Shadow Play:
The Mysterious World Of
Ashish Kumar Das

Sumati Gangopadhyay

Sumati Gangopadhyay talks to prolific sculptor Ashish Kumar Das seeking to elucidate his learning experiences and to recognize the various influences that instigate his imperious, dramatic and surreal creations.

Ashish Kumar Das is a leading sculptor of his generation. Highly imaginative and extremely hardworking, his output, too, is prolific. His recent sculptures are all born from a concept which he calls Parchhayi. Parchhayi or shadow is what he believes is the quintessential phenomenon that envelopes man’s life overshadowing his agonies, happiness and relationships. Asish gives an artistic expression to this concept, highlighting the play of the Parchhayi and its amazing influence on man’s life. In this context he has emphasized the man-woman relationship in very uniquely created culptures, drawing elements from the rich repository of nature. A sense of positive energy and contemplative repose dominate these works. Moreover, the idea of Ardhanarishwar is clearly seen at play in some of these sculptures. With a subtle touch of poetic lyricism, and gestures that create dramatic pauses and stances, these sculptures are passionate renderings that are arresting in their visual appeal.

Here is what Ashish Das (AD) had to say to painter-cum-art critic, Sumati Gangopadhyay (SG) about his own artistic journey and his general outlook on life.

SG: Tell me something about your childhood days.

AD: I come from a small town called Chunchura near Kolkata and belong to a family of jewellers. Ours is a joint family, a house full of siblings and cousins. We celebrated many religious festivals and I had a very carefree, happy childhood. We lived very close to a locality of terracotta idol makers. I was very close to one particular family. The family head, Nitai Pal, was a Master Craftsman and an excellent idol maker. As soon as I came home from school, I would run away to their home. They were exceptionally warm and I lived there most of the time, watching them work as Nitai Pal created the Gods and Goddesses with an amazing skill. I think there was something magical about his intuitive sense of body proportions. I remained fascinated, always eager to see the changes as their work progressed. The end result was always a visual treat and ready for big events like Durga Puja.