I’m still learning” shares artist Jatin Das, who has been the face of Indian art for more than four decades. Born in an old princely state called Mayurbhanj, Orissa, art has always been a ‘way of life’ for this 70-year-old artist.

“I was born in a very enlightening place. I had a guru at the age of eight when I learnt yoga. My guru was not only a headmaster but also played mridangam, wrote poetry, was well-versed in Upanishads and sang. When you grow up in a traditionally rich environment like that, art is not a separate thing as you see in the big cities today,” he says.
In the late 1950s, his artistic ambitions led him to the prestigious Sir J.J. School of Art in Mumbai where he studied under Prof. S.B. Palsikar. “It was the long journey from a small town to a big city like Mumbai, but it seems like yesterday. My mentor was Prof. Palsikar. Those days, if our professor called us to his studio to help him out, our day was made. Such was the passion for art,” he fondly recalls.
Talking about his works in 1960s and 70s that first brought him acclaim in the 1960s, and 70s, continue to win him admirers even today, Jatin says it didn’t come easy.
“In those days, when an artist sold his work, he would immediately call up his fellow artists and spend it all on drinks and dinner. Sometimes, we would have just a little rum and share it amongst ourselves and have food. My children had to push my old Maurice Minor, 1949 model, before leaving for school everyday. In the post office, I used to keep `50 and `100 in their postal accounts,” shares the painter.
Sporting a bushy white beard and a puff of thinning white hair, Das is older than many of the country’s contemporary artists, who get so much media attention. When asked if it affects him? Jatin answered, “I sell much less than many who are 30 years younger to me. Younger generation is doing computer-generated visuals, which are photo-transferred on to the canvas and installations. And people are being seduced into various aspects of life, which are glossy. I never thought of the money I’m going to make as an artist. I have somehow lived a decent life, not luxurious though,” he says.
For an artist who has given his life to paintings, he rues about the absence of genuine critiques today. “Fifty years ago, there were reviews next morning after an exhibit. Richard Bartholomew used to get `30 for a review those days. So when the paper didn’t have any colour and it was only four or five pages and there were reviews on art. Today, so many pages, sadly, no space for art. I recently exhibited “To Stir the Still Air — Pankha” in March in Washington DC and though Washington Post did a feature on it, there was no review,” says Jatin.
However, it’s not the end of the road for Jatin for the journey has just begun. “I’m still a child, and still beginning to paint, beginning to live, and rethink about life and work. I’m working on the JD Centre of Art at the moment. I have too much on my platter. I’m looking for people who can take up on a few projects,” he reveals.
For someone who has exhibited more than 55 one-man exhibitions shows in his name, calls exhibitions a boring concept. “Exhibitions are boring. Painting is a more personal thing. When I’m painting it’s just about my paper and me. Nothing else matters. There are no genuine reviews on arts anywhere. Along with that I hate auctions, especially those that sell a painting at much higher price than what it deserves,” says Jatin.