INSPIRATION

INDIAN ORIGIN

Men flaunt colour: Turbans are worn in a variety of colours

Human equilibrium of colour in day to day life is the spontaneous thought that came to Sen’s mind on seeing this Rajasthani man with his colourful turban. 

He found the contrast of the man’s white dress with his speckled crimson headgear to be reminiscent of a white canvas with strokes of bright colours. 

His admiring question is, through the hard working days of his daily life, how can this man carry such elegance in his body and head? It’s his intrinsic artistic balance, Sen concluded, that gives this Rajasthani man the grace and confidence to live with his traditional values intact.

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.