DINA NATH WALLI (1908-2006): A PIONEER OF WATERCOLOUR IN THE KASHMIR VALLEY

 

 

DINA NATH WALLI (1908-2006): A PIONEER OF WATERCOLOUR IN THE KASHMIR VALLEY

 

 

                                                                                   (Artist D N Walli with his wife)

 

This author’s sister is married to the Bradoo family, who used to live (before 1990) in Badiyaar Bala, just near artist D N Walli’s house. Accordingly, the author would frequently pass by the house that had a small name plate ‘D N Walli Artist’ hung on its main door. In 1979, Bal Ji Bradoo (father-in-law of the author’s sister) told him something like this: -

 “Yes, this house belongs to Dina Nath Walli. He is an artist. He has lived by selling his paintings—no other income. Mr Walli never did a government or private job. He speaks less and is always busy with his affairs. A gentleman who taught some younger people how to use watercolours. He is a watercolour specialist. It has been his style to take some paintings in a Shikara to Dal Lake and sell them to European tourists living in houseboats. Like a full Tonga, he takes a special Shikara for himself. Sometimes some houseboatman would bring some customers to his house. Sometimes he would take his papers and colours in the boat and paint in houseboats or lonely parks. Rugh Nath, my friend told me that he saw him painting in Pahalghaam. He looks here and there and then paints. Some paintings done by him were sold by booksellers in the shape of a small book. Percy Sahib (Percy Brown) has also been his admirer. Percy Sahib lived in a houseboat. He was a European. Dina Nath Walli got his training at Amar Singh Technical Institute, Kashmir and also lived in Calcutta. This is what Rugh Nath told me. Some people say he also writes poetry but I have not heard nor does he talk about it. I have heard that his brother Amar Chand Ji is a Yogi and a poet. He also does watercolour work. Dina Nath Ji's son Tej Krishen lives in some place near Delhi and as such he goes to live with him during the winter season. He is planning to move to live with his son permanently now. Maybe after two or three years. This he told me last time. ” That much for the introduction of the artist.

 

This author records his sincere thanks to Dr T K Walli for sending a copy of his book having a biographical sketch of the painter-poet Dina Nath Walli (1908-2006). Dina Nath Walli was the father of Dr T K Walli. The book is spread over 116 pages out of which 42 pages have been devoted to describing the life and art of Dina Nath Walli while the remaining pages carry his paintings or newspaper cuttings relating to various exhibitions of the artist in India and abroad. The beautiful thing about this book is that the album section contains about 60 watercolours of the artist on hard paper in A-4 size. These watercolours include some well-known works of the artist like, ‘Houseboat in Moonlight ‘, ‘Jhelum Valley Road in Autumn Season’, ‘A River-side Temple’and “ Maar Canal Near Bohri-Kadal”. The foreword by well-known writer Siddharth Gigoo reads this:-

“Our lost Kashmir, in all its pristine beauty and romance, will continue to live and breathe in our collective consciousness and memory, as long as the legacy of Dina Nath Walii, one of the finest painters the state has produced, is celebrated and cherished.”

 D N Walli did a 3-year course in Fine Arts at the Amar Singh Technical Institute, Srinagar after which he shifted to Calcutta. There, he acquired skills in several different forms of art, under the mentorship of Percy Brown, a British scholar and artist. In 1936, he came back to Srinagar and built a successful career in art using watercolours as his medium. Landscape painting was his domain, and he pioneered watercolour art in the Kashmir valley. Kashmir is everywhere in the watercolours of D N Walli. His special focus has been to present speaking images of life in Kashmir. He has painted women engaged in daily chores, children, boatmen, fish-selling women, bazar scenes, snowscapes, autumn Chinars, poplars, rice husking, hills, brooks, animals, birds, river Ghats, temples, mosques, canals, fruit-laden trees, houses with thatched roofs, innocence and poverty of his native land. If one looks at his work, one need not read much to know how people lived in Kashmir just five or six decades back. Every work is full of life and every frame conveys how Kashmiris lived in their recent past.

                                                                                      

( A Houseboat in Moonlight by D N Walli )

In March 2010, this author saw his watercolours in an exhibition organised by his son Dr T K Walli in collaboration with J&K Academy of Art Culture And Languages at Jammu. Looking at his colours and style, one doesn’t hesitate to say that he is our Degas or Monet or Pissaro or Cezanne. Call him anything but he remains the valley's watercolour pioneer and an icon.

.                                          

(Maar Canalnear Bohri Kadal, Srinagar. A watercolour of D N Walli)  

 

Dina Nath Walli was fully aware of various forms of Modern Art especially Surrealism, Cubism, Expressionism, Impressionism, Pop art and Abstract art, but he kept his doors closed and focused on his style and subject. His medium was watercolours. The Progressive group of artists consisting of Triloke Koul, P N Kachru, S N Butt and G R Santosh tried hard to bring this stalwart to the Modern Art camp but failed. He remained steadfast to his medium, style and subject. 

                                 

                                                                                      (A watercolour by D N Walli)

 The admirers of Walli included Percy Brown, the late S K Patil, Sardar K M Pannikar, Manohar Kaul (artist), O C Ganguli (art historian), Dr M S Randhawa, Kiran Bedi and Keshav Malik (art critic). Apart from painting, Dina Nath Walli also wrote Kashmiri and Urdu poetry with Almast (carefree) as his Takhallus (assumed name). He also loved music, especially Kashmir’s centuries-old Sufiana singing. His watercolours adorn many offices, galleries and homes all over the world. He has exhibited his work at AIFACS (New Delhi), Jahangir Art Gallery (Mumbai), National Defence Academy (Pune), Academy of Fine Arts (Kolkatta), Lalit Kala Akademi (New Delhi), Hotel Taj (Mumbai), Dhoomi Mal Art Gallery (New Delhi), Punjab Museum Chandigarh, Tariq Rajab Museum (Kuwait) and many more galleries in various cities of the country.  On 27th October 2017, The Hindustan Times wrote this about D N Walli’s art:-

 "Walli’s style may have an Impressionist imprint but his form is unique. His compositions are poetic and evoke a deep sense of longing. The depiction of life and nature is untainted by any affectation. Realism, humanism, and harmony between mankind and nature characterise his art. Inspired by Rousseau’s Back to Nature call, Walli explored the relationship between nature and people. And the discovery is stunning. Nature depends on humans as much as humans depend on it to thrive and blossom. Each painting narrates a story.”

 About D N Walli’s work, Dr M S Randhawa has written this:-

 “Walli is a consummate watercolourist and exercises craftsman's sure control, building a state of mind which is complete. In his paintings, Walli has successfully captured the charm of the valley and its colourful humanity. In his album of paintings, one can share the joy which he felt in the tints of Chinars and poplars display in autumn, the purity of snow on the mountains in winter and the gaiety of flowers in spring.”

 Kuwait Times dated 26th April 2004 wrote this:-

 “The artist presents in his watercolour vignettes the lives of the people set against the panorama of snow-capped mountains, bubbling brooks, meandering rivers and rural pathways.”

 Triloke Koul, known as the father of Modern Art in J&K has this to say:-

 “D N Walli was the only artist in the state who lived from the sale of his Kashmir landscapes. He did nothing except paint Kashmir landscapes. He proved that art is not only a passionate hobby but a remunerative creative activity as well.”

EXHIBITIONS

D N Walli held some ‘Group Exhibitions’ in Kolkata ( 1940), Delhi ( 1949 and 1950 ) and Srinagar ( 1956 and 1957 ). However, he held his first solo exhibition in 1953. Held at Nedou’s Hotel, Srinagar, it was inaugurated by Percy Brown. This exhibition was covered by the prestigious ‘Marg’ magazine. It was followed by another exhibition at Jahangir Art Gallery in Mumbai in 1954. The Mumbai solo exhibition was inaugurated by S K Patil. The Mumbai exhibition was widely covered by national newspapers. The Mumbai solo exhibition was followed by another solo in Delhi in 1954. Held at AIFACS gallery, it was inaugurated by Sardar K M Pannikar.  D N Walli held another solo exhibition in Pune in 1955 followed by yet one more successful solo exhibition at Kolkatta inaugurated by Dr Kali Das Nag. A major one-man show in Delhi was organized in 1955 and the same was inaugurated by Dr M S Randhawa. At the suggestion of Dr M S Randhawa, he brought out his famous album titled,’ Kashmir Landscapes in Watercolours’ in 1970. This album had 12 master paintings by the artist. His paintings started appearing in ‘Dharmyug’ and ‘The Illustrated Weekly of India’ with detailed reviews and write-ups. About his painting, ‘A Houseboat in Moonlight ‘, Dr M S Randhawa writes this:-

“It is a wonderful painting, a masterpiece from Walli. Its haunting beauty casts an unforgettable spell on the viewer.”

Thereafter, many more solo exhibitions were held by him within the state and outside. Some memorable and widely covered exhibitions of his paintings are listed below:-

(1)     1985 New Delhi exhibition inaugurated by Lt Governor M M K Walli held at Lalit Kala Akademi Gallery.

(2)     Exhibition of his Watercolours held in Kuwait in 2004 organised by Tareq Rajeb in collaboration with Indian embassy.

(3)     Exhibition of his paintings held at Jammu in 2010 inaugurated by Vijay Bakaya IAS

(4)     Exhibition held in 2012 at Triveni Kala Sangam, New Delhi inaugurated by Keshav Malik. Those who attended the exhibition included Amal Allana, Kishori Kaul and Dr A Jahanara Kabir

About his Mumbai exhibition of 1954, The Bombay Chronicle wrote this:-

“The artist’s forte is landscape in which he appears to have acquired deep insight and experience.”

 For the Delhi exhibition of 1954, The Indian Express wrote this:-

“Ever since the exhibition of American watercolours some time back, there has been no other exhibition of landscapes in the capital that can be favourably compared with the present exhibition.”

D N WALLI, THE POET

 Dina Nath Walli has also published collections of his Kashmiri poems in two books titled SAHARAAVUKY POSH (Desert Flowers published in 1978) and BAAL YAPAARI (This Side of the Mountain published in 1955). His love for Kashmir is visible in all his creative work be it his poetry or his watercolours. BAAL YAPAARI has a beautiful foreword by Prof Jay Lal Kaul.  In this book, a poem about the poor fish-selling woman of Dal Lake goes as under:-

“Pamposhav kurr chaen gamkhwaarie

Baer baer aakh aiesh taariye

Lalvukh bochhi kin lol bemarie

Dal manz chi van haariye  

 

“These lotus flowers too sympathize with you,

And tearful they are with your feelings.

You bear with the pangs of love,

And also the cramps of hunger,

O carefree myna of Dal Lake….”

 

 SAHARAAVUKY POSH (Desert Flowers   ) has been dedicated by Dina Nath Walli to the poor artisans of Kashmir. A poem about these poor artisans, exploited by them for centuries, goes as under:-

 

“Tse phutaruth koth kambar panunuy

Koruth khaali tse sar panunuy

Tse zolukh bochhi haendi naaran

Tse Mujee pyaeh mulveniah taaran

Dwodas kaend chhuyi su pataa tsaaraan

Tsa khyonakh darmiyaan- daaran.”

 

(You tear up your limbs in labour,

And you drain your energy pool as well.

The fires of hunger keep burning at your doorstep

While you receive just peanuts for your labour.

Then the middleman niggles at your craftsmanship

And keeps exploiting you. )

 

 And then the poet in Walli also feels about the futility of a poor man’s youth.

“Kala me ousum Kanienaai chhavun

Dil myon ouss handaraavun kyuth

Paan myoun ouss vatie vatie shignaavun

Yaavun myon ouss raavun Kyuth”

 

 

(Alas! This head of mine was meant only to be struck against boulders.

And this poor heart of mine to be glaciated.

 And this body only meant to be put to disrepute over here.

Alas this youth visited me

 For being lost and wasted away.)

 

 Beginning his career in Kolkata in 1930, he returned to Kashmir in 1936. Thereafter he remained in Kashmir till 1982 when he went to Karnal to stay with his son Dr T K Walli, a scientist based in Karnal. He painted Kashmir landscapes in Karnal purely from his memory for 22 long years. He breathed his last in karnal only. Babu Ji to his immediate family, Dina Nath Walli remained away from liquor all along his life though he smoked especially while painting. He liked Kashmiri food and lived a disciplined life. Dr T K Walli, the son of the artist has been exhibiting his father’s work in various cities after his death. He organised many exhibitions even before the death of his father. I end this write-up with an Urdu couplet of Dina Nath Walli that conveys his passion for presenting Kashmir through his work.

 

"Mein uriyaan kar ke chhorroonga Jhalak uss husne pinha ki,
Tabhi to kheenchtaa huun roz mein tasveer janaan ki ."

 

 

(I shall uncover and make the world see a glimpse of that hidden beauty,

For that reason alone, I keep drawing pictures of my beloved every day)

 

(Avtar Mota)

CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.

Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.