( Oil on canvas Triloke Kaul.. )
TRILOKE KAUL: THE FORGOTTEN BARODA
TRAINED ARTIST AND THE PIONEER OF MODERN ART IN THE KASHMIR VALLEY
Some years back this author met
Triloke Kaul (born 1925) at a marriage function at Dehradun. In an engrossing
late-night discussion, he spoke about his art, Kashmir in general, the
Progressive Artists Association of Kashmir and his close association with
artists S N Butt and P N Kachru. He also talked fondly about N S Bendre, Shanti
Dave , Mulk Raj Ananad ,Herman Goetz, Charles fabri, Apurab Som Nath, Ratan
Parimoo, Kishori Kaul G R Santosh, poet Dina Nath Nadim, poet Amin Kamil,
artist Mohan Raina and poet Rehman Rahi. He talked about Percy Brown and artist
S H Raza with whom he remained associated in the late forties of the last
century to form the Progressive Artists Association in J&K state. He talked
about his various exhibitions; solo or joint with P N Kachru and S N Butt. He
talked about Albert Camus and Kafka. Kafka remains his favourite even today. He
talked about, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad, G M Sadiq, D P
Dhar, J N Zutshi, and many artists, writers and poets from our state. He spoke
emotionally about his ancestral house at Shalla Kadal, Srinagar, and his studio
at Sumbal. Yes, he regrets the loss of many precious books and paintings that
he had to leave behind in Kashmir to save his life after the onset of armed
militancy. His studio at Sumbal was vandalized and burnt. A large number of
paintings done by him were stolen. Apart from about 150 masterpieces done by him,
he lost some portraits done by Jatin Dass and S H Raza. He also lost some
paintings that were gifted to him by Kishori Kaul, Salgaonkar, P N Kachru, S N
Butt and G R Santosh. He also lost more than 3000 books on art, philosophy and
literature. His prized painting "How Green was My Valley" was also
lost. If you touch this sensitive issue with him, you are putting him in great
pain.
”Please don’t talk about that loss. I feel as
if I was not born at all or have done nothing in my life. This loss makes me feel
as if I have neither lived nor struggled and also not painted at all."
Recalling his days as Director School of
Design, he spoke about hundreds of innovative designs for Kashmiri handicrafts
that were created during his incumbency. He also recalled the support from his
fellow artists like P N Kachru, S N Butt and A K Raina and many more artists in
this area. These artists did extensive and original research work for
improvement and scientific documentation of designs relating to Kani shawls,
walnut wood carving, glazed pottery, Namdhas, Kashmir carpets, Samba cotton
prints and Chikri woodcraft of Thana Mandi, Rajpuri. These artists also worked
on natural /vegetable colours and dyes.
Popularly known as the leader of
“The Trio” and ably assisted by P N Kachru and S N Butt, Triloke Kaul is a
pioneer who brought Modern Art to our state. In 1948, this 'Trio' (Triloke
Kaul, S N Butt and P N Kachru) started meeting Percy Brown (former Principal,
Calcutta School of Arts and Crafts) who stayed in a houseboat in Kashmir after
his retirement. For them, he proved to be a man of immense help and
inspiration. They kept a close association with S H Raza as well who kept
visiting Kashmir since 1948. This association gave birth to the “Progressive
Artists Association (Kashmir). In May 1949, PAA( Kashmir) held its first art
exhibition in Srinagar.
( Ancestral house of Triloke Kaul at Shalla Kadal, Srinagar )
Trained at Baroda by the renowned painter N S
Bendre, Triloke Kaul continues to remain a tall figure not only amongst the
artist fraternity of the UT (J&K) but also amongst the artists on the
national scene. The time spent in Baroda evolved his style of work, which drew
inspiration from Modernism, especially Cubism with its penchant for angular
lines and bold compositions. While in Baroda Triloke along with Shanti Dave,
and GR Santosh, decided to exhibit their works in an exhibition, Bendre
suggested that he along with some senior artists such as K G Subramanyan and
Balkrishna Patel would also join them. Bendre felt it was an opportune moment
to present the ideology of the Faculty of Fine Arts and founded the Baroda
School in 1956 and planned its first exhibition in Mumbai. The Baroda School
marks a moment that forged a path that did not blindly ape the academic style
of the west, nor did it believe in revivalist tendencies, it urged the artist
to observe life around them and push the viewer to think.About him, a leading
art critic of the country has written this:-
“His approach to painting also
originated from the landscape. Primarily the architecture of Kashmiri houses in
space set his fantasy free. Throughout he remained true to the cubist, analytic
procedure to solve the problems of space, movement and colour."
This is what well known artist/
art historian and founder member of the
Baroda Group of Artists Ratan
Parimoo says about association of
Triloke Kaul with the group:-
“The first Baroda Group of Artists
formed in1956, has a great emotional significance for my career as a young
painter. When the first exhibition was held on 21st April 1956 with such
modesty at the small gallery of the Artist Aid Centre at Rampart Row, only a
small two page folder had been circulated with the list of 13 painters and
their 31 paintings. The pocket book size folder listed the following names: G R
Santosh, Ratan Parimoo Parimoo, K.G.Subramanyan, Prabha Dongre, Kumud Patel,
Shanti Dave, Triloke Kaul, Vinay Trivedi, N.S.Bendre, Balkrishna, Jyoti Bhatt,
Prafull Dave and Ramesh Pandya. It had a briefest introduction: ‘You have been
meeting us individually in different exhibitions all over the country. We, who
stay and work in Baroda now, present herewith our recent works.' The exhibition
was inaugurated by the then famous novelist and campaigner for modern art, Mulk
Raj Anand. The second exhibition was much larger, held in the main hall of the
Jehangir Art Gallery during April 1957, and inaugurated by Walter Langhammer.
Triloke Kaul, Ghulam Rasool and Balkrishna Patel were somewhat like advanced
students. Triloke Kaul and Santosh had
been exposed to the Bombay-based S.H.Raza's work of early 195Os during his
trips to Srinagar. Both of then took to the Cubistic style quite spontaneously
watching Bendre's experiments, though credit goes to Triloke Kaul for treating
Kashmir landscape in Cubistic language which struck us as very adventurous on
the part of a young art student. After studying for the post graduate course in
Mathematics, Triloke had decided to become a full-time painter.”
About Triloke Kaul, noted scholar
and poet S S Toshakhani says this:-
“Triloke Kaul's contribution to
the modern art movement in Kashmir has been immense. While his creative vision
makes him great as an artist with a unique style of his own, he has also been a
source of inspiration and encouragement to a whole generation of Kashmiri
artists. People like me who have had the privilege of coming into close contact
with him can never forget to recount his qualities as a human being. Sadly,
circumstances have turned him almost into a recluse. Certainly, he is one of
those eminent persons in this country whose creativity deserves much more
respect and attention than it has received.”
Sipping black tea, he would sit
for hours executing some masterpiece with his brush. He preferred the Charminar
brand of cigarettes. Cigarette smoking has remained with him even at this
advanced age (98). A postgraduate in Mathematics from Lucknow University,
Triloke Kaul belongs to the well-known Baroda group that includes artists like
G R Santosh, Ratan Parimoo, K G Subramanyan, Prabha Dongre, Shanti Dave, K
Patel, Vinay Trivedi, N S Bendre, Balkrishna Patel, Jyoti Bhatt, Prafull Dave,
and Ramesh Pandya.
In March 2010, this author met him
again at Kala Kendra Jammu where he was invited as the 'Guest of Honour' at a
function organised by Dr T K Walli son of D N Walli (noted watercolour artist
from Kashmir). He was happy and spoke about his association with DN Walli. Very
recently in 2023, this author met him again at Agnishekhar’s residence. He was
fit and mentally alert even at 98 years of age. From his home, he had walked
the distance to Agnishekhar's house in the Janipora locality.To a person who
does not know him, he may appear to be living in his world. Yes, one may find
that the master gets lesser drawn into discussions. But rest assured, once he
opens up, you can discuss anything under the sun with him. He speaks on the
‘Theory of integers of Mathematics’ with the same ease as he speaks on works of
Kafka or poetry of Amin Kamil or Dina Nath Nadim or Picasso's Guernica. The
great master informs this:-
“My actual name is Triloki Nath
Kaul. We had so many Triloki Naths in our class at S P College. My teachers in
the college decided that I should call myself only Triloke to be easily
distinguishable. It somehow appealed to me. That is how Triloki Nath became
Triloke. I got my first job offer from J&K Bank on a salary of Rs39/=per
month. I did not join. I wanted to be free and do something of my choice. Along
with a friend, I went to Kolkata before the partition of the country. There we
worked with a Kashmiri handicrafts trader, "Canaud House ". This
businessman had a shop opposite Partap Park in the Lal Chowk area of Srinagar
city. I was drawn towards Marxism. It attracted many young and educated youth.
Gandhi Ji’s human message also attracted me. And Kolkata was an ideal place for
any person interested in fine arts. The city was slower than Mumbai at that
time but people appreciated literature, drama, music and other forms of fine
arts. I survived the gruesome Hindu-Muslim riots of Bengal then. We did some
relief work in Kolkata among the refugees belonging to both communities. After
some time, I returned to Kashmir. In Kashmir, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was the
tallest leader. I also joined his National Conference. The ideology of the
party suited all the leftists of that time. The tribal raid was a bitter
experience. It brought untold pain and suffering to Kashmir. Baramulla town was
completely devastated. Areas like Kupwara, Handwara, Uri, Sumbal, Bandipora and
many other villages had gruesome stories of suffering. "Sher I Kashmir Ka
Kyaa Irshaad, Hindu Muslim Sikh Ittehaad “ and “ Hamlaawar Khabardaar Hum
Kashmiri Hain Tayaar “ were the slogans raised in every meeting and gathering.
Parades, wooden guns, sticks, night patrolling, refugee service, militia and
the Cultural Front and finally Progressive Artists Association. It was a long
journey. Hotel Rivera was our meeting point. It was on the first floor of
‘Mehta’s Photo Studio' building on the Bund. Artists from Baroda would see us
in this hotel. We sold our paintings in this Hotel. S H Raza would also drop in
and join us. Rivera period was very crucial to the development of art in
Kashmir. S H Raza lived free in the house owned by the Kaw family of Badiyar in
Srinagar city. S N Butt ( a fellow artist ) had arranged this house for him.
This Kaw family later produced a great artist. Raza roamed free for many months
in Kashmir. He became popular. He was seen in every gathering and at every
place. People had little knowledge about art or the lifestyle of an artist.
Some suspected him to be a CID man. Raza loved the water canals ( Maar ) of the
downtown city. He was a specialist in painting these canals and the bridges
over them. He felt sad the day he learnt that the government had filled up all
these waterways. I felt very depressed for a long time. I was emotionally
attached to the Maar or canals. We would paint these waterways.
Kashmiri society was very conservative in
general. And Kashmiri Pandit society was all the more orthodox and conservative
during those days. I mean art and painting were something unacceptable. I would
often be told, “fine, good enough this playing with colours, tell us what are
you going to do in life". I mean to say a Pandit could be a barber or a
tailor if he had nothing else to do but an artist or a painter was unacceptable
to society. And Kashmiri Pandits were never in tailoring or hair cutting
activity. Yes, a few dared but they too had to abandon these activities for one
reason or the other. Well-known English writer, Dr Mulkh Raj Anand suggested
that I join Baroda and obtain art training. He was the man behind my going to
Baroda. I studied at Baroda for 5 years. Balraj Sahni was a friend .He had a
special liking for people from the Kashmir valley. Always helpful, he was a great
admirer of S N Butt’s art. S N Butt was quite close to Balraj Sahni. They would
have their drinks together. “
