12 Facts About Manjit Bawa

Manjit Bawa, born in Dhuri, Punjab, India, was an Indian painter.

Manjit Bawa studied fine arts at the College of Art, New Delhi between 1958 and 1963, where his professors included Somnath Hore, Rakesh Mehra, Dhanaraj Bhagat and BC Sanyal.

Manjit Bawa taught me to revere the figurative at a time when the entire scene was leaning in favor of the abstract.

Between 1964 and 1971, Manjit Bawa worked as a silkscreen printer in Britain, where he studied art.

Manjit Bawa's canvases are distinguishable in their colors - the ochre of sunflowers, the green of the paddy fields, the red of the sun, the blue of the mountain sky.

Manjit Bawa was one of the first painters to break out of the dominant grays and browns and opted for more traditionally Indian colors like pinks, reds and violet.

Manjit Bawa had painted Ranjha, the cowherd from the tragic ballad Heer Ranjha and Lord Krishna with a flute surrounded by dogs and not cows as in mythological paintings.

Indian gods Kali and Shiva, whom Manjit Bawa considers as "icons of my country", figure prominently in his paintings.

Manjit Bawa learnt to play the flute from maestro Pannalal Ghosh.

Manjit Bawa has painted Ranjha, the cowherd from the tragic love ballad Heer Ranjha, playing the flute.

Manjit Bawa has painted Krishna with a flute, surrounded by dogs and not by cows as mythological paintings depict him.

Manjit Bawa was in a coma for three years after suffering a stroke.