CHAPTER-ONE

HARISH CHANDRA RAI

i) Biography and Career ii) A Review of Select Works

HARISH CHANDRA RAI

BIOGRAPHY AND CAREER

Harish Chandra Rai is an eminent artist of Himachal Pradesh. Rais

are originally Kannauj Kaisthas whose names used to start and end with

'Rai' hke Rai Mohabbat Prasad Rai, Rai Daroga Rai Prasad Rai etc. Their

names, interestingly, showed a mix of Hindi and Urdu words. H.C. Rai's

ancestors switched over to Lai. His father, Chandra Behari Lai, was also an

artist and mother Leelavati, a singer. Harish Chandra was born in Bareilly

on 27''̂ May, 1923. He traced his ancestry and decided to start the clan of

Rai. His schooling was done in the reputed Edward School, Baraili where

classical music was compulsory for every student from f" class to 8'*̂ class.

On asking about his entry into the field of art, he recalls his childhood days,

the colourful masks of Ravana on the eve of Dushehra festival were most

inspiring for this boy. Thus, it was the beginning of kalaya/ra (art journey)

of Harish Chandra Rai. At the age of five, Rai had started portrait painting.

Initially Harish Chandra Rai had joined science faculty in the first

year of his graduation but later on he turned towards fine arts and joined

Government School of Arts Lucknow (now Government College of Arts)

for the three years degree course and after completing this degree, he joined

the reputed institute Sir .I.J. School of Art in Mumbai in the year 1957.

During his graduation he had studied classical music as it was compulsory

for every student.

H.C. Rai is a great admirer of Rashtrapita Mahatama Gandhi and

Rabindranath Tagore. He had strong sympathies for the Indian

Independence Movement and was a staunch supporter of Mahatma Gandhi.

Rai is a disciplined person, indeed he lives according to his convictions. Rai

was emotionally associated with the Quit India Movement and had actively

participated in this movement. It is interesting to know that in the year 1943,

Harish Chandra Rai had also Joined the Indian Army.

Rai had studied the fine arts under the able supervision of

Bireshwar Sen who found a place in Indian art history for his ultra miniature

landscapes with remarkable quality. Rai has learnt the water colour

technique from his another guru Mirza Hasan Askani.

When five Arts Colleges were established in India first time, respected

B.C. Sanyal (an eminent artist of India) had selected Harish Chandra Rai to

serve the newly established Shimla Art College situated primarily at Nahan

and then in Shimla. He was given the responsibility to run this college,

therefore, he had migrated to Himachal Pradesh in the year 1962.

Rai is living with his wife at Chhota Shimla adjacent to the Daishan

Villa. His wife Nirmala. is septuagenarian bed-ridden, was a craftswoinan

who had served as a teacher in government schools in Himachal Pradesh.

His children are also serving in the artistic field. His son. Sharat Rai. is an

architect of repute in Bhopal and his daughter. Amla Rai, has earned name

in doing and teaching theatre in Mumbai.

H.C. Rai was the founder principal of Rajakiya Kanya

Mahavidyalaya, Longwood. Shimla. He is also an excellent art

educationist. There are so many excellent students of H.C. Rai who have

earned name and fame in the field of art. Avinash Bahadur Verma is one

of Rai's students who is a versatile artist of Uttar Pradesh. P.C. Barua,

.lagjeet Singh Nishant and Surjcet Singh are another famous desciples of

Harish Chandra Rai. According to Surjeet Singh, 'his method of teaching

the art techniques has been superb'.'

While asking about his favourite artist. H.C. Rai speaks the name of

Asit Kumar Haldar as a painter and H. Rai Chowdhary as a sculptor.

He has learnt the technique of water colour from Mirza Hasan Askani.

Besides. H.C. Rai is also an appreciator of another artists like Achrekar.

Amberkar and Adalkar.

Apart from painting and sculpture. Rai is having keen interest in

Indian classical music. He has also learnt this art in a proper manner under

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the guidance of great musicians. He is a very good classical singer and he

used to play the violin too. In 1943. H.C. Rai has also learnt violin from

the world-famous violinist and Padma Vibhushan Late V.G. Jog. He used

to play the violin and learnt the Kathak dance under the able guidance of

Babu Anant Rao. He has written many poems too. He says, "sometimes

ago I came under a spell and started writing 'Krishna Kavya'-a lyric on

Krishna - in Bruj Bhasha and completed it in nine months."' He further

wrote about a hundred 'Rasiyas' in shringar rasa (beauty style in Hindi

literature), a short form of poetry like Haiku of .lapan.""' Harish Chandra

Rai has also designed the famous Ram Mandir at the Ganj Bazar. Shimla.

One can see his sketches in the book 'A Simla Story' written by O.C.

Sud. Harish Chandra Rai has also designed the logo of Himachal Pradesh

University. Summerhill. Shimla. He is fluent in many Indian languages

like Hindi. English. Urdu. Sanskrit. Punjabi. Marathi and Gujarati. At the

age of eighteen. Rai had also learnt Kathak Dance. He is a very good

combination of many arts.

H.C. Rai says. "he. being a Kaistha knows Urdu by birth but had

learnt Sanskrit after his superannuation to deliver a lecture in that

language on a Sanskrit Day and memorized 800 shalokas of Bhagwadgita

at the age of seventy-nine."""* He is a self respected person and a very hard

working artist. It is surprising to note that even at the age of eighty five.

Rai had been painting daily.

Harish Chandra Rai has created numerous paintings and

sculptures. Though, thousands of works are to his credit but even then he

has not exhibited his paintings frequently. He used to sit before his canvas

for 15-20 hours daily. His paintings earned name and fame to this artist.

He had declined to accept the National Award for 'VETERAN ARTIST'

twice in 1995 and 2001 because, he felt that the word 'veteran" depicted

that it was being given to him for his age and not for art. While accepting

'Kala Puruskar" given by the Academy of Art. Language and Culture,

Himachal Pradesh, he had doubled the award money and returned it to the

Chief Minister for relief works. In the All India Art Exhibitions held at

Shimla in 1990 and 1995. Rai's paintings were adjuged best but due to

some controversy he had denied to receive the aforesaid awards.

Harish Chandra Rai is a versatile artist of Himachal Pradesh.

Living with his better half at Shimla. he used to paint each and every day.

He believes in experiments with different mediums to create his world of

art. He has executed a lot of works in water colour medium on handmade

sheets.

H.C. Rai is popularly known as a versatile water colourist of

Himachal Pradesh. Despite having numerous paintings to his credit, he has

not frequently exhibited his works. Not only in water colour medium, Rai

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has painted a huge number of excellent portraits in oil colour medium as

well. His portraits are full of life and energy and they speak themselves to

the spectators. Pencil sketching had been the passion of Harish Chandra

Rai.

Harish Chandra Rai has experimented with all the techniques of

oil colour through his canvases. He loves to paint in the realistic style

and he could not accept the change coming into the field of art. Generally

he uses self made colours and canvases for his paintings. Most of his

paintings are of small sizes. Rai has created his world of imagination on

the oil sheet of full imperial size. He has experimented with the earth

colours using as an oil medium and effect of the same has come out

excellent.

According to Harish Chandra Rai, "sketching is the back-bone of

an artist.""^ His obsession with figurative drawing is so strong that he

never goes to bed without sketching and this is the reason behind his

control over human anatomy. Not only human anatomy, but also each and

every particles of nature has been studied by him thoroughly, hence, the

role of sketching is very important for every artist. Nature, the creation of

the Almighty God. is the source of inspiration for H.C. Rai. Its colours,

textures and different tones, everything fascinate an artist. He imitates the

beauty hidden in the nature and brings it onto his canvas.

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In his paintings one can enjoy the strokes of his brush. His portraits

are at par excellance. If we see his portraits, we can find that the artist has

excelled in it. H.C. Rai believes that there are hundreds of beautiful tones

on a face of a model. Majority of his portraits have been drawn from the

life. Rai always loves to paint humanity. In his portraits we can find

people's feelings, sentiments and their social activities. Before converting

it into a final painting, he makes numerous sketches of the subject. He is a

great humanist and also an appreciator of beauty. Rai has portrayed

several paintings of nudes (women). In these paintings the artist has

successfully maintained the softness of the woman body. Wc can find a

delicacy and tenderness of woman in all his works. It seems as if the artist

is very much impressed with the feminine beauty. He has executed

numerous portraits and landscapes of the vicinity in Batik style too.

Besides paintings. Rai has also done numerous sculptures as welt.

He has taught the art of sculpting to his disciple Sunil Kumar Gautam who

is presently working as a Senior Lecturer in Sculpture in the Rajiv Gandh

Government College. Chaura Maidan, Shimla. Sunil Gautam has also

earned good name in this field in Himachal Pradesh. Rai's sculptures are

installed different places in and outside Himachal Pradesh.

H.C. Rai has a command over the water colour medium and

gradually he has understood its peculiar characteristics. His paintings are

done in water colour with the boldness and spontaneity of the stroke that is

the hallmark of this medium. Rai has been very meticulous in giving the

detail of each and every part. His colours are amazingly fresh, harmonious

and application thereof is wonderful. Not only water colour, he has

excelled in oil medium too. There are numerous paintings done by this

artist in the' oil medium which are adorning the walls of reputed

offices/organizations and private houses. Hence, the writer is forced to

appreciate the use of colours by this eminent artist. H.C. Rai has lived with

the motto of his life - "Don't live without sketching and Don't sleep

without reading." He has used even thumb to create his world of

imagination in the oil medium. Some of his works are done with the

painting knife. About his sketches, Bireshwar Sen (an eminent artist of

India) had said, "I have seen many artists doing sketches but Harish is the

best." ^

Harish Chandra Rai has portrayed all his family members on his

canvas as had been painted by the Great Old Master Rembrandt Hermn

Van Rizn. But there is not even a single self portrait of this artist. There

are some portraits done in dry pastel medium and Rai has given full justice

in this medium too. He has painted an excellent portrait of his wife in dry

pastel media.

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If we look into the themes taken by Harish Chandra Rai, we find

that he has painted the daily hfe of HimachaU people. In most of his

works, we can enjoy the eternal beauty of this lovely state as he has

painted every corner of Himachal. Besides landscapes, Rai is a master in

portrait making. He has painted huge number of portraits of the people.

It is very unfortunate that today Harish Chandra Rai has given up

paintings because of his ailing wife who is septuagenarian bed-ridden, and

he has dedicated all the time to serve his better-half

A REVIEW OF SELECT WORKS OF HARISH CHANDRA RAI

Plate I (at page 227 ) : Harish Chandra Rai has portrayed his Guru

Maa, Swami Chidvilasanand who is a disciple of Swami Kukta Nand. In

this portrait the artist has painted his Guru Maa in front face posture. The

woman is seated facing us. She has been shown clad in red drapery. The

handling of colours is particularly rich on the face of the woman. Rai has

given full justice in this portrait. We can feel the spiritual light on the face

of this great soul. Her eyes are giving the message of purity, love and

affection. In a state of profound meditation and concentration a woman's

inner life is revealed in all its complexity and fullness. We can almost read

the flux of thoughts and feelings on the woman's face. The portrait

inspires a sense of the sitter's unique spititual life. Her young face is very

nicely painted and her tranquil, calm and serene expressions are

beautifully captured. The lady seems to be very virtuous.

Plate 2 (at page 227 ): This is another portrait of his above referred

respected Guru Maa Swami Chidvilasanand. hi this portrai, her facial

expressions are superb. We can see the gradations of beautiful colours on

her face. This portrait was executed in the year 2002. H.C. Rai has

succeded in bringing the spiritual light on the face of his Guru Maa. This

spiritual lady is wearing a red cap which is complementing the colour of

her shawl. The lady has been portrayed in a semi profile posture. She has

been painted in a meditative mood, immersed in her own thoughts. The

purity of the soul is depicted by the expressions of the eyes. This portrait

is made on 18"" x 24"' canvas board. Harish Chandra Rai"s favourite

medium for making a portrait is oil colours. He is a master of painting

techniques, he knows how to render the finest shades of facial expression.

The background is painted in flat manner which is representing the

spiritual power of Guru Maa.

Plate 3 (at page 227 ): Harish Chandra Rai has portrayed his father,

which was painted in 1998. In this portrait, H.C. Rai has played with the

bold strokes of colours. If one evaluates all his portraits, this is one his

best master pieces. One can find the artistic talent of Harish Chandra Rai

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in this portrait. He has shown his full potential through this portrait. We

can see hundreds of tones of different colours on the face of the sitter.

Each stroke is narrating its story. Harish Chandra Rai has portrayed his

father wearing a hat and spectacles, which are beautifully painted. The

artist has used finer, more expressive brushwork and thicker paint in this

portrait. He has succeded in executing the facial expression in this

portrait. The artist used whatever means he could command, including his

palette knife and even his thumb to gain the immediacy he wanted. The

plain background of the portrait forces the viewer to confront the man

bereft of family, friends, possessions - of all save his art. This portrait is

made on the hard board in oil colour medium. The colour composition is

fully going with the nature of the portrait. In this portrait the natural

human feelings and attachments are depicted with rare force and beauty.

The Jewel like quality of the painting clearly puts it under the category of

one of the best portraits by H.C. Rai.

Plate 4 (at page 228 ) : A portrait of a royal man is also one of the

best examples of his outstanding work. The viewer can find a royal touch

on the face of this man. H.C. Rai has applied thick strocks of vibrant

colours. It was painted in the year 1999. The maturity in applying the

colours is very much there. In this portrait, eyes of this man have become

full of life. The sitter's personality reveals itself through the depiction of

his mood. The plain background in the portrait compels the viewer to

concentrate on the face of the model. Harish Chandra Rai has filled this

portrait with hundreds of different tones of colours. The artist has enjoyed

this portrait playing with the bold strokes of light and shade on the face of

the sitter. Here, the painter has shown a commendable command over the

oil colour medium. This portrait has been depicted with boldness and

spontaneity of the stroke and that is the hallmark of this medium. The

colours used in this portrait are very harmonious. Hence the artist has been

able to capture the mood of the sitter.

Plate 5 (at page 228 ): H.C. Rai has portrayed his grandson in a very

good posture. In the present painting, he has succeeded in maintaining the

tenderness and innocence of the child, hence, the model of this portrait

speaks eloquently about itself The features are more skillfully painted and

his eyes have a dreamy quality. Here, bold strokes applied in the hair are

enhancing the beauty of the portrait. He has created beautiful texture and

folds of the shirt of the boy with the economic strokes of the blue colour.

His portrait sketches have a precision and clarity of exceptional quality.

To this artist, the act of drawing was never an end in itself but a step on

the path which would lead by a complex route to the perfect design of the

final picture. For making a portrait, first of all he makes a sketch of the

sitter and then apply first layer of the colours onto to it and finally he

would retouch the work, moderate the highlights by rubbing them with his

fingers and harmonize the colours and tones, or he would, again with his

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fingers, add dark strokes or bright red spots to liven up the composition.

During his last stage, he painted more with his fingers than his brushes.

This technique produced judicious, beautiful and stupendous results.

Through this portrait. Rai has proved his mastery over portrait making.

Plate 6 (at page 228 ): In the series of landscape paintings, H. C. Rai

has created a huge number of that. He has painted most of the landscapes

in water colours. The artist has taken the natural beauty of Himachal

Pradesh as a subject for his landscaping painting. He has painted his

surroundings several times. Since the nature always fascinates an artist

and it has also compelled H.C. Rai for holding the brush and draw it onto

his canvas. His colours are sweet in feelings. In one of his landscapes

painting he has painted an old house of his neighbourhood in water colour

medium. Since the transparency in the water colour painting is its main

quality and one must exploit it for giving the justice to the medium. The

same has been maintained by Harish Chandra Rai in all his works

executed in water colour. In this painting, he has drawn this old house

elegantly. Placing it in the middle of the composition, he has succeded in

centralizing this building. Its surroundings are painted in green tones

especially different colours of the trees are enhancing the beauty of this

painting. Rai has used all the colours he has felt in the nature. The beauty

of nature always fascinates him. He has painted numerious shades of

nature present in abundance in Himachal Pradesh. We can see snow clad

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mountains in his early works, which are executed in small size paper and

later on he has switched over to the oil colour medium for creating his

world of imagination.

Plate 7 (at page 229): This is a very attractive landscape depicting

hauntingly beautiful hills in deep red and brown colours. The sky of this

hillscape is blending with the peaks. Here, the transparency of the water

colour has been successfully maintained by the artist. The use of dark blue

colour in the foreground has created a very good perspective in the

painting. In this work, Rai has applied extra-ordinary strokes of blues and

reds to create the depth in the hills. Thus, the artist has exhibited his

mastery over the medium. The white strokes on the top of the hills are the

hallmark of this painting. Since, to handle water colour is very difficult,

because one wrong touch of brush can spoil the depth and distort the

whole canvas. But H.C. Rai handles this medium in a very proficient

manner with perfect balance.

Plate 8 (at page 229): In this landscape, Rai has shown his expertise in

oil medium. He has taken some snow clad mountains in the background in

this landscape which are giving the feeling of Himalayas. These are also

creating a perspective. Sky has also been playing its role in

complementing the atmosphere of the landscape. Middle ground has been

painted in a versatile manner. The hillock having several tones of blues

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and purples is enhancing the beauty of this painting. Simuhancously,

foreground of this landscape is keeping the spectator spell bound. A tree

laden with red flowers on the right side in the painting, is attracting the

viewer. Rai has shown a valley full of small fields on the left side which

is also balances the picture. Its yellow ochre shade is helping the painting

to its meaning. In this landscape, the artist has applied beautiful colours

and rendering thereof is also superb.

Plate 9 (at page 229): This is another land.scape painted by H.C. Rai.

In this painting he has portrayed a pink tree on the left side of the

landscape. The artist has applied thick strokes of colours in this landscape.

Mere. Rai has used different tones of blues, greens, yellows for creating a

romantic atmosphere in the painting. This technique is quite similar to the

impressionists. Freshness of colours is there which is playing its role

honestly. A tree ornamented with pink flowers is the hero of this

landscape. It is dominating the picture with its colourful gesture. It seems

as if this hero is dancing in the romantic mood. We can judge the maturity

of the artist through this painting.

Plate 10 (at page 230): Rai has painted his grandfather's portrait on

canvas board measuring 18""x 24". It has been made in oil colour medium.

The sitter has noble and gentle expressions on his face and one can feel the

love that he has in his soft eyes. In this portrait, rendering of colours is

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good and expressions through the eyes are extraordinary. Rai has succeded

in creating the three-dimentionai effect in this portrait with the help of the

magic of light and shade. The roundness of forehead is enhancing the

beauty of this painting. It is a wonderful psychological study of the sitter.

He has tried to work like Rembrandt. Here, the sitter has been portrayed

wearing a turban and having a long beard. Through the present work, we

can see the growth of the artist in terms of maturity of colour application

and in drawing as well. In his portraits, eye plays an important role and

those have become alive in his every portrait. This is one of the best

portraits painted by H.C. Rai. He has minutely worked on the face of the

model. Background has been painted in dark colour scheme which is

complementing the colours of the coat of the sitter. The man seems to be

very virtuous.

Plate 11 (at page 230): Like water colours of H.C. Rai, landscapes

painted in oil has also a unique quality of freshness. In the present

painting, the artist has drawn a traditional house on the left side of the

painting. Background is having a little bit sky which has been depicted in

light blue colour and the hillocks are containing hundreds of tones of blues

and greens. It we sec the foreground, it has been covered with beautiful

trees. Here, many hues and tones have been added to get the rich effect of

painting. A small hillock has been drawn quite near to the house having

beautiful pine trees. The painter has a command over the oil medium and

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gradually he was understood its peculiar characteristics. Painting has been

executed in oil colour with the boldness and spontaneity of the stroke

which is the hallmark of this medium. The colours of the landscape are

very harmonious and amazingly fresh.

Plate 12 (at page 230): This is another portrait of artist's grandson

which has been painted by him in oil medium. The kid is wearing a blue

coloured hat and facing towards us. His childish face is very nicely

painted and his tranquil, calm and serene expressions are beautifully

captured. His eyes are looking straight ahead. Harish Chandra Rai has

succeded in maintaining the innocence of the child. Here, the eyes of the

sitter have been executed in a beautiful manner and the rendering of colour

on the face of the sitter is quite good. He has done it very consciously so

that the delicacy of the feeling of the sitter is maintained.

Plate 13 (at page 231) : In this landscape. Rai has used fresh colours.

Texture of stone and path executed in this painting are extremely good.

Different tones of red colour applied to the colourful tree are looking very

attractive. In this landscape the artist has depicted each corner of the

landscape with full care and enjoyfuU mood. The viewer can find a path in

the centre of the landscape which leads to somewhere and creating a

beautiful perspective. There is a pond also in the foreground of the

painting containing charming uprising lotus of red colour. Here, texture of

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wall is very fascinating. Vigorous brush strokes and an even distribution

of light carry the spectator's gaze from one corner to another. The artist

has stated that, 'it was his last work he has painted.'

Plate 14 (at page 231): In the present hillscape, the artist has maintained

all the qualities of water colour medium. Here, snow-clad mountains have

been executed in the blue colour scheme. Through the very economic

strokes of the colours, the artist has successfully created the desired effect.

In water colour medium, white colour is totally prohibited, therefore, to

execute a painting in water colour medium, the colour scheme he is going

to opt for must be there in artist's mind and he must be sure where the

white colour effect is to be given because in that particular area, the artist

has to left the original white of the paper without colour and this is the real

beauty of water colour painting. In the present painting, H.C. Rai has kept

in mind all these technicalties which have enhanced the beauty of the

painting.

Harish Chandra Rai has played an important role in the upliftment

of the art scene in Himachal Pradesh. He has been very active in doing his

work as an artist. Popularly known as a Watercolourist of Himachal

Pradesh, he has made numerous portraits of the people. H.C. Rai has

stylized his work on the line of great old master Rembrandt Hermn Van

Rizn. He has been a good colourist. Rai is also a follower of realism in his

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art. His drawings are profoundly strong and perfectly accurate. The nude

female body is the site where Rai carries out his artistic investigations. His

detailed rendering and attention to musculature stems from his guru's

interest in body building. The physically perfect bodies that depicts seems

at variance with the psychological imperfections framed by the narratives

they find themselves in. the body thus becomes a leitmotif, which allows

for a close scrutiny of relationships between human beings.

The submersion of invidividual details in a total harmony is a

principal applied to the colours themselves, which melt in subdued tones,

eschewing the human face becomes the most important thing in the

canvas. His production of portraits was overwhelming. The embodiment

of H.C. Rai's painstaking research into the human face, many of these are

not for sale. The subjects, which in conventional portraiture had been

almost lost in external details, gained a new depth and reality. Instead of

rendering a superficial likeness, H.C. Rai penetrated the soul.

Being old and caught in the illness of his better-half, Rai has to

stop the painting now which causes pain to this artist and the art lovers as

well.

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Notes and References

1. Interview held with Harish Chandra Rai at his residence at Shimla on 4.6.2007.

2. Interview held with Harish Chandra Rai on 3.5.2008.

3. Interview held with Harish Chandra Rai on 3.5.3008.

4. Newspaper clipping, The Tribune, 26.1.2010 by Shriniwas Joshi

5. Interview held with Harish Chandra Rai on 15.3.2010.

6. Newspaper clipping. The Tribune, 26.1.2010 by Shriniwas Joshi.

7. Interview held with the artist on 15.3.2010.

^<^8^

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