They don’t make scholars like Dr B N Goswami anymore. Padma Bhushan Brijinder Nath, popularly known as Dr B N Goswami was born in Sargodha, now in Pakistan, on 15 Aug 1933. Son of a judge, he would never have thought of becoming an art historian.
Goswami left his career as an IAS, of Bihar cadre, to explore the art world, not as an artist but as a scholar historian of Indian art. Influenced by the writings of A K Coomaraswamy, one of the pioneers of Indian art history, he realised, very little was known about India’s heritage in fine arts. The five prominent art colleges of India were a legacy of the British, who taught European art to the elimination of Indian art. Indian artists too believed, visual art was a gift of the British to India. Perhaps, Goswami wanted to change this perception.
He became a scholar, not just in an academic manner, but a passionate pursuer of the subject he loved. The kind of explorer who never gets tired of unraveling the mysterious beauty of his subject. While researching the history of the artists of Kangra paintings for his PH D from Panjab University, his supervisor once tried to dissuade him from the impossible task of tracking down family history of Pahadi miniature painters down to the Mughal period. Since there were no written documents, Goswami went to Haridwar and studied the bahikhatas of pandas, tracing centuries and generations of Pahadi miniature painters.
It was his deep understanding of the Indian miniature art (it was termed as craft by the British and even Indian government followed their legacy), in all its facets, particularly the Pahadi miniature, that made him an authority on the subject. He was to Pahadi paintings what Saryu Doshi was to Jain miniature. It was his love for the miniature art that turned his books and talks into an immersive experience.
No wonder, he penned 26 books exploring several dimensions of the mysterious world of Indian miniature art. Wherever academic or literary books were written, treating miniature art as a subject or as backdrop, from any part of the world, authors and scholars consulted him. Orhan Pamuk, the celebrated Turkish Nobel Laureate, talked with respect and affection, about his long conversations with Dr Goswami on the lives of Indian miniaturists during the Mughal empire, while drafting My Name is Red, a novel based on a brilliant exploration of the world of miniaturists of Turkey during the Ottoman empire. Eberhard Fischer, German art historian, former Director, Rietberg Society, Switzerland, collaborated with Dr Goswami on the life and works of Nainsukh (born 1710), a Pahadi miniature artist of Guler. Fischer also made a film based on Nainsukh’s life and organized a show of Pahadi miniatures at Rietberg, Switzerland.
It will not be an exaggeration to say; it was thanks to Dr Goswami’s scholarship of Indian miniature, his global network with the art world and his brilliant communication skills that Indian miniature art was given a place of respect in the modern museums across the world. I was pleasantly surprised to see a section dedicated to Indian miniature art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, curated by Dr Goswami, and his much-celebrated work- co-curated with Dr Caron Smith, Domains of Wonder, at San Diego Museum of Art.
Had it not been for his efforts, along with that of Dr Mulk Raj Anand and Dr M S Randhawa; history of fine arts would not be included as an independent discipline across Indian universities and colleges.
Dr Goswami did justice to the subject he was instrumental in introducing as an independent discipline– by teaching and popularising it. He had come as a research scholar to Panjab University but later joined as a faculty with the department of art history and visual arts, where he went on to become a professor. For a relatively drab subject like history of fine arts; his lectures were very popular. Scholarship, coupled with lucidity and love for art aroused in his students an appreciation for fine arts, which turned into a life-long love affair. “Once you become his student, there is no looking back, how it becomes a part of your life; his classes were mysterious journeys into the world of myths, gods, goddesses, demons, kings and queens, flora and fauna. He took us to a point where gods became accessible. We became cultural ambassadors, of our own right,” says Neelam Mansingh Chaudhary, thespian, art collector.
She came to be his student under strange circumstances. A confused student of BA, in Amritsar, Neelam was enamoured of the debonair who would park his Fiat car in their house, whenever he visited his sasural. Dr Karuna Goswami, B N’s wife, was Neelam’s neighbour and, a didi to her. Sensing her confused state of mind, Dr Goswami asked her to join MA, Art History and Visual Art, in Panjab University. “I was fascinated by the attention he paid to even the trivial; how he treated a small- town girl and her trivial concerns with respect; Karunaji was a big star in our lives, she played the role of a big sister in my life. From a teacher he became a mentor, friend and sympathizer.”
“Spanning the amount of work he has done; it is hard to recount all the intellectual pursuits of his life. Though he leaves behind a rich legacy in the form of books; there will be a void,” she concludes.
Goswami himself was battling with several voids in his life; his wife was taken away by Corona and his only son lost a prolonged battle with cancer, a few months back. On the release of his last book, a rather trivial subject that he made profound with his scholarship, The Indian Cat: Stories, Paintings, Poetry and Proverbs, published by Aleph Books, he looked tired without showing signs of losing the agility of mind. He regaled his audience with anecdotes and snippets. Only with very sincere pursuit, one is able to achieve the kind of lucidity, he possessed at 90.
“He certainly had the gift of words; in his inimitable way he brought alive the world of western art into our classroom; his flawless, lyrical vocabulary gave us the essence of European art, if not its technicalities. His eminence in the art world attracted the best of minds to the university. We were very lucky; the 80s and 90s was the best time the department had under him,” says Dr Alka Pande, art historian who authored several books on Indian aesthetics and culture. She was a student of art history at Panjab University, Dr Goswami taught her history of European art.
“It’s a great loss to the art world; he is the emblem of history of Indian miniature art; especially the Pahari school of miniature. His books are immensely popular in the art world.”
Though not his student, Yugdeep Soni, a Pichwai painter from Udaipur says Dr Goswami played the role of a mentor for him; a role that all teachers must play, eventually. “I was a novice when I met him first; he must have seen some promise in my work. He not only encouraged me in my pursuit, he introduced me to several eminent art collectors in Bangalore and Delhi, who later became my buyers and supporters. No miniature artist can survive without patrons, I was too young to find patrons, I think he understood it. He was too eminent a person for me; I could not have asked for such a favour. Even though he helped me, I could not visit his place on my last two visits to Chandigarh, out of shyness. How could I disturb such a scholar? I thought. I will remain indebted to his encouragement and generosity. He bought one of my earliest Pichwai works.”
Feature Image: Karuna and B.N. Goswamy sharing a little joke on a happy occasion. — Photo by Manoj Mahajan | Courtesy: Tribune
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