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1. Week:10
Lecture:10
Folk and Modern Arts, Crafts and Cottage Industries
Folk Arts and Crafts traditional arts and crafts evolving over time through communal practice. The
distinction between what constitutes art and craft is often blurred. Thus floor and wall paintings or NAKSHI
KANTHA are included in folk art while the products of POTTERs, CARPENTERs and weavers, as well as
articles made of bamboo, cane, shola, conch-shell, ivory, bell-metal are referred to as craft. There are,
however, some folk arts that cannot be categorized separately. For instance, an earthen pot on which
fish, leaves and other designs have been painted as well as cane mats with designs of trees, birds,
mosques etc. are a combination of both art and handicraft.
Folk art generally includes those articles that are traditionally made by communities of people to satisfy
their religious, social and aesthetic needs. ALPANA or painting floors with rice paste, manasaghat,
laksmir sara, mangalghat etc. are connected with social and cultural practices of the people and have
no commercial value. However, CHAL CHITRA, paintings on canvas, which have religious connotations,
are also a means of livelihood.
Most folk arts need very ordinary raw materials like clay, wood, cloth, thread, sola or spongewood,
conch-shell, reeds, bamboo, cane and horns. However, some material is more expensive. Though gold
jewellery does not fall into the category of folk art, ornaments made of copper, brass, and silver may
well be included. The implements used for making folk artifacts are very simple. Even the village
goldsmith, despite his use of the precious metal, also works with primitive tools, crouched on the ground
over a small flame.
Much of women's folk art has been non-commercial, whereas the folk art produced by men has a
commercial value attached to it. Thus, BLACKSMITHs, potters, COBBLERs, painters, GOLDSMITHs, brass-
smiths, WEAVERs earn their livelihood from what they produce. Traditionally, in the past, alpana artists
or nakshi kantha needlewomen were working within the home and received no monetary recompense
for their labour.
Folk art uses traditional motifs reflecting the land and its people. Different forms of folk art tend to repeat
these common motifs. For instance, the lotus, the sun, the tree-of-life, flowery creepers etc are seen in
paintings, EMBROIDERY, weaving, carving and engraving. Other common motifs are fish, elephant, horse,
peacock, swastika, circle, waves, temple, mosque etc. Many of these motifs have symbolical meanings.
For example, the fish represents fertility, the sheaf of paddy prosperity, the lotus purity and the swastika
- usually more curvilinear than the Nazi symbol - good fortune.
Folk art may be divided into the following categories: (1) painting: floor painting, stage scenery, painted
pots, masks, wall painting, tattooing and other body painting, chal chitra, karandichitra (Manasa tales
on a sola canvas), fancy pots, fancy DOLLS etc; (2) embroidery: nakshi kantha, NAKSHI PAKHA,
handkerchiefs, etc; (3) weaving: fancy mats, NAKSHI SHIKA, fancy fans, baskets, flower vases; (4)
modelling: dolls and toys, utensils, masks, moulds for making cakes and, sweets, ornaments; (5)
engraving: wooden products, terracotta slabs, metal works; (6) inlaying: ornaments inlaid with gems,
pearls, diamond and other precious stones, decorating buildings and houses with coloured glass and
stones.
Alpana
A popular folk art associated with Hindu women's observance of religious vratas or vows such as
Laksmivrata, Senjutivrata, Maghmangalvrata, Haricharanvrata and Basudharavrata. It is also drawn on
the occasion of Hindu weddings and ANNAPRASHANA. Common motifs drawn during weddings include
the lotus and creepers. Alpana are also drawn at Muslim weddings, especially on the occasion of the
GAYE HALUD. The alpana motifs drawn at Muslim functions are, however, quite different from those at
vratas. On 21st February as well alpanas using floral motifs and geometric patterns are painted on the
roads leading to the SHAHEED MINAR.

2. White paste made of pounded rice is the main raw material for alpana. Depending on the occasion,
brick powder, ash, water mixed with cow dung, vermilion and turmeric paste are also used. Alpanas for
vratas are drawn with a finger or a piece of wood. In urban areas, alpanas are painted with enamel
paints and brushes. Alpana motifs do not show realistic details. The senjutivrata alpana, representing
a woman with many children, is shown by abstract lines. Similarly, the laksmivrata alpana, representing
the goddess Laksmi's foot, is shown simply as a human footprint.
Alpona
Bamboo craft
Bamboo is used to make houses as well as essential implements for farming and fishing as well as
domestic use. Bamboo is also used to make musical instruments such as the EKTARA and the flute.
Bamboo fences and partitions are often decorated with floral motifs and geometric patterns. Fancy fans
made of bamboo depict trees, birds, elephants, flowers and conch-shaped leaves.
Cane craft
Like bamboo, cane is also used to make a variety of household and fancy products including furniture.
Chairs, stools, sofa sets, bookshelves, baskets, table lamps, partitions and hookah holders are
attractive and affordable.
Though less commonly used in urban areas, fancy mats called NAKSHI PATI (pictorial mat) or shitalpati
(cool mat), continue to be in demand both for their comfort and attractiveness.
Cane Products
Daruchitra
The art of wood engraving is an ancient craft, used for decorating door frames, pillars, windows,
palanquins, boat prows, toys and dolls. The designs are carved out and the plain surfaces are then

3. painted. Door frames and pillars are painted with creepers, palanquins with flowers, creepers and
geometric patterns, and boats with the swastika, the moon, stars, birds and fish.
Dewalchitra
Dewalchitra or wall painting. Images of deities are painted on the walls of mud houses in northern
Bengal in the belief that these images will protect the house and its inmates from evil. Flowers and
leaves are painted to beautify the dwelling place. Apart from alpana designs, motifs include the
swastika, the goddess Laksmi seated on a lotus, the heroes of the PURANAs, sheaves of paddy,
creepers, peacocks and elephants. Scenes from the story of KRISHNA or RAMA are painted as murals.
For the past two decades, wall paintings have also become popular in Dhaka city. Many of these
paintings are broken up into panels painted in different styles of folk art. The boundary wall of the
Institute of Fine Arts which faces Kazi Nazrul Islam Road, for example, has scenes drawn in nakshi
kantha, GAZIR PAT, and ghatachitra styles. In addition to traditional motifs and scenes, depictions of the
WAROF LIBERATION are also common. During the observances of Ekushey, the walls facing the Shaheed
Minar are painted with quotations in BANGLA SCRIPT.
Gazir pot
Gazir pot a form of scroll painting, used to illustrate the life of Gazi Pir, king of tigers. Painted in panel
form, these illustrations depict various miraculous events associated with Gazi Pir. One such panel
shows Gazi seated on a tiger with its tail lifted. Gazir pat also includes other scenes and motifs, such
as the goddess Ganga riding the makara a mythological aquatic animal, a cow being grabbed by a tiger,
and Daksin Ray, also regarded as a king of tigers, holding a mallet in his hand. There are still one or
two patuyas in Munshiganj and Narsingdi who paint Gazir pot.
Ghatachitra
Paintings on earthen pitchers or ghat. There are various types of ghatachitra such as mangalghat,
manasaghat, nagaghat, laksmighat, kartiker bhand and daksinrayer bara, the names being derived from
the deity painted on the pitcher. Thus, manasaghats depict MANASA, the snake goddess, while
nagaghats depict hooded snakes.
A pitcher with the image of an eight-headed snake is called 'astanaga ghat'. Similarly, a pitcher depicting
Laksmi, the goddess of wealth, is called 'laksmir ghat', while a ghat with the image of Daksin Ray, the
tiger god, is known as 'daksin rayer bara'. The manasaghat is the most ornate and popular of this folk
genre.
Jute craft
Apart from being the raw material for hessian and carpets, jute is also used to make mats, bags, and
hanging string bags or sika, used in homes to hang foodstuff out of the reach of animals.To make sikas,
jute twine is braided and then tied in various patterns such as taraful, puntiful and takaful. The sikas are
given different names such as muthashika, chakshika, kadishika and nengtashika on the basis of their
size, shape and designs. Kadisika, for example, is threaded with cowries

4. .
Karandichitra
Panel paintings on sola, depicting the goddess Manasa. These paintings are made on the occasion of
Manasa puja. First a karandi, a square frame resembling a temple, is made with sola and paper. Then
boxes are drawn at the top and the bottom portraying Manasa, BEHULA, Laksindar, Chand Sadagar,
Behula's seven brothers and their wives, a sage, fishermen, snake charmers, washermen, trumpeters
and coiled snakes. At the end of the puja, the karandi is set afloat on water.
Metalcraft
Gold and silver ornaments and plates, glasses, pitchers and mugs made of silver and bell metal have
been in use since ancient times. Flower vases, ashtrays, table lamps, containers for cosmetics, and
various decoration pieces are also being made. Various motifs such as flowers, creepers, birds and
geometric patterns are engraved on pitchers, glasses and mugs.
Gold and silver ornaments
To adorn women from head to foot, are made in innumerable designs. Traditional ornaments include
the makaramukhi mal (the makara-faced anklet), an anklet designed in the shape of the makara.
Lockets are designed like flowers, butterflies and geometric patterns. Ornaments are also set with
precious cut stones, gems and pearls.
Nakshi kantha
Nakshi kantha or embroidered quilt is made and used almost everywhere in Bangladesh. However, the
nakshi kanthas of Rajshahi, Jessore, and Faridpur are most famous for stitchcraft and picturesque
designs. Several layers of old cloth are put together to make these quilts. Apart from being used to
make bedspreads and quilts, nakshi kantha work is also used to make pillow cases and covers, prayer
mats, seats for puja, small bags for keeping mirrors and combs, gilaf (covers) for books, covers for
foods, and dastarkhan or dining mats.

5. The designs were traditionally drawn free hand by women who worked leisurely in their spare time. At
present much nakshi kantha work is done by NGOs and handicraft organisations for commercial
purposes. Common motifs are the lotus, the sun, the moon, stars, leaves, trees, flowering creepers,
human figures, deities, horses, elephants, fish, birds, TAZIAs and rath. Elaborately embroidered quilts
depict scenes from mythology or contemporary life. Traditionally, threads drawn from sari borders were
used. At present embroidery thread is used or skeins of yarn.
Nakshi moulds
Decorative moulds or blocks of varied designs are made with clay, stone or wood. Wooden blocks are
employed to print fabrics using different colours. Moulds of wood, clay and stone are used to make
decorative cakes and sweets. Stone moulds are engraved with creepers, flowers and fruits. Wooden
moulds are made by carpenters, but clay moulds are made by village women themselves.
Ornamental woodwork
A variety of motifs and designs are carved on doors, windows, pillars, joists, rafters, ches ts, beds,
divans, low seats, cake moulds, cases of musical instruments, palanquins, chariots, boats and dolls.
Common motifs include the lotus, birds, flowery creepers, circles and geometric designs.
Painted masks
In many folk festivals, artistes would wear painted masks. In religious dances the performers
would wear masks depicting the faces of the deities. SHIVA's face, for example, would be made
by dabbing mud on a piece of cloth fixed around a wooden frame. Kali's face was painted
blue, her eyes white and black and her tongue red.

6. Painted Mask
Patachitra
Patachitra or scroll paintings by professional artists, known as PATUYAs, are used to illustrate different
narratives. These scroll paintings date back to the Buddhist period when Buddhist bhikkus known as
'maskari' used to spread the message of BUDDHISM by showing pictures to illustrate stories of the
Buddha. Subsequently, during Hindu rule, these scroll paintings depicted stories from the Puranas.
Many Hindus were converted to Islam after the Muslim conquest of Bengal in the 13th century. They
did not abandon the trade they had learned, but added Muslim stories to their repertoire. Thus, they
continued to paint stories of Krishnalila, Ramalila, and Manasalila, stories of Krishna, Rama and
Manasa, and at the same time painted scrolls depicting the deeds of Gazi Pir and Bibi Sonabhan and
the tragic events at Karbala.
The illustrations were first painted on silk cloth or linen and later on paper made of cotton-pulp. There
are two kinds of PATACHITRA in Bangladesh: single pictures on a square canvas and multiple pictures
on a long roll. KALIGHAT PAINTINGs belong to the first category. This style of painting developed during
the 18th-19th centuries after the establishment of Kolkata. The Kalighat school disappeared after
western style painting became popular.
The traditional patachitra illustrates different episodes of a story on a scroll up to 30 feet long. As the
scrolls are wrapped around sticks, these are also known as 'wrapped pictures'. There is another kind of
scroll known as 'panchakalyani pat' which contains illustrations of different deities.
Pottery
Inexpensive household utensils are made of clay as are images of Hindu gods and goddesses for pujas
and devotional rites. Dolls, toys, and decoration pieces are also made in most parts of Bangladesh.
Some clay products are decorated with designs of leaves, flowers, birds etc while others are left plain.

7. Sakher hari
Sakher handi or clay pots painted with motifs of fish, birds, lotus, leaves and geometric designs in
bold brush strokes. Common colours are red, yellow and green. Both motifs and colours are symbolic
of fertility, which is why these pots are used to carry gifts of fruit and sweets at weddings. Rajshahi is
well known for these pots.
Sakher Hari
Sarachitra
Tthis large clay plate painted with the image of the goddess Laksmi is also known as 'Laksmir sara' or
Laksmi's pat. The plate is first painted white and then the image of the deity, often shown seated on an
owl, is painted in yellow, red, and black. On some lids, she is shown with Durga, her mother, and
Saraswati, her sister. On other plates she is shown in a panel with the images of RADHA and KRISHNA.
Sola craft
Sola or spongewood, obtained from a plant that grows in paddy fields and shallow water-bodies, is used
to make a variety of decorative articles. Traditional articles include backdrops for images of deities and
topar, or headgear, for brides and bridegrooms. Topars are usually decorated with kadam flowers. Other
items include dolls, birds, elephants, flowers, boats, garlands etc.
Vaishnavas install sola images of Radha and Krishna on platforms at rasa festivals and worship them.
Mangalik, garlands of kadam flowers, are hung in houses in the belief that they bring good luck. Sola

8. hats were popular during British rule. A sharp knife and a pair of scissors are the main implements for
this craft.
Sola Craft
Terracotta Art
Terracotta is the earliest form of plastic art in which the Bengal artists excelled. The art products in
terracotta or burnt clay satisfied the creative impulse of the artists and also met the domestic and ritual
needs of ordinary man. Clay objects were either baked in the sun or burnt into terracotta for hardening
and durability and were used by man in his daily life since pre-historic times.
Due to paucity of stone and the complex technology involved in metal sculpture, the artistic desire of
Bengali artists found expression in clay, which was abundantly available, and it hardly involved either
any complex technical know-how or any heavy financial involvement. Thousands of untutored artists
produced innumerable terracotta objects from pre-historic time (PANDU RAJARDHIBI). The abundant finds
of objects made of terracotta in Bengal is a sure evidence of the use of clay as a most common and
popular medium of art expression of the people from the very dawn of civilisation in this deltaic land.
The art was practised in Bengal from the earliest through early medieval to medieval times and even
persisted on Hindu monuments till the mid-nineteenth century. The art is noticed in all forms - small clay
figurines, clay sculptures in the round, but the most notable ones are the plaques. Terracotta panels
and friezes, used as surface decoration on brick buildings, are Bengal's remarkable contributions to the
sum-total of South Asian art.
Terracotta works
Zainul Abedin
Zainul Abedin (1914-1976) an artist of exceptional talent and international repute. He played a
pioneering role in the modern art movement in Bangladesh that began, by all accounts, with the setting
up of the Government Institute of Arts and Crafts (now Institute of Fine Arts) in 1948 in Dhaka of which
he was the founding principal.
He was well known for his leadership qualities in organising artists and art activities in a place that had
practically no recent history of institutional or professional art. It was through the efforts of Zainul Abedin
and a few of his colleagues that a tradition of MODERN ART took shape in Bangladesh just within a
decade. For his artistic and visionary qualities the title of Shilpacharya has been bestowed on him.

9. Born in Mymensingh in 1914, Zainul grew up amidst a placid surrounding dominated by the river
Brahmaputra. The river and the open nature inspired him from his early life. He got himself admitted in
Calcutta Government Art School in 1933 and learnt for five years the British/European academic style
that the school diligently followed. In 1938, he joined the faculty of the Art School, and continued to
paint in his laid-back, romantic style. A series of watercolours that Zainul did as his tribute to the river
Brahmaputra earned him the Governor's Gold Medal in an all-India exhibition in 1938. It was a
recognition that brought him into the limelight, and gave him the confidence to forge a style of his own.
Zainul's dissatisfaction with the Orientalist style that seemed to him heavily mannered and static, and
the limitations of European academic style led him towards realism. His fascination with line remained
however, and he made versatile use of it in his interpretation of the everyday life of the people.
In 1943, he drew a series of sketches on the man-made famine that had spread throughout Bengal,
killing hundreds of thousands of people. Done in Chinese ink and brush on cheap packing paper, the
series, known as Famine Sketches were haunting images of cruelty and depravity of the merchants of
death, and the utter helplessness of the victims.
The sketches brought Zainul all-India fame, but more than that they helped him find his rhythm in a
realistic mode that foregrounded human suffering, struggle and protest. The Rebel Crow (watercolour,
1951) marks a high point of that style. This particular brand of realism that combined social inquiry and
protest with higher aesthetics was to prove useful to him in different moments of history such as 1969
and 1971 when Zainul executed a few of his masterpieces.
In 1947, after the partition of the subcontinent, Zainul came to settle in Dhaka, the capital of the eastern
province of Pakistan. Dhaka had no art institute or any artistic activity worth mentioning. Zainul Abedin,
with the help of his colleagues, many of whom had also migrated to Dhaka from Calcutta, founded the
art Institute. In 1951, he went to Slade School of Art in London for a two-year training. Zainul's works
after his return from London showed the beginning of a new style a 'Bengali' style, so to say where folk
forms with their geometric, sometimes semi-abstract representations, the use of primary colours and a
lack of perspective were prominent features. Two Women (gouache 1953), Painna's Mother (gouache
1953) and Woman (watercolour 1953) are some of the notable works of this period.
Zainul Abedin's works throughout the fifties and sixties reflected his preference for realism, his aesthetic
discipline, his predilection for folk forms and primary colours. Increasingly, however, he came to realise
the limitations of folk art its lack of dimensionality, its flat surface, an absence of the intricate relationship
between light and shade, and their lack of dynamism. As a way of transcending these limitations, Zainul
went back to nature, to rural life, and the daily struggles of man, and to a combination of styles that
would be realistic in essence, but modernist in appearance. Zainul's idea of modernism was not
confined to merely abstracted, non-representational styles, but to a deeper understanding of the term
'modernity' itself in which social progress and individual dynamism are two leading components.
Thus the powerful figure of men and women struggling against man-made and natural calamities are a
reminder of that essential idea of modernism: realising the limits of the individual. Zainul's works
centralise men and women who labour and struggle against odds, and realise their potentials.
The 65 feet scroll painting (in Chinese ink, watercolour and wax) Nabanna that he drew in celebration
of the 1969 mass movement or the 30 feet scroll painting Manpura done to commemorate the hundreds
of thousands who died in the devastating cyclone of 1970 show his dynamic style at work. Zainul, of
course, painted nature and the human scene (including the private moments of village women), but his
predilections for speed, movement and an interactive space are evident in the paintings of late sixties
and seventies.

10. In 1975, Zainul Abedin set up a folk museum at SONARGAON, and a gallery in Mymensingh (Shilpacharya
Zainul Abedin Museum) to house some of his works. He became actively involved in a movement to
preserve the heritage of Bengal, and reorient Bengal art to the roots of Bengali culture, as he felt the
futility of unimaginative copying of western techniques and styles that modern art somehow inspired in
a section of the local artists. His health began to deteriorate however, as he developed lung cancer. He
died on 28 May 1976 in Dhaka.
Works of Zainul Abedin

11. S. M. Sultan
S. M. Sultan (1923-1994) a renowned painter. His real name was Sheikh Mohammad Sultan but he is
more widely known as SM Sultan. He was born on 10 August 1923 at Masimdia, a village in Narail
district. His father worked as a mason, and Sultan joined him after five years of schooling at the Victoria
Collegiate School in Narail. Sultan also began to draw the buildings his father used to work on and thus
developed a liking for art. Sultan knew that an art education was only possible in Calcutta, but family
hardship stood in the way. It was then that the zamindar of the area, Dhirendranath Roy offered his
help. With monetary support from the zamindar, Sultan went to Calcutta in 1938.
But Sultan did not have the requirements for admission into the government School of Art. With the help
of another patron, Shahid Suhrawardy, who was a member of the governing body of the School, Sultan
entered the Art School. Suhrawardy also offered him accommodation in his house, and the use of his
own library. Sultan however did not complete his education. After three years in the school, he left and
chose to work as a freelance artist.
Sultan had a strong Bohemian streak in his character and something of a wanderer. He soon took to
the road, travelling to different places of India. For a means of living, he drew the portraits of allied
soldiers who had camped at different places in India. He held the first exhibition of his art work in Simla
in 1946, but no work from this period survives, not even photographs as Sultan was totally indifferent
to preservation of his work.
For a time, Sultan lived and worked in Kashmir - mostly landscapes and portraits. Then, after the
partition of the subcontinent in 1947, he returned to Narail. Then again, in 1951, he left for Karachi.
There he taught as an art teacher at a school, and came in contact with artists like Abdur Rahman
Chughtai and Shaker Ali, with whom he developed lasting friendship. In 1950 Sultan had gone to USA
- exhibiting his work in New York, Washington, Chicago, and Boston, and later in London. In 1953 he
returned to Narail. There he built a school for children, and a menagerie. He lived in a house full of cats
and snakes. Except for occasional visits to Dhaka (where he had his first exhibition in 1976) he lived in
the quiet isolation of his house.
On first looking at SM Sultan's paintings, one gets the impression of vastness and strength. His canvas
is large, like a spacious stage where life's dramas are played out. The cast of the drama consists of
agricultural labourers, fishermen, simple householders, and toiling men and women. The men pose an
enigma, since their large muscular and sinewy bodies contrast oddly with the emaciated physique of
real life farmers and fishermen wasted by hard labour and hunger. Yet, in painting after painting, mostly
in oil, but some in striking watercolours, Sultan painted the same human figures, symbolically
suggesting the possibility of a dream rather than reality. Sultan believed in an arcadia where happiness
and contentment would reign, yet was acutely aware of the exploitation, violence and deprivation that
were the daily fare of the life of the villagers.
The tension between expectation and reality is a strong undercurrent in his paintings, sometimes
ironising his contrasted studies of innocence and deceit. His strong bodied men fight with spears for a
newly risen sandbank, or kill a fellow villager in a clan war yet, in moments of domestic repose, they
revert to their roles of caring fathers or husbands. At times, they turn into thinking figures, as in
Reminiscence. His men are drawn in the European Renaissance tradition while his women- supple-
breasted and graceful- belong to the old Indian tradition. Instead of delicate lines however, Sultan uses
strong curved lines, and flat body tones so that they do not stand apart from the crowd of active males.
Sultan's watercolours are bright and lively, but treat the same theme - nature and rural life. They contrast
sharply with the often drab and flat oils painted in deep colours. Sultan tended to work heavily all over
his canvas without living any empty space. His drawings, however, are masterful in their economy and
compactness. The lines are powerful and full blown. In his later works though, the composition is less
tight and focused, perhaps a sign that Sultan was growing a little impatient with the reality of his time.

12. Works of S. M. Sultan

13. Quamrul Hasan
Quamrul Hasan (1921-1988) artist, born on 2 December 1921 in Kolkata, where his father, Muhammad
Hashim, was superintendent of the Tinjala Graveyard. His paternal residence was in Narenga village in
the Burdwan district of WEST BENGAL.
Quamrul Hassan studied at Calcutta Model ME School (1930-1935) and Calcutta Madrasa (1936-
1937). He graduated in Fine Arts from the Government Institute of Arts (presently, College of Arts and
Crafts, Kolkata) in 1947.
During his student life, he was also involved with Boy Scouts, the BRATACHARI MOVEMENT, Manimela,
Mukul Fauj etc. Apart from his interest in art, he was also interested in physical exercise and, in 1945,
he became the Bengal champion in a physical exercise competition. Like many Bengali Muslims, he
was involved in the Pakistan movement and trained the young boys and girls who belonged to the Mukul
Fauj.
After partition, Quamrul Hassan came to DHAKA and, in collaboration with Shilpacharya ZAINUL ABEDIN,
established the Government Institute of Fine Arts (at present, the Institute of Fine Arts) in 1948. He
taught at the same institute till 1960. In 1950, Quamrul Hassan organised the Art Group in Dhaka.
The East Pakistan Small and Cottage Industries Corporation was established under the leadership of
Quamrul Hassan in 1960, and he worked there as Director of the Design Centre till his retirement in
1978. After his retirement, Hassan worked as a free-lance artist.
Always politically active, Quamrul Hassan was involved in the NON-COOPERATION MOVEMENT (1969-70).
He also took part in the WAR OF LIBERATION, serving as the Director of the Art Division of the Information
and Radio Department of the Bangladesh Government in exile. During this time he designed a poster
depicting a ferocious-looking AGA MOHAMMAD YAHYA KHAN, themilitary president of Pakistan. The caption
of the poster was, 'These animals have to be killed'.
Quamrul Hassan combined popular and modern methods in his paintings and thus came to be known
as 'Patua Quamrul Hassan'. Solo exhibitions of his paintings were held in Dhaka (1955, 1964, 1973,
1975, 1991, 1995), Rangoon (1975), Rawalpindi (1969) and London (1979).
Quamrul Hassan received several awards and honours for his contribution to art, among them the
President's Gold Medal (1965), the Comilla Foundation Gold Medal (1977), the Independence Day
Award (1979), Bangladesh Charu Shilpi Sangsad Honour (1984) and Kazi Mahbubullah Trust Gold
Medal (1987). He was made a Fellow of BANGLA ACADEMY in 1985. The Government of Yugoslav (1985)
and the Government of Bangladesh (1986) issued commemorative stamps using his paintings Tin
Kanya and Naior respectively.