Art News India

By Narendra Nagdev

Sacchida Nagdev

Sachida, a child prodigy, had abandoned all ‘Gulli-Dandas’ and ‘ Kanche’ in search of a ‘kala guru’ among  sign board painters of a dusty town. From there on, to the award podium at Triennale in Japan must have been a long and fulfilling journey.

His formative years in Bharati Kala Bhvan at Ujjain under the guidance of Dr. Wakankar paved way for a technically sound creative artist in the years to come. He ignited in him the desire to venture into the unknown territories of creativity, and appreciate what art means to human feelings and existence at large. Here he learnt to handle different mediums ranging from pencil shades and crayons to water colours and oil paints, and to work on varying surfaces like handmade papers to canvas. His study of portraits and still life went far beyond academic requirements. His figurative compositions won him laurels in state level to All India exhibitions. It was here that he went out for landscape paintings that eventually formed the back-bone of his creations, develope insight to look beyond what is visible, adopt the necessary leaving the rest, and ensure the expression of creativity. Charles Fabri, the iconic art critic, commended his landscapes in no uncertain terms – “Mr. Nagdev can turn a true landscape, a picture of a few houses and the like into a picture of almost fable-like quality. Some of his work is most attractive and surprisingly near to realism”. Here he studied and copied European masters to near perfection and studied Indian miniature paintings too which had to become important ingredients of his experiments in future. From here he took those adventurous, penniless journeys to northern mountains, Nepal and Europe which played important roles in discovering himself and shaping the artist in him.

 May be it was this exposure to trends of abstract in the west coupled with his deep study and fascination for Indian miniature paintings , that eventually paved way for his fascinating experiments of combining both, and arriving at his signature style in the years to come. This instantly caught attention of the art world and he found a place in the National Gallery of Modern Art, besides representing in the third Triennale in Delhi in 1974 and having an honorable mention in various National Art Exhibitions. On a large canvas surface painted with abstract, he would fix a small miniature of a ‘Nayika’ or ‘Krishna’ painted in traditional Kangra or Rajput style, abstract and miniature both depicting same theme and feeling. Writes The Hindustan Times – “Sachida Nagdev from Ujjain revealed himself as fascinating experimentalist in the blending of abstraction and image in his exhibition at Triveni. He can monumentally plant a structuralist composition in the middle of his canvas, surrounding it with virginal white, treat the same type of design in heavy tones and high chiaroscuro so that it glows like neon lighting, or reduce it to a miniature, isolate it in a boldly divided space, yet establishing links with similar motifs in other divisions of the canvas by echoes of formal affinities. But his most fascinating experiment consists of using miniature modeled on Basohli, Kangra and other Rajput schools as insets in such abstract composition.”He was admired for creating only one figure, with perhaps a rajput decorative motif, isolated and at a distance, with a magical effect and the sense of space as liberating as in a kishangarh painting, but with a piquant modernist flavor and sophistication.

With passage of time, the miniature gave way to other small figures on the abstract surface depicting the theme. ‘Gas tragedy’ series, painted soon after the catastrophe of Bhopal in 1984, of which he was an eye witness, was a fine example of this. So was series ‘The death’. ‘Andhere me’, another series of eight large size paintings, based on the famous poem of the same title and written by the legendry hindi poet Muktibodh, was a full expansion of this style. In each series colour schemes got changed to suit the subject and feelings to be expressed. Dim, and dusky coloures replaced bright ones to express horror and anguish in gas tragedy series, whereas in ‘Andhere Me’ as the title suggests, they were all black or darkish backgrounds with poem related small figures such as masks ( Mukhoto ka Juloos) were piqued at focal points.

Step up from this on to complete abstract was thus a process of natural evolution. Hence, he didn’t have to follow any established or ongoing trend in abstract. His works were effortless and direct expression of his own emotions, thus bearing an stamp exclusively of his own. Strokes of brushes and their directions splashed spontaneously on canvas and forms emerged almost on their own with no need for any rethinking or rectification. Colours and strong strokes could be felt moving restlessly almost with stormy touch on his canvas which are exclusively his signature works. And thus on each canvas he creates a mood. His long experience and control on strokes make each painted area on canvas treated with care, as if a poet is carefully crafting each line of a poem with due diligence. Interestingly, even after miniatures and figures vanished from his abstracts, some of the natural elements like The birds and branches of trees did make their presence felt on them. Particularly the Sun , be it red , yellow or even black, appeared strongly on many of them, suggesting a live, vibrating atmosphere and some imaginary terrain, on whom  it rises sometime, gets eclipsed or even disappears.

Apart from a sound structural balance in the overall composition, shapes and colours, his abstract had a quality of fine detailing too. Zigzag lines or triangular shapes created by brush strokes themselves created superb textures on the expanses of coloured surfaces. Writes well known art critic Dhyaneshwar Nadkarni- “ Nagdev uses the brush, applying it with purposeful freedom. The colours browns, reds, and greens throb with vitality through the agency of the brush strokes. Texture is not consciously inflicted on the canvas, but blooms naturally with the painting technique…..Sachida’s structural sense is seen to the advantage in all paintings. Even those who do not ‘understand’ abstract art, will find these paintings beautiful.”

Sachida was essentially a colourist, having his inspiration driven from rich, and colourful heritage of Malwa- a region he belonged to. He had no hesitation in playing with brightest of colours. According to Shignenobu Kimura, Japanese art critic – “The characteristic of his paintings lies in colours. They are featured by the dark green basically which is associated with the colour of deep sea, purple check vermillion rhythm on blue and black stripes on red, which forms abstract designs….. his paintings appears to us to show the sense particular to the Indian people and kind of uneasiness. His paintings whose forms have a delicate variation and the impression of strain belong to what is called the lyric abstract art, but it’s expressive colours are of his original one.”

He even experimented applying gold leaf – a touch of apparent flamboyance – stylishly and used to offset the application of conventional colours. Though his abstract went only so far as to the limit of genuine expression of his feelings and creative urge. This was a line he had drawn for himself and never crossed. His award winning painting at Osaka Triennale ( Japan) in 1990 was a fine representative specimen of his abstract theme.

A keen admirer of classical music, he also kept his second passion photography alive all along. Literally thousands of photographs clicked by him speak volumes of his creative eye behind the lenses. But more than anything else, he was a fine and saintly human, soft spoken and ever ready to guide youngsters and help others in need.