Remembering GR: The son of the soil

From his looks, manner, lingo and vision reflected through his brush, Ghulam Rasul, commonly known as GR, comes out as a soul deeply ingrained in the beauty of nature and its multiples colours, and the old nostalgic tradition of Pakistani people and landscape he proudly traverses, owns and portrays. Few would imagine from his extensive dossier spanning over 45 years that GR was such an unassuming person so deeply ingrained in the soil he belonged to. Studying and teaching printmaking and painting at the Northern Illinois University, USA; working in Atelier 17 founded in Paris; representing Pakistan at art exhibitions, seminars and symposiums around the world; holding solo shows in the US, Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, former Yugoslavia and Thailand; group shows in Washington, California, Amman, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Singapore, Bangkok, Rome, Bonn, Brussels, London, Paris, Fukuoka, Beijing, Monaco and New Delhi, GR, despite such wide globe-trotting, never wore any mask and remained a simpleton from Faisalabad without any pretensions and refusing to be tempted or tainted by the glitter and glamour of the outside world - something that is commonly seen in most people so easily impressioned with their foreign sojourns. Like a true artist, he reduced to the canvas whatever touched him anywhere, be it Kathmandu in Nepal or Trichmir in Northern Pakistan. But, predominantly, GRs work exhibits his love for his native land and its vast expanses dominated by different hues of green, mustard and brown, as also the traditional rural life of Pakistan. GR, after a decade-long teaching spell at home and abroad, served the Pakistan National Council of Arts from 1976 to 2001, ending up among its few Director Generals of stature before devoting himself completely to the paint, brush and easel for the rest of his life. We, in the Pak-Japan Cultural Association, had the good fortune of his company as its honorary Executive Member in the later years of his life. Ghulam Rasul was in the process of setting up his personal art gallery amid the green pastures of Bara Kahu in the outskirts of Islamabad when he departed for the hereafter on December 3, 2009, leaving a huge void in Pakistans world of art, and for the Pak-Japan Cultural Association with which he has left fond memories. One learns that his wife and daughters have taken upon them to complete his unfinished gallery for which we wish them all the luck and pray for their success. Ghulam Rasul, who was made honorary member of the Japan International Artistes Society, Tokyo, and is among the galaxy of individuals who were the recipients of the Presidents Medal for Pride of Performance, not only deserves to be posthumously bestowed with a much higher distinction and award to place him among the company of a chosen few, but also honoured by having an institution, a place or a pathway named after him as has been done in the case of several others in different fields. Many eminent Pakistani art critics, artistes and collectors, including Anna Molka, Mariana Baber, Marjorie Husain, Anis Mirza and Safdar Mir, have paid glowing tributes to GRs work from time to time. However, a few comments have been reproduced from a couple of foreign admirers to reflect upon how outsiders at different world forums have viewed his contributions in the field of art. Amelia Pavel (translation from Romania Literara): Ghulam Rasul forms a bridge between the ancient tradition of oriental art in India and Pakistan and the aim of modern art. He transplants on his canvases in modern mode of expression, the valuable ideas of his ancestors, such as sacredness of everyday life and the identity between the miraculous and the natural. He utilises the decorative beauty of forms in order to emphasise the symbolic value of the image. Annelie Pohlen (translation from General Anzeiger, Bonn): The paintings are sympathetic to his Asiatic homeland. The softly rounded up worldly composition of the coloured parts stand in dialectical tension with the heavy schematic iconography of his country surroundings. Dr Libuse Jandeva, Vice Director of the Prague National Gallery, in his address at the inauguration of an exhibition said: Ghulam Rasul has worked out an original style of presenting his landscapes. His grasp is realistic and his paintings acquaint us with the character of a landscape full of light and brilliant colours. The Pakistan National Council of Arts has arranged to mark GRs second death anniversary on December 13, 2011, at the PNCA Islamabad with an exhibition of collection of his paintings by eminent citizens of Pakistan and foreign dignitaries based in Pakistan. Hopefully, numerous art lovers will visit the gallery to pay tribute and homage to this great son of the soil. The writer is a freelance columnist. Email: zaheerbhatti1@gmail.com