guest for an extended period until the completion of the painting. Receiving the commission for the Royal Portrait, Atul Chandra Bose went from Kolkata, while Lalkaka went from Bombay.
In late 1929, Atul Chandra Bose embarked on a journey abroad. In this situation, we, the students of the Fine Arts Department, found ourselves in a great crisis. Even though we have been following a proper path after receiving the correct guidance, a new problem has now arisen- will the teaching method of the person who will fill Atul Chandra Bose’s vacant position, support our current innovative approach to artistic endeavours? Otherwise if it causes dissatisfaction among the students, unrest might flare up again. Atul Chandra Bose left the Government Arts School and in his place, the artist Basanta Ganguly arrived. He is also a distinguished artist educated in Western Art. He might be a great artist in his own work, but his proficiency in teaching was limited. There was a vitality present in the teaching process of Atul Chandra Bose; Fundamental principle of drawing and painting, based on scientific reason was demonstrated by him to the students through his work; he taught how to master these techniques by doing Nature Study. In Basanta Ganguly’s way of teaching, there was a distinct lack of these aspects. He often preferred Fashion Drawing and Gorgeous Painting over following Objective Nature. For the students, this approach was impractical and misleading.
Under the teaching of Basanta Ganguly, many students among us remained dissatisfied and due to the issues related to the model and some other related problems, the student strike resumed towards the end of 1929. Most of the days, the work in class was not done properly. Students used to come outside of the class and participate in that strike. Students who wanted to work in the class, found themselves unable to do so due to an unusual situation throughout the school, and instead of working, they left the class to join the discussions. At that time, there was no need to call anybody. Everyone was feeling a suppressed tension. However, due to the pressure of exams, the movement was suspended temporarily for a few days.
In 1930, amidst various upheavals, a little work was carried out in all the classes for a few days. The subjects, dates and schedule of the examination were announced in each class. The examination for students in all the departments of the school commenced as scheduled. During the examination, all the students took the tests with firm determination and after passing the examination, new classes for all the departments commenced. My classmates and I have graduated from the 4th year Antique Class and have begun our work as the students of Life Class 1st year (5th year). After a brief period of normal school activities, dissatisfaction flared up among the students as the teaching method in education did not appeal to them and along with that various complications emerged, and a new student strike started once again. Renu Ray had been involved with the strike from the very beginning. During the Swadeshi era, there were always some students affiliated with the Swadeshi movement in schools, colleges and everywhere. The Government Arts School was no exception to this. Among them, one or two students stayed in the Arts School’s hostel.
In 1930, the headmaster of the Arts School, Mr.T.A.Achary, retired. In his place, Ramendra Nath Chakrovorty came from Santiniketan and was appointed as the headmaster of the Arts School. The students were not pleased with Ramendra Nath Chakrovorty's appointment as the headmaster, knowing he was aligned with Mukul Dey. To resolve the various complex issues and frequent student protests and strikes through legal means, principal Mukul dey consistently kept barristers and legal experts as his advisors. From the end of Mukul Dey, it was demonstrated to the authorities of the Government Arts School that the new student protests originated from the Students’ Hostel which was situated on Corporation Street and it was identified as the prime source of all the turmoil and disturbances. Therefore, unless this hostel is evacuated, it would be impossible to suppress the student protests at the Arts School.
The students had alreay sensed that such a conspiracy was brewing, but they never imagined it would be executed so swiftly. The strike movement was ongoing. In the meantime, a notice to evict the hostel was seen on the school’s notice board. It was mentioned in that notice - from the date of receiving the notice, all the students residing in the hostel must remove their belongings and vacate the hostel within the specified government timeframe. Otherwise, punitive action will be taken according to the law. Among the students who resided in the hostel, ninety nine (99%) percent were from East Bengal. They never imagined they would suddenly face such a helpless situation, but the unexpected occurred.
This hostel was then a home to Purna Chakravorty, Phani Bhushan Gupta, Pratul Banerjee, Gopen Saha, Balai Bandhu Ray, Bimal Mazumder, Jatin Saha, Samar Dey, Amar Das Gupta, Binay Sengupta, Parbati Bhattacharya, Mani Ray, Mani Ghosh, Subal Pal, Abani Ghosh, Satya Mukherjee, Digin Bhattyacharya, Hemda Bandopadhyay, Shailen Dey, Rajen Biswas, Devi Ghatak, Manoj Guha and many other students who had been living there for a long time. Upon hearing this news, the students from the hostel and from all the departments of the Arts School joined the strike, igniting like a wildfire. Feeling the need to take immediate action, the students decided to go on a hunger strike and on that very day, they all went to Subhas Chandra Bose’s house on Elgin Road to meet with him,- he was reported about the sudden eviction of the hostel. Upon hearing the news of the students’ dire situation and homelessness he felt profound sorrow and immediately informed the Principal Mukul Dey over the telephone - “ What do you think, is there really not a single person left in Bangladesh? Considering your own well-being, quickly arrange a resolution for the students.” Hearing Subhas Chandra Bose’s voice on the telephone, Mukul Dey naturally became worried. Still, he had hope that the government was on his side. Meanwhile, the government’s legal notices and notifications continued without interruption. Seeing no other alternatives, most of the hostel students took refuge in a boarding house at 30, Wellington Street nearby. Some students took shelter at the Pearl Hotel in Dharmatala, while many others found refuge wherever they could. Meanwhile, the strike movement continued.
After the hostel eviction, Mukul Dey realised that the student movement could intensify to its peak this time. So, as a precautionary measure, the government ordered a police sergeant picket to be stationed at the entrance gate of the school and they prevented the students from entering inside. At exactly noon, a police van arrived with a few more officers, including a sergeant armed with a revolver. At this Arts School, a student named Mani Ray is involved in the Swadeshi Movement and he is an absconder. The police I.B Department had instructed Mukul Dey to identify and to hand over Mani Ray after apprehending. As soon as Mani Ray was entering the school gate, the police sergeant, having received the tip-off, immediately tried to arrest him; Mani Ray immediately asked to show the warrant, and after the sergeant showed it, he was arrested and taken away in the police van. It was found that Mani Ray was arrested because he was involved in the Dalhousie Bomb Case.
Following the incident, a few students tried to enter the school premises, ignoring the police picket stationed at the school gate and when Devi Ghatak bravely attempted to force his way in first, the sergeant hit him on the head with the butt of his pistol, causing a severe head injury and profuse bleeding. Immediately, the students took him to a nearby pharmacy for bandaging and other first aid and later arranged for him to be treated by a qualified doctor. That day was spent with intense anxiety and excitement. Meanwhile, Principal Mukul Dey summoned Reny Ray through his associates. At that time, Renu Ray switched sides and joined Mukul Dey’s faction. With the aim of sabotaging the student strike, he vandalised some plaster models at the school. Later, at a meeting with the then D.P.I (Stableton) and the governing body, he testified that these models had been broken by the strikers. As a result, the students whose names were listed as offenders, were expelled.
Thus, the strike became intense at that time and coincidentally Renu Ray’s misdeed was exposed. He came to the school, confessed his wrongdoing to all the students and asked for forgiveness. A few days later, he was supposed to travel to England, and in the meantime, this incident occurred. Completely disoriented, Renu quickly took his motorbike and left the school. The next day, it was learned at the school that Renu Ray, while his motorbike at nearly 70 miles per hour from Bhawanipur, was severely injured in a sudden accident involving a collision with a lorry at the Upper Circular Road - Fariapukur intersection and had been admitted to the Medical College. When this sad news reached his home, his family rushed to the hospital and stayed there all night. After speaking with the doctors, they learned that his kidney had burst. There would be a major operation. The chances of his survival were very low. And he passed away that very night.
For subsequent details, follow “Anushtup” , 19th year, Second issue, 1931.
Reference : Anustup, Monsoon Issue, 19/4, 1985, Pages 74-82
