D. Harihar

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“Painting is my life and life is my painting”, was the belief of D. Harihar who devoted his life to painting. Born to a painter on June 2, 1940 at Chindwada, Madhya Pradesh, D. Harihar saw his father struggle to create a platform for himself at a time when India was still under the British Raj. But it was not to be. His father met with an untimely death much before he could accomplish his cherished dream and this is when D. Harihar decided to take up his father’s unfulfilled dream.

Early Education and Dedication as a Teacher

In the pursuit of art, Harihar first acquired training at the Nagpur School of Art and then went to Mumbai and consequently completed his graduation and post graduated from the renowned Sir J. J. School of Art in painting in 1969 and murals in 1971 respectively. He then completed his education in art with the completion of Masters in Art course from the same institute in the year 1969 after which he traveled to Goa and went on to become one of the founder members of the Goa College of Art. Most of the teachers of the Goa College of Art from then on till date have been trained under him. He spent nearly three decades inspiring students to achieve their very best as the Head of Department of the Painting Section at the college. “We learn only fundamentals and techniques in Art School but the art comes out from within oneself. The artist first works for his own satisfaction and later for the society”, were his words, which have moulded many a great Goan artists. His fame as an artist par excellence has reached far and wide, but very few know of Harihar’s dedication as a teacher and the amazing rapport he struck with his students for which he is remembered till date despite of his retirement nearly a decade ago.

Despite his commitment to the Goa College of Art D. Harihar remained an avid painter. In his lifetime Harihar went on to have as many as 18 solo exhibitions in addition to the numerous group shows, art camps, seminars etc in which he participated. He participated regularly from 1960 to 2004 in art exhibitions at the state level as well as national level held at Delhi, Mumbai, Nagpur, Kolkata, Bhopal, Chennai, Bangalore and Goa.

His Work

Harihar has been honoured with various state and other prestigious awards and his paintings adore various public and private collections the world over. He would say that he treasures his works as if they were his children. “While painting all the functions of my being are put into creation of the work.” Harihar would paint only five to six paintings in a year to be able to do his creative best but nevertheless painting was always on his mind even when he was away from his canvas and paint, always observing his surroundings to enrich his works. “He would resume painting only when he felt like it, when all his energy was ready to spurge out into a creative force of his artistic insight”, says Shweta Chopra who interviewed the artist for the catalogue ‘Bridging the Gaps Through the Gospel’.

Harihar was known all over for his finesse in painting portraits, but it was his creative landscapes that brought him appreciation from all corners. His inspiration for these abstract landscapes, of course, was the Goan landscape. “Since 1972, I am doing works on nature for I feel nature is the mother of all and we all are part of it”, he said of his numerous interpretations of the Goan landscapes. With his admiration of the natural beauty of Goa, he pulled the state on the national scene along with him to fame as early as the 1970s, when Goa was not the popular tourist destination it is today. Anjali Sircar of the Hindu wrote, “Harihar’s paintings are dreamlike landscapes – compelling and peaceful – and are he result of his experience, living and working in Goa. And many felt that it was these abstract landscapes that were the real reflections of his expertise as a painter. “Harihar has the ability to paint landscape in the traditional style without his vision as an artist being impaired by rigid adherence to reality”, wrote Rinky Bhattacharya of the Indian Express of his landscapes. Celebrated contemporary artist Laxman Pai would describe his landscapes saying that, “Individual expression in depicting subject inspired from Goan landscapes is what I see in D Harihar’s painting.” But probably it was Dnyaneshwar Nadkarni who summed up the painter work when he wrote, “Harihar has all along succeeded in crossing the bounds of conventional academism.” Harihar in one of his exhibition brochures says of his landscapes, “As a painter I feel it is my paramount duty to understand nature and transform its messages into my personal statement. The more I succeed in relating the perspectives of nature to my perspective, the more rewarded I feel.”

Harihar has also contributed artworks to many well known publications in the country some of them being Times of India, India Today and Yugdharm, a popular publication in Nagpur, besides various local dailies. He has also executed murals for the Government Tourism (M.S), Western Railways and to the Youth Hostel at Panaji. Of his many commissioned paintings he painted a portrait series for the Government Library at Mumbai, a portrait of the Late Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi for the Secretariat at Goa, a painting for the All India Radio at Panaji and a portrait, painting of Dr. T B Cunha for the Indian Embassy at Washington DC among others. His paintings are a part of the private collections of great names like the Late Indira Gandhi and Dharamsee Morarji Company of the Asian Paints besides others in India and the world over. Of the various honours he received some of the most prestigious conferred on him are the Goa State Cultural Award, the national Lalit Kala Academy Award and the Dolly Cursetji Award from the JJ School of Art which is one of the most prestigious awards. He has also received numerous other awards from the same institute, which is rare honour, besides a fellowship and a silver medal. D. Harihar also had the privilege of being the General Council Member of the Lalit Kala Akademi at New Delhi and the Life Member of the Mumbai Art Society.

Professor D.Harihar passed away on June 23rd 2006 leaving behind a wife and four children.