Re-experiencing India’s irreverent colours

From the age of 44, Sen started to come back and forth to India. This gave him quite a different perspective of his country of origin which he had not seen when he left it a quarter century earlier. Within his European framework where he grew up professionally post his teens, he suddenly saw an irreverent usage of colour in India. There were no boundaries, no regimentation, no pattern in the usage of colour. Different people extravagantly used colour for their different types of social to religious to livelihood to lifestyle requirements. There is no colour code to follow. Sen found this to be a huge palette of the freedom of expression. It gave a new dimension to the visual expression of his Gesturism Art.

 

INDIA’S BLOODY INDEPENDENCEIN 1947

When India was partitioned 1947 to create Pakistan, a new country for Muslims, about 20 million people of Bengal and Punjab were displaced and brutally victimized. Sen’s wealthy, literate family had huge landed property in erstwhile East Bengal, the present Bangladesh, which was carved out to be East Pakistan for Muslims. So for being Hindus Sen’s family was overnight evicted from their home. Without taking any possessions, they fled for their lives amidst people warring over religion, and so became squatted refugees in West Bengal.