G R Santosh

G R Santosh, widely acclaimed painter and poet, was born in 1929. He was born Ghulam Rasool Dar in a Kashmiri Muslim family of modest means. He dropped out of school after his father's death and took up menial jobs. He drew landscapes and sketches in this period, arguably by drawing inspiration from his late artist grandfather.   

In 1950, Santosh joined the Progressive Arts Association in Kashmir, formed as a result of artist S H Raza's efforts to mobilise Kashmiri painters. Santosh exhibited across India as a member of this association. In 1954, he won the government scholarship to study Fine Arts under the guidance of artist N S Bendre at the MS University, Baroda. During that time, he did something revolutionary for Kashmiri society, by marrying his childhood lover, Santosh, who was a Kashmiri Pandit. Further he assumed her name, and became Ghulam Rasool Santosh.

In his early years, Santosh was greatly influenced by geometric shapes and the mysticism of the Kashmir valley. His treatment of snow-clad houses and the backwaters on the banks of river Jhelum reveals his finely tuned sense of visual perception and is an example of splendid semi-abstract treatment. Although Santosh began by painting landscapes, he was gradually influenced by Cubism and switched over to creating Cubist landscapes, a theme that became popular later. 

Inspired by the Tantra philosophy, he combined the male and female forms, and finally worked round to paint a pure image of the human form, leaving out the face, hands and feet. For a while, therefore, his subjects came to be dominated by the Shiv-Shakti. His ‘luminous’ colour application and transcendent imagery paved the way for some stunning artworks around the same theme.

In 1973, he received the Lalit Kala Akademi award and the Padma Shri in 1977. In 1979, he became the recipient of Sahitya Akademi Award for his poem titled Be Soakh Rooh. The artist passed away in 1997 in New Delhi.

Academics

Faculty of Fine Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda.(Student of N. S. Bendre) 1954-56. Self-Taught Craftsman, Painter, Weaver. 947-53

Awards

Doctorate of Literature (LittD), posthumous, by University of Jammu 1997

Posthumous citation and special prize for 'extraordinary contribution in the field of Art and Literature', by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir 1997

Zehne Jadid Aitraaf for best interview published in the Urdu magazine Zehne Jadid 1992

Kala Ratna Award, All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society (AIFACS), New Delhi 1991

Kalhana Award, The Kashmir Education and Science Society, New Delhi 1985

Artist of the Year, Sahitya Kala Parishad, New Delhi 1984

Sahitya Akademi Award for Besukh Ruh (his collection of poems) 1979

Awarded Padmashri, Government of India 1977

National Award, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi 1973

National Award, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi 1964

First Prize, Kalidasa Jayanti Exhibition 1959

National Award, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi 1957

Governor of Bombay’s Prize 1955-56 

Cultural Scholarship, Government of India 1954-56