Monday, June 8, 2015
A T.V SHOW , DELHI : 1979 ; Presenting Dr. P. Basu M.D
" A DIALOGUE WITH NATURE "
DELHI TV PRESENTS PHANI BASU AND HIS WASTE - WOOD SCULPTURE-S
IN " P A N A R M A " DATES : 31 .7 . 1979
INTERVIEWER : MRS. MANJU V. PANDEY.
==================================================================
From time immemorial wood has been used as a medium of Art . We have among us Dr, Phani Basu who has selected wastw-wood or dead wood in the Field of his Art.
Phani Basu is Unique in the sense that he combines Science and Art in the way that he is a medical specialist and at the same time a poet, a play - wright , a painter, a writer and now a Waste - wood sculptor .
To day , we have quite a few pieces of his works on waste-wood / fire-wood / even wild wood with natural bends and creative sculpting by Dr. Phani Basu .
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Mrs Pandey ; Dr. Phani Basu, how is it that you took up Waste -wood as the particular
medium of your artistic expressions ?
P.B : Well there was a situation or a coincidence ,About 20 years back when I first came to
Delhi., I was fed with my idea that Delhi was a ' Cultural - desert ' and nothing grew here to inspire an artist or a poet and I almost experienced it , So naturally with my love for Poetry and other branches of visual Art I felt frustrated and deserted , I even desired to leave Delhi and go back to Calcutta .
Then one day , while visiting some tomb / monument in Safdar Jung area , I suddenly
found a deep green robust CACTUS growing on a desert-land defying the hostile
Summer Sun and trying to declare itself
That very moment I got my faith back . It inspired me to think that can also grow here and be Expressive , So I defied the negative situation I was given and decided to grow and be Creative. From that day on wards I went on searching and searching to know
how other plant life reacted to this Delhi climate, Like this CACTUS or otherwise !? This led me to the new and interesting discovery i.e finding expression even among dead , waste or wild wood rejected by all .
DELHI TV PRESENTS PHANI BASU AND HIS WASTE - WOOD SCULPTURE-S
IN " P A N A R M A " DATES : 31 .7 . 1979
INTERVIEWER : MRS. MANJU V. PANDEY.
==================================================================
From time immemorial wood has been used as a medium of Art . We have among us Dr, Phani Basu who has selected wastw-wood or dead wood in the Field of his Art.
Phani Basu is Unique in the sense that he combines Science and Art in the way that he is a medical specialist and at the same time a poet, a play - wright , a painter, a writer and now a Waste - wood sculptor .
To day , we have quite a few pieces of his works on waste-wood / fire-wood / even wild wood with natural bends and creative sculpting by Dr. Phani Basu .
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mrs Pandey ; Dr. Phani Basu, how is it that you took up Waste -wood as the particular
medium of your artistic expressions ?
P.B : Well there was a situation or a coincidence ,About 20 years back when I first came to
Delhi., I was fed with my idea that Delhi was a ' Cultural - desert ' and nothing grew here to inspire an artist or a poet and I almost experienced it , So naturally with my love for Poetry and other branches of visual Art I felt frustrated and deserted , I even desired to leave Delhi and go back to Calcutta .
Then one day , while visiting some tomb / monument in Safdar Jung area , I suddenly
found a deep green robust CACTUS growing on a desert-land defying the hostile
Summer Sun and trying to declare itself
That very moment I got my faith back . It inspired me to think that can also grow here and be Expressive , So I defied the negative situation I was given and decided to grow and be Creative. From that day on wards I went on searching and searching to know
how other plant life reacted to this Delhi climate, Like this CACTUS or otherwise !? This led me to the new and interesting discovery i.e finding expression even among dead , waste or wild wood rejected by all .
P 2
This came to me too as new and interesting discovery i.e finding life and expression
even among the dead or waste or wild wood in fire-wood -shops and resulied in an
exciting pleasure for me .
Q: do you think that any particular type of waste - wood would help you more : like soft
wood, hard wood or even drift wood?
Ans : I have not given much thought to this particularity and drift wood are but mountain-
stream- wood and ever away from my reach .To me durability is not the big criterion .
I am a poet and always tried to instill poetic vision in any other field with my mode of living . In more abstract language , suppose the floating fragrance of a flower , - jesmine ! How fragile it is ! Yet I would be very proud to hold it even for a few moment within
me.
Q ; you must have moved far and wide to find out these Art pieces ?
Ans : No ! not much , I had neither scope and by profession. I was mostly bound in Delhi by the demand of my job and almost 80% of Art -pieces you see here, were found in and around in Delhi itself .
Q : when you found these waste or mother-wood pieces , which method you applied to put your feeling in them ?
Ans : May I answer this in my own way ! first , -- I was a poet and a doctor and though I
was not trained nor an Art -school-product , I had to experiment and device my own
way , feeling nervous .Yet , Poetry was the Root-seed of my endeavor ,
So , when I found a piece any where ( even once in a drain ) I rescued and lifted it up brought home dried it over then started trimming it , chipping it even assaulting it
In the end I wanted to see it the way I as dreaming for ir : Rejected one part , broke
another, even distorted some other part to bring the expression on the surface that -I found hidden beneath .
Q : Don't you some times , find some pieces and preserve them as it is; if it seem all
complete ?
ANS : In that case, I would be only an Art -collector and not a creative artist.
This came to me too as new and interesting discovery i.e finding life and expression
even among the dead or waste or wild wood in fire-wood -shops and resulied in an
exciting pleasure for me .
Q: do you think that any particular type of waste - wood would help you more : like soft
wood, hard wood or even drift wood?
Ans : I have not given much thought to this particularity and drift wood are but mountain-
stream- wood and ever away from my reach .To me durability is not the big criterion .
I am a poet and always tried to instill poetic vision in any other field with my mode of living . In more abstract language , suppose the floating fragrance of a flower , - jesmine ! How fragile it is ! Yet I would be very proud to hold it even for a few moment within
me.
Q ; you must have moved far and wide to find out these Art pieces ?
Ans : No ! not much , I had neither scope and by profession. I was mostly bound in Delhi by the demand of my job and almost 80% of Art -pieces you see here, were found in and around in Delhi itself .
Q : when you found these waste or mother-wood pieces , which method you applied to put your feeling in them ?
Ans : May I answer this in my own way ! first , -- I was a poet and a doctor and though I
was not trained nor an Art -school-product , I had to experiment and device my own
way , feeling nervous .Yet , Poetry was the Root-seed of my endeavor ,
So , when I found a piece any where ( even once in a drain ) I rescued and lifted it up brought home dried it over then started trimming it , chipping it even assaulting it
In the end I wanted to see it the way I as dreaming for ir : Rejected one part , broke
another, even distorted some other part to bring the expression on the surface that -I found hidden beneath .
Q : Don't you some times , find some pieces and preserve them as it is; if it seem all
complete ?
ANS : In that case, I would be only an Art -collector and not a creative artist.
P III
Well, take up this piece that I have made named MODERN MAN . This piece was found suitable to hold the expression that I wanted to impose . Let me describe the
piece . The face of this man looks hugely intelligent with a massive brain ; looks
confident , intellectually strong , even dominating , but also , largely disproportionate with
no space for a Soul at all and even looking almost grotesque and standing on a weak
base ! And this is is really the state of a Modern man , I think . So , you see ; the
idea was within me and I transferred it to on a wood - piece as soon a I found one .
And here and thus , I claim to be a creative Artist and not an art - collector .
Mrs. Pandey : You are a poet and now are also a sculptor . Which field you like more to
express yourself or in other term , -- which side your love lies ?
P,B : You want to expose my weaknesses ! I already told you ; Even though this is a very
recent love in the field of Visual art , I am essentially a poet and grew up like that .
I started writing poetry when I was a school boy and grew up with it .And poetry found an easy space within me .
During my M.B.B.S - study , I was inspired by my prof Dr . P Bose 's Drawing skill. I
started drawing and sketching and even started a Wall- Cartoon -Weekly' in Medical
College , Calcutta which became very popular.
____________________________________________________________________
piece . The face of this man looks hugely intelligent with a massive brain ; looks
confident , intellectually strong , even dominating , but also , largely disproportionate with
no space for a Soul at all and even looking almost grotesque and standing on a weak
base ! And this is is really the state of a Modern man , I think . So , you see ; the
idea was within me and I transferred it to on a wood - piece as soon a I found one .
And here and thus , I claim to be a creative Artist and not an art - collector .
Mrs. Pandey : You are a poet and now are also a sculptor . Which field you like more to
express yourself or in other term , -- which side your love lies ?
P,B : You want to expose my weaknesses ! I already told you ; Even though this is a very
recent love in the field of Visual art , I am essentially a poet and grew up like that .
I started writing poetry when I was a school boy and grew up with it .And poetry found an easy space within me .
During my M.B.B.S - study , I was inspired by my prof Dr . P Bose 's Drawing skill. I
started drawing and sketching and even started a Wall- Cartoon -Weekly' in Medical
College , Calcutta which became very popular.
____________________________________________________________________
DELHI T.V PRESENTS Dr. P.Basu M.D as an Artist
P IV
As I was a poet . I had only to transfer my inner thought on some others visuals
field and also wanted the medium to be some thing new and at the same time within
my reach .
Mrs . Pandey : do you think that your being a doctor helped you being an Artist ?
P. B : I think it did . You see from Anatomy I learnt abut the physical state of a living being or the form ; the normal the abnormal ; the proportion , the disproportion .
from higher medical studies I learnt about about the disease, the health, the sick . I saw and learnt directly the state of suffering from disease and return of happiness when cured ; even I learnt the collective picture of sorrow in relatives after a death . And all
these scenario-s helped me to intensify my feeling and inner state of being . Being a
doctor I think I had the maximum scope to know the outside and inside of a man
more and better than any other on beig on a better stage than Art-school studio .
Mrs Pandey : Is it not ESCAPISM that being a doctor you try to engage yourself in the field of Art and Poetry ?
P.B : I do not know , - how you people spell ESCAPISM or extract meaning out of it !
So far I learnt , Escapism is running away from the realities of Life and Living
to a negative World .
Here , you yourself admit that I am a doctor and am working in responsible job .Then , even I am a family man and am not neglecting my family responsibilities . over more
you are recognizing me as a Poet , Painter and sculptor .
Now living so intensely and being so much more involved in life , - is it escapism. If that is so then let me put it in another way .;
Leonardo - da - vinci ; an engineer , an anatomist , a mathematician , a philosopher, the designer of Aeroplane and finally the Painter of immortal Mona -Lisa ! Was he too a n Escapist ? Or Sir Winston Churchill , the Soldier , the Prime minister , the hero of World War II, the winner of Noble Prize and even a painter and a brick-layer. Would you name him , -- an Escapist !
As I was a poet . I had only to transfer my inner thought on some others visuals
field and also wanted the medium to be some thing new and at the same time within
my reach .
Mrs . Pandey : do you think that your being a doctor helped you being an Artist ?
P. B : I think it did . You see from Anatomy I learnt abut the physical state of a living being or the form ; the normal the abnormal ; the proportion , the disproportion .
from higher medical studies I learnt about about the disease, the health, the sick . I saw and learnt directly the state of suffering from disease and return of happiness when cured ; even I learnt the collective picture of sorrow in relatives after a death . And all
these scenario-s helped me to intensify my feeling and inner state of being . Being a
doctor I think I had the maximum scope to know the outside and inside of a man
more and better than any other on beig on a better stage than Art-school studio .
Mrs Pandey : Is it not ESCAPISM that being a doctor you try to engage yourself in the field of Art and Poetry ?
P.B : I do not know , - how you people spell ESCAPISM or extract meaning out of it !
So far I learnt , Escapism is running away from the realities of Life and Living
to a negative World .
Here , you yourself admit that I am a doctor and am working in responsible job .Then , even I am a family man and am not neglecting my family responsibilities . over more
you are recognizing me as a Poet , Painter and sculptor .
Now living so intensely and being so much more involved in life , - is it escapism. If that is so then let me put it in another way .;
Leonardo - da - vinci ; an engineer , an anatomist , a mathematician , a philosopher, the designer of Aeroplane and finally the Painter of immortal Mona -Lisa ! Was he too a n Escapist ? Or Sir Winston Churchill , the Soldier , the Prime minister , the hero of World War II, the winner of Noble Prize and even a painter and a brick-layer. Would you name him , -- an Escapist !
DELHI T.V PRESENTS Dr,P,Basu M.D as Artist
P - V
Einstein , the God of Science , a writer , a violinist; Chekhov , Somerset Maugham , A. J . Cronin , Bonoful -- all doctors and great Writers ; should they all be labelled as escapist ? So you see , to be more involved in art and living and be more involved is not Escapism You better change your stand .
Q : Had not anty sort of formal training at all ?
Ans : To speak honestly I had none . Not even drawing lesson in School life . I even
suffered from inferiority complex, some times . But I regained faith in myself
gradually . I
I learnt also that there comes a time when all creative artists want to liberate
themselve from the grip and bondage from the influence of their Masters . They want to be themselves .
Being a poet , I had my own vision , my own ideas . and libraries and books were not scanty in Delhi. There is another line of opinion :
In other finer arts like dance , music , painting ,sculptures, - there are schools , sudio-s
etc But Poetry is the unique path where poets are really self-born and create
themselves .
For poetry , there is no school or training center . There you are alone with your inner
eye and creative impulse . You are your own Master . So I had my inner creative faith
and only did transfer it on another medium ..
Yet I must not forget to mention here that during my medical Studies , tt was Dr .
Pashupati Bose , the Anatomy Professor whose Masterly skill in drawing with colored
chalks on the huge Wall -board almost kept me mesmerized and inspired me in learning
drawing and sketches at spare time . Also some paintings of Rabindra nath Thakur
surely inspired me in the field of visual art .
Einstein , the God of Science , a writer , a violinist; Chekhov , Somerset Maugham , A. J . Cronin , Bonoful -- all doctors and great Writers ; should they all be labelled as escapist ? So you see , to be more involved in art and living and be more involved is not Escapism You better change your stand .
Q : Had not anty sort of formal training at all ?
Ans : To speak honestly I had none . Not even drawing lesson in School life . I even
suffered from inferiority complex, some times . But I regained faith in myself
gradually . I
I learnt also that there comes a time when all creative artists want to liberate
themselve from the grip and bondage from the influence of their Masters . They want to be themselves .
Being a poet , I had my own vision , my own ideas . and libraries and books were not scanty in Delhi. There is another line of opinion :
In other finer arts like dance , music , painting ,sculptures, - there are schools , sudio-s
etc But Poetry is the unique path where poets are really self-born and create
themselves .
For poetry , there is no school or training center . There you are alone with your inner
eye and creative impulse . You are your own Master . So I had my inner creative faith
and only did transfer it on another medium ..
Yet I must not forget to mention here that during my medical Studies , tt was Dr .
Pashupati Bose , the Anatomy Professor whose Masterly skill in drawing with colored
chalks on the huge Wall -board almost kept me mesmerized and inspired me in learning
drawing and sketches at spare time . Also some paintings of Rabindra nath Thakur
surely inspired me in the field of visual art .
A DIALOGUE WITH NATURE -- VI
Mrs . Pandey : What is the method of searching your material ?
P .B : There is no particular method. As I told you before , I am a doctor and in a job . I
go to the hospital ( Safdarjung Hospital , Delhi ). and keep my eyes alert and observation awake even when on my walk so that I may se something interesting . If I find a wood- piece, -I pick it up--hold it --turn it may keep it or throw it back . One thing is very
certain : only forms or shapes do not interest me inless there is a possibility of deeper
expression covered underneath . When I succeed I feel happy, proud and think that I
have rescued a piece of dead-wood condemned to be burnt or left to decay and I try to
give it another phase of 'life '.
Mrs Pandey : What is your idea about giving the piece the final shape ?
P.B : By selection or rejection . One thing is certain ; I must not add anything as then , I
would violate NATURE's 'Game and my Principle . If I add , -- then I have no right to pick waste -wood from Nature's lap .
Mrs, Pandey : Where from you got you first idea and inspiration ; from others's sculptures ?
P. B : I told you I try to keep myself alert and aware to absorb all that are acceptable and
good enough as 'food' for my mind . Regarding inspiration , -- I get inspiration from
almost all events in around me . In hospital I get inspiration , from Market place I get
inspiration . from trees green or dying , from passing men , from speeding people ,
laughing men , crying kids , beggars , even dead ; they all inspire me to rethink .
You know ; Life is a very big CANVAS and there you can not be selective . One must
keep hia eyes and all senses alert to absorb that one considers as food for his thoughts.
The Sky , the World , the trees , the men living , even dying or dead are better models
than any such found in any Art -school - studio .
Mrs. Pandey : You being a doctor, how do you afford to get time fr your love for so many
serious Arts .
P.B : It is is a very old Time-honored Question ; always put up and answered in all different
ways I shall also answer in another way . Col . R.N. Banerjee, head of the department of
P .B : There is no particular method. As I told you before , I am a doctor and in a job . I
go to the hospital ( Safdarjung Hospital , Delhi ). and keep my eyes alert and observation awake even when on my walk so that I may se something interesting . If I find a wood- piece, -I pick it up--hold it --turn it may keep it or throw it back . One thing is very
certain : only forms or shapes do not interest me inless there is a possibility of deeper
expression covered underneath . When I succeed I feel happy, proud and think that I
have rescued a piece of dead-wood condemned to be burnt or left to decay and I try to
give it another phase of 'life '.
Mrs Pandey : What is your idea about giving the piece the final shape ?
P.B : By selection or rejection . One thing is certain ; I must not add anything as then , I
would violate NATURE's 'Game and my Principle . If I add , -- then I have no right to pick waste -wood from Nature's lap .
Mrs, Pandey : Where from you got you first idea and inspiration ; from others's sculptures ?
P. B : I told you I try to keep myself alert and aware to absorb all that are acceptable and
good enough as 'food' for my mind . Regarding inspiration , -- I get inspiration from
almost all events in around me . In hospital I get inspiration , from Market place I get
inspiration . from trees green or dying , from passing men , from speeding people ,
laughing men , crying kids , beggars , even dead ; they all inspire me to rethink .
You know ; Life is a very big CANVAS and there you can not be selective . One must
keep hia eyes and all senses alert to absorb that one considers as food for his thoughts.
The Sky , the World , the trees , the men living , even dying or dead are better models
than any such found in any Art -school - studio .
Mrs. Pandey : You being a doctor, how do you afford to get time fr your love for so many
serious Arts .
P.B : It is is a very old Time-honored Question ; always put up and answered in all different
ways I shall also answer in another way . Col . R.N. Banerjee, head of the department of
A DIALOGUE WITH NATURE- VII
Medicine ,Safadarjung Hopital how does he get time looking after his heavy job to
write poems or direct or stage plays . Recently he staged a play which was shown on
T.V . Or Dr. P.K Sen of Bombay , a famous surgeon ; how he makes time to paint
good pictures and hold exhibitions !
Of course, time is 24 hrs . a day for everyone. Only thing or difference is , you have to
select your own choice and mode of living and snatch away time for it . I mean , you
have to sacrifice so many of your personal pleasure or general hobbies of living . Again
I remind you : Einstein was a famous violin player in-spite of his being the God of
Science .
Mrs . Pandey : your wife must be feeling jealous ! And do not your family and children feel
neglected ?
P.B : You know I am a poet in my heart . And the ' must-quality ' of a Poet is to be true to
the self or Soul . Yes , my family suffers and like most Autobiographers who according
to Mack Twain are ' big liars , I ill not say that they all happily help me . It can not be
so .
My wife suffers and look after the children and house almost alone being over more,
in a job. My children ant me to take them to Pictures or Picnics and most often I can
not join .
Yes, they suffer but they endure it for they know that I am not spending my time
doing any thing bad or mean or shameful. I am only trying to paint a vaster and better
World for them too to be proud of , if I succeed .
And you know : this endurance is also another side of love in family life . Now suppose if my wife neglected the children and helped me in my work ! Would it not be sadder
end in my life if my children suffered too for her helping me ? !
Mrs Pandey : Now please tell us some more about your Art pieces .
There are many art pieces of abstract form while some are quite simple , though .
Can you explain how you deveoped yoyr approach from simple to these abstract
forms ?
P.B : yes I can , I start my works from simple pattern and then try to impart soul , life , vitality and emotion . I told already that unless a piece expressed some inbuilt mood only form could not interest me . Then when ideas and feelings gradually grew more intense and deep and abstract form had to leave the simple pattern and be more complex , compressed
and unusual to be deep enough to hold the meaning I wanted to instill . The
examples are Devi, ( Jagat-ddhatri ), the Evolution, the MODERN Man , Shringer, Don
Quixote, Mother Courage etc .
Mrs. Pandey :It was very interesting to listen to you all this time and thank you .
P.B : Thank you too .
[ CONCLUDED ]
-------------------------------------------------
write poems or direct or stage plays . Recently he staged a play which was shown on
T.V . Or Dr. P.K Sen of Bombay , a famous surgeon ; how he makes time to paint
good pictures and hold exhibitions !
Of course, time is 24 hrs . a day for everyone. Only thing or difference is , you have to
select your own choice and mode of living and snatch away time for it . I mean , you
have to sacrifice so many of your personal pleasure or general hobbies of living . Again
I remind you : Einstein was a famous violin player in-spite of his being the God of
Science .
Mrs . Pandey : your wife must be feeling jealous ! And do not your family and children feel
neglected ?
P.B : You know I am a poet in my heart . And the ' must-quality ' of a Poet is to be true to
the self or Soul . Yes , my family suffers and like most Autobiographers who according
to Mack Twain are ' big liars , I ill not say that they all happily help me . It can not be
so .
My wife suffers and look after the children and house almost alone being over more,
in a job. My children ant me to take them to Pictures or Picnics and most often I can
not join .
Yes, they suffer but they endure it for they know that I am not spending my time
doing any thing bad or mean or shameful. I am only trying to paint a vaster and better
World for them too to be proud of , if I succeed .
And you know : this endurance is also another side of love in family life . Now suppose if my wife neglected the children and helped me in my work ! Would it not be sadder
end in my life if my children suffered too for her helping me ? !
Mrs Pandey : Now please tell us some more about your Art pieces .
There are many art pieces of abstract form while some are quite simple , though .
Can you explain how you deveoped yoyr approach from simple to these abstract
forms ?
P.B : yes I can , I start my works from simple pattern and then try to impart soul , life , vitality and emotion . I told already that unless a piece expressed some inbuilt mood only form could not interest me . Then when ideas and feelings gradually grew more intense and deep and abstract form had to leave the simple pattern and be more complex , compressed
and unusual to be deep enough to hold the meaning I wanted to instill . The
examples are Devi, ( Jagat-ddhatri ), the Evolution, the MODERN Man , Shringer, Don
Quixote, Mother Courage etc .
Mrs. Pandey :It was very interesting to listen to you all this time and thank you .
P.B : Thank you too .
[ CONCLUDED ]
-------------------------------------------------
