People of Value

Satish Gujral

Despite a hearing handicap, Satish Gujral has achieved a widespread reputation in the field of art, sculpture and architecture. He was born on December 25, 1925, at Jhelum, Punjab. His father Avtar Narayan Gujral was a famous advocate. Initially Satish was a healthy child and at the age of 5 he started going to school. At the age of eight when he was in Class 3, he went with his family on a pleasure trip.

There he met with an accident and due to the non-availability of appropriate treatment, his injury was converted into a disease called "stimulus". As part of the treatment, he was operated several times in three years. The child Satish could not bear these operations. The large number of medicines administered to him during this period adversely affected his health. As a result, at the age of 11, he lost his hearing power completely. Further treatment did not yield results.

His family members believed that a deaf child could not study. So far, Satish could study only up to Class 3 in the Urdu medium. His other brothers were studying well. Meanwhile, his father tried to find out where Satish could be educated and it was finally decided that he should be admitted in a deaf and dumb school at Delhi.

Thus, at an early age Satish came to a deaf and dumb school in Delhi for his studies. Apart from homesickness, he found that the deaf and dumb children were not treated properly. His hearing impairment had not reduced his self-respect. He could not tolerate the misbehavior.

Hence, after spending a month, he returned to his parents. He narrated the incidents of misbehavior to them and firmly told them that he could not lead such a life. His parents could understand his feelings and started thinking of other alternatives.

Meanwhile people around him noticed that Satish was always busy sketching and drawing. In fact his art had depth. Seeing this, his family members decided to train him further in art. They also hoped that if he worked hard, he would adopt this as a profession. Unfortunately there were limited art schools in those days, also the concept of adopting art as a profession was not popular. Besides, there was no art school in Jhelum.

Satish's father decided to send him to Lahore and arranged his lodging at a friend's house. Efforts were made to get him admitted to Mayo Art College. In those days, schools and colleges were quite reluctant to give admission to deaf and dumb students.

The Principal of Mayo Art College initially hesitated but after examining the talent and seeing Satish's confidence level, he gave him conditional admission. Satish was asked to prove himself within a stipulated period, only then would he be given final admission.

Satish not only displayed his talent in art but also indicated his grasping power and was soon given regular admission. He completed a diploma in graphics in 1944. Incidentally Burma Shell Company opened an organization called "Art in Industry" in 1944 in order to promote art.

This organization prearranged the first All India Poster Competition. Satish also participated in this competition and won the first prize. This prize not only gave him an identity in the field of art but he also got admission to the famous J.J. School of Art at Mumbai.

The years spent in Mumbai were full of challenges for young Satish. He had received formal education up to Class 3 only, that to in the Urdu medium. He was neither familiar with Hindi nor English. In those days there were very limited North Indians in Mumbai. Apart from Marathi, Gujarati was also spoken which was also unknown to Satish. Local people used to find difficulty in understanding Urdu.

Hence language became a barrier for Satish. He used to find difficulty in expressing himself or understanding others. However, this problem gave him an opportunity to isolate himself from others. Satish used this period effectively and busied himself in art.

In 1947, Satish completed three years' diploma from Mumbai and was planning to start a publishing house but suddenly his life took a new turn. The Country was partitioned. His father was a member of the Punjab Assembly at the time and had the responsibility of assisting people who were stuck in the area from Jhelum to Rawalpindi. Independence and partition brought widespread violence everywhere.

In these circumstances, Satish decided to share his father's responsibility and the gruesome partition violence had a deep impact on him. The passion and pain of the partition was expressed by Satish on canvas. His paintings were all unique. Out of these there was a painting titled "Partition" which gave him an enormous reputation.

When an art reviewer asked for his comments about his painting, he replied that he had displayed the condition, helplessness and pain of human beings. He had tried to display his inner and outer feeling in a balanced manner and this happened almost automatically without making any extra effort.

He further added that an artist always tries to find such things which are not only connected with his outer world but also with his inner word. Partition generated a feeling of struggle and the same was converted into a painting.

By this time, Satish had received wide publicity. For some time he worked in the publicity department at Pinjour. After leaving this, he worked as Vice Principal in the Punjab Art School at Shimla. The scenic environment of this place was most suitable for his art but the environment of the school was politicized and was unfavorable for him. Satish stayed there for 3-4 years and then resigned.

After this he started living with his elder brother Inder Kumar Gujral who was 6 years older than him and was living in Delhi. One day Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru saw Satish and asked him to pain his portrait. Satish not only made his portrait but due to this, his brother Inder Kumar Gujral got an entry at the PM's house which was very useful for him for his future political career.

Slowly he was appointed to several important political posts. Although later on Satish made portraits of Sarojini Naidu, Indira Gandhi, etc. but never took any interests in politics. Satish still remembers that when he was painting a portrait of Indira Gandhi, her husband Feroz Gandhi made a remark that he was wasting time.

"This lady does not have any qualification other than being the daughter of a Prime Minister," he observed. However, Satish continued painting, as he was very impressed with her tall personality. Indira, of course went on to become the Prime Minister of India.

After working on the paintings for two years, his first exhibition was organized in 1952. In this, he was not only honored but alsogot an identity. The cultural attaché of the Mexican embassy not only appreciated his paintings but also advised him to attach his art with the people.

According to him in Mexico several big paintings called "Murals" are made which are appreciated by the common people. Satish liked this suggestion. He started thinking about learning this art. He did not wait for a long time and the same art lover came to Delhi as an ambassador of Mexico. Satish met him again and a scholarship was subsequently arranged for Satish to study the art of Mexico.

Satish left for Mexico in 1953. A man who had formal no education, who was not familiar with any language other than Urdu, was not able to hear, left for a country, where there was no Indian and even the Indian Embassy did not exist. His will power was his only asset. Although he could not get formal education, but had continued, self study. He learnt the Spanish language with the help of a dictionary.

Being hearing handicapped as well as a foreigner, he was cut off from the external world largely. Due to this, his inner mind became bright. His dedication and concentration gave him an opportunity to acquire expertise in making murals in three years. After getting a diploma, he traveled to New York, Paris, London, and got the latest information about art. In 1956 he returned to Delhi.

The year 1956 was very important for Satish. This year he got the first prize in the All India Exhibition. Pt. Nehru appreciated his work and assessing his love for art Satish suggested to him that he should make a policy to spend two per cent of the cost of construction on its artistic decoration. Nehru appreciated his suggestion and got the process of formulating such a policy.

Satish's goal was achieved when the Parliament enacted a law in 1958 and directed all the departments to spend two per cent cost of construction of all the government building on their artistic decoration. Under this scheme a number of government buildings were decorated and Satish himself decorated the building like Baroda House, Satish Bhawan, etc.

In the same year 1956 when Satish's art exhibition was on several people came to see and the paintings. Out of them there was a girl named Kiran. Incidentally, she was also a student and lover of art. She was very impressed by Satish's paintings as well as Satish himself.

Satish started making her portrait. In this process, both came closer. Both of them expressed their desire for marriage to their parents. Satish's family agreed but Kiran's family had reservations. Probably Satish's disability was the reason.

Finally Satish and Kiran decided to marry and tied the knot on on June 25, 1957. Satish's brother, Inder Kumar Gujral and sister-in-law Shiela Gujral, not only participated in the marriage but also were of indispensable help through out.

After getting a diploma from the Delhi Art College, Kiran dedicated her life to art just like her husband. Their two daughters and one son are also following the path of their parents. All three studied architecture and adopted it as a profession.

The pleasant life has made Satish more of an extrovert. He has adjusted to all kinds of gatherings and attracts people and enjoys respect in the society. Satish who used to remain cut off from the rest of the world now entertains a large number of visitors.

Satish bravely faced the physical, social and economic obstacles in his life. He never accepted defeat. After receiving widespread appreciation and fame, he had to face an insult in 1982 when the Indian Council of Architecture, which is a national organization of architecture, threatened to file a case against h

The Council alleged that Satish was preparing designs of buildings without proper qualifications and that was illegal. Satish faced this challenge bravely and replied that the diploma in Murals, which he acquired from Mexico, includes architecture. In fact murals are made in the buildings only.

In order to prove his contention, he further stated that painting, sculpture and architecture are in fact different aspects of art and are interlinked. Artists who did the decorative work in the caves of Ajanta and Ellora, makers of temples at Khajuraho and other places were experts in all the three aspects, i.e. painting, sculpture and architecture.

Michelangelo who constructed the city of Rome did not acquire a degree from any architecture school. Lutyens who designed New Delhi was only a painter not an architect. Corbursier who designed Chandigarh was an expert in painting and sculpture only.

All these people created history by their art despite the fact that they did not have any formal qualification in architecture studies. According to Satish, art is developed by dedication not by formal education. He also said that for designing the Embassy of Belgium there was an open global competition and he won it.

Satish also developed the habit of writing. He wrote four books one by one and then decided to write his autobiography which was published in 1997. In this ,he has described the beautiful valleys of Pahalgam where he met with the accident which resulted in his deafness. He has also described his contemporary artists such as Roop Krishna, etc.

According to Gujral, his ideal has been the Mexican painter David Alfero Sicros. Sicros developed the art of painting on canvas with automobile paint which was father improved by American artist Jackson Pollock who worked as an apprentice under Sicros.

While remembering Sicros, Satish writes that Sicros was house-arrested in connection with the murder case of Trotsky. When his period of detention was over, people saw that during this period Sicros had converted his house into an art gallery. He had beautifully decorated the floor, walls, the roof, and gardens of his house.

While praising Sicros, he has also criticized on the ground that his political thoughts adversely affected his art. According to Satish, when the brain dominates the heart, the art is affected because it comes from the heart.

Probably this is the reason that despite being so close to politicians and his elder brother being a cabinet minister and then the Prime Minister, Satish Gujral maintained a distance from politics. Satish also revealed in his book that after completing the painting, he does not like to see it again.

Satish was never affected by fear, anger and tension. He was always busy in his work without bothering about honor or recognition. He used his political connections for preparing and implementing the schemes of beautifying the society. He never desired official honor.

In 1960s his name was recommended for the Padma Shri award but he refused. However he was awarded by several organizations. The Belgium Government gave him the title of 'order of the crown'. He was the first non-Belgian to receive such A title.

The Indian Institute of Architecture appointed honored him a fellowship in recognition of his art and capability. This honor is impossible for a person who does not have any formal qualification of architecture.

The International association of architects prepared a document containing the details of one thousand beautiful buildings constructed in the 20th century. This documents consists of 10 volumes and contains the building of the Belgium Embassy in India which was designed by Satish Gujral.

Satish was given the national award twice for painting and once for sculpture. He has been honored by the Governments of Delhi, Punjab and by Shantinikatan. He was also honored by Mexico with the "Leonardo da Vinci Award" which has been conferred on him for his lifetime achievement.

His art exhibitions have been organized in almost all the capitals of the world. His creations are placed in all the major national and international art galleries. A number of films have been made on his personality and creations.

A film has been made jointly by producers from Mexico, Britain and India. The Citizens Council of Delhi has included his name in the list of 25 such persons who have made an outstanding contribution to Delhi in the last 25 years of the 20th century.

All these honors were received by Satish on account of his hard labour and will power, despite his disability. Since then God has also been just to him. He was operated on June 13, 1998 and has been cured if his disability.

In 1999, the Government of India awarded Satish the Padma Vibhushan. Satish is still busy in is work and desires to do a lot more in future.

Source: Vinod Kumar Mishra, Eminent Disabled People of the World, Bookwise (India) Pvt Ltd.