Paresh Maity was born in 1965 at Tamluk, a town of great
antiquity, with a remarkable heritage of terracotta art, situated on
the banks of the Rupnarayan river, located in the south-west part
of Kolkata. The river’s cape with its boats, the lush green fields
near it’s bank, the sea, the canal and the vast expanse of water and
sky was an inherent part of his growing up years. These memories
pulsate through his blood stream. No wonder the first few images
of his that caught the popular imagination were crepuscular river
scenes.
Paresh was the second eldest son amongst the siblings of
four brothers and two sisters. He belonged to a lower middle
class Bengali family where his father was a humble clerk serving
the government. Since childhood he was attracted towards
the various forms of art. At the age of seven or eight, he used to
observe the artisans making idols of various Gods and Goddesses,
at the pandals, before the Durga Puja. Gradually,