“App Deepo Bhuv”- Be your own light is the ultimate truth that was a guiding light in the quest for understanding the physical and metaphysical worlds for Sayed Hyder Raza.
The son of a deputy Forest Ranger, he lived in forested areas and these elements of nature got deeply embedded in his psyche, later to find expression in his artistic oeuvre. The landscapes, village scenes, mountains, forests, childhood experiences of joy and cheer, fears and anxieties in the light and eerie darkness of the woods made a deep impression on him as a young child and collectively they became his medium of communication in his artistic interpretation. His early works were pastoral, rendered in the impressionistic style. His water colour “Village Scene” of 1950s elucidates him being rooted to the countryside that occupied a special place in his sensitive mind.
Curator
Dr. Seema Bhalla
Art Historian