A tribute to sculptor Syed Abdullah Khalid

Creator of Aparajeyo Bangla – the symbol of our identity and sovereignty

On a rainy winter day in 2003, I hung out with some significant painters at Shilpangan Gallery on Road 5 in Dhanmondi. The adda was lively, and our attention was suddenly grabbed by a man who came wearing a gamchha-turned-shirt. The man was restless and occupied with the phone. He was Syed Abdullah Khalid. Sculptor Hamiduzzaman Khan introduced me to him, and that night Khalid brought us to his residence on Elephant Road. The apartment was full of different sizes of realistic sculptures and vibrant paintings. A collection of books was also in the corner of the room where he lived. After that, our friendship grew stronger, and I met many people at his house in many social gatherings like the levelheaded persons - Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, National Professor Anisuzzaman, Professor Shamsul Wares, Rabiul Husain, Rafiq Azad, Ziaul Huq Chowdhury, Anis A Khan and many more. Khalid was amicable and maintained close ties with his preferred persons. This amiability earned him friends of legendary personalities. He created the busts of Dr Motahar Hossain Chowdhury, Professor Abdur Razzaque, folklorist Monsur Uddin Ahmed and poet Jasimuddin, among others.

As he was passionate and an introvert -- I always observed him evading human preoccupations, publicity, newspaper coverage, fame and domination. He was a foodie and deeply observed the people around him and spoke very significantly, that is to say, if he ever did. We have a circle where most of them are architects, and Khalid was one of the only two sculptors among us. He frequently visited us and never showed any ego. He was straightforward by nature and always liked to express what he wanted.

Syed Abdullah Khalid is regarded as one of the most brilliant sculptors of our country. He is mainly recognised for “Aparajeyo Bangla”, one of the most familiar sculptures and considered a landmark on the Dhaka University campus.

The sculpture reflects the Bengali vigilance and indomitable yearning for freedom. The project was launched in 1973 when the artist was a young teacher at the Department of Fine Arts, Chattogram University. Throughout the making of the sculpture, Khalid had to face opposition from religious fanatics.

In the midst of 1973, when Khalid was working at Chattogram University, Dhaka University Central Students’ Union commissioned him to build a monument that would depict the glory of the Liberation War. During that time, he started looking for people who would model his miniature-scale structure. In his layout, he planned for three figures, where the centre one would be a farmer with a rifle on his shoulder and a grenade in his hand. On the left side there would be a lady with a first aid box in her hand and on the right side there would be a student representing the young student body who took part in the war.

Hasina Ahmed, Syed Hamid Moksood and Badrul Alam Benu, who were very close to Khalid, modelled for “Aparajeyo Bangla”. He used to work 12-14 hours on average every day to create his three-foot miniature scale model. His models would dedicate three hours to this project every day for three months. The sculptor closely observed the models’ personalities, and his close association with them enabled him to do justice to his portrayal.

On Aug 15, 1975, work on the sculpture suddenly stopped because of the heinous murder of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Political instability and the arrest of the then vice-chancellor of Dhaka University, Abdul Matin Chowdhury, also disrupted the work.

The project remained incomplete till the end of 1978. Some fundamentalist groups tried to demolish the sculpture in 1977. However, the brave students of Dhaka University fiercely guarded the work. After a long hiatus, the work resumed at the beginning of 1979 -- with a new vision. The project was finished on Dec 16, 1979. The sculpture was inaugurated by wounded freedom fighters.

There are monuments recognised and commissioned by the government, and then those made by the people. “Aparajeyo Bangla” falls in the latter category. The sculptor wanted to do something for the country and fellow citizens. After the Liberation War, he contemplated creating a symbol that would inspire generations of Bangladeshis.

Throughout his artistic journey, the cerebral sculptor has created sculptures of different shapes and sizes, using different kinds of materials like cement, stone, fibreglass, ceramic and clay and various processes and techniques. Many depict our glorious history of the Language Movement and Liberation War. Besides those, his unique murals in pottery, metals or mosaic can be seen on the walls of many residences and office buildings in the country.

A multi-talented artist, Khalid has excelled in sculpture and made an impression with his paintings. Throughout the ’80s and ’90s and the first decade of the 21st century, the artist had been active. Khalid is inclined to use a large canvas to depict untamed nature, landscapes and still life (flower-based). Losing himself in the natural world, the artist frequently takes themes from this rich source and plays with shades and textures on canvas. He occasionally liked experimenting with diverse vague and plain forms and enjoyed breaking and constructing them in many ways. Blossoming and budding flowers and dense forests are recurring features in his paintings. In many of Khalid’s works, one finds a great interchange between abstract and realistic forms.

Khalid mainly dealt with the seasonal flowers of Bangladesh. He was overwhelmed by the vivid colours of spring flowers, especially Sonalu, Radhachura and Krishnachura. His very picturesque and appealing natural observation is profoundly embedded in his psyche, and his acrylic and mixed media (a few done in oil) based paintings are created spontaneously with his skilled hands brushing colours in the easels. The painter uses close-up views of the branches of trees containing patches of flowers of different colours and then distorts the work by splashing colour pigments.

As an abstract expressionist, the painter focused on colour and its various facets. He also experiments with unstructured forms and vague compositions, which are scrupulously used in his works. The artist has applied colours directly piling up thick and, at times, thin layers on the canvas and has created bold and dynamic images. Strong brush strokes make a textural state in his works which have not been intentionally done. Sometimes, he deliberately creates a texture according to the paintings’ distinctive requirements. He concentrates more on the application aspect, and this trait creates a personal hallmark for his creations.

In his long, chequered life, Khalid gradually transformed his style into pure impressionism, where colour is the main focal point in his paintings, and forms have been diluted there appropriately. In his use of materials and tints, he frequently went for the bold and natural.

Khalid’s paintings generally symbolise the romantic notion that the delights of this world have a short shelf life. Loose brushstrokes, simple forms and contrasting colours sometimes characterise the paintings with flowers by Khalid. He has discarded the careful shading and colour transitions of botanical illustrations in favour of a fresh look that unabashedly declares the role of artistic interpretation to be more important than careful accuracy.

The artist also used outlining (the shapes) and strong lighting contrasts in his paintings, and he also rejected the tradition of profound space and viewpoint that have been prominent in the art for centuries. His works stay near the surface of the painting, emphasising the materials of art rather than the illusions of art. The result is a shimmering effect that has helped to keep his paintings amongst the most recognisable images in the contemporary art scene.

Some of his notable works include “Ankur” at the factory premises of Squibb Pharmaceuticals, a mural called “Abahaman Bangla” inside the premises of the Bangladesh Television Centre in Rampura, a monument for martyrs called “Angikar” in Chandpur, the Shaheed Minar of Chattogram University and a terracotta relief mural called “Toiling Masses” in the conference room of the Daily Ittefaq. His other noteworthy sculptures are “Eternal Bengal”, “Dolphin” and “Mother and Child”.

The artist received many prestigious awards in his long, chequered life. He received Shilpakala Award and Ekushey Padak for his outstanding contributions to Bangladeshi art. The artist died on Apr 10, 2017.

[Takir Hossain, an art critic and cultural curator, has been writing on contemporary Bangladeshi art and culture for a long time. He has covered several international exhibitions in different countries across Europe and Asia.]