“The strength of an artist is in his drawing. It is a matter of creating negative and positive spaces,” says Das, whose exhibition on his drawings has just been presented by Art Pilgrim at Shridharani Gallery, Triveni Kala Sangam. “Years of observing and sketching culminate in the making of a line,” he adds.
Even at 84, the artist continues to find something new in the process. Despite more than six decades of his practice, Das does not see his earlier drawings as remnants of a distant past. “I feel every day I am starting to paint for the first time, so I don't really look at them as old work,” he says. Looking back at his drawings, he often discovers elements he had not consciously recognised when making them.
He believes that the form often receives less attention than paintings and sculptures, partly because collectors tend to prefer works that can be displayed as decorative pieces in homes, offices and hotels. Yet, he sees little distinction between the different forms of artistic expression. “In painting there is also drawing, and in drawing there is also sculpting,” the artist notes.
The discipline of drawing
Das studied under professor and artist SB Palsikar at the Sir JJ School of Art, Mumbai; drawing was an integral part of the daily routine. Students were required to present 20 sketches before entering class, but Das took the practice considerably further.
“I used to make 300 sketches every day; if it was 299, I would even sketch my left hand at one in the morning to make it 300,” he remembers. He never used an eraser or worked from a reference, allowing his drawings to flow spontaneously without correcting or overthinking each line.
His practice was also shaped by encounters with fellow artists. At an artists' camp in Kashmir, organised by GR Santosh in the early 1960s, Das recounts artists NS Bendre and KK Hebbar inviting him to sketch with them after breakfast. He has made drawings of musician the late photographer Raghu Rai, and artists FN Souza, A Ramachandran and Manjeet Bawa—they were on display at the show.
The people behind the lines
The human body remains another constant in Das’ practice. His interest in figurative art developed at J J School of Art, where a professor, impressed by his drawings, took him to a hospital to observe human dissections and study muscles and bones. The experience deepened his understanding of anatomy, gestures and movement, allowing him to explore the body beyond conventional representation.
For Das, drawing the human body onto paper is a means of expressing a range of human experiences, from anguish and pain to affection and tenderness. Made largely with conte — a hard drawing stick or crayon composed of compressed graphite, clay, charcoal and pigments — his sketches appear fluid and spontaneous, with a single stroke capturing the movement and contours of the body.
One series featured manhole cleaners and their weary and worn bodies. Executed in charcoal on pieces of newspaper, the works reflected Das’ longstanding interest in the working class. “Those who make roads, lay bricks, paint high-rise buildings, the beldars, thelawallahs, kudawallahs, manhole cleaners, rag pickers, house-help, construction workers, all those who toil non-stop have always inspired him”, he says.
“I have deep social concerns, and sometimes I respond through my work,” Das adds. He believes art can move people and bring about change in subtle ways.
For younger artists navigating a world increasingly shaped by digital media, Das's advice is to resist the pressure to produce finished work quickly. “What is important is the journey. And to be natural,” he points out. He encourages young artists to carry sketchbooks and draw whenever possible, and experiment with different mediums with the openness of a child.
The exhibition had to wrap up early on October 15 due to the protests. The decision to extend it to another gallery at Triveni Kala Sangam is yet to be taken.