Satish Gujral

{{Short description|Indian painter and scupltor (1925–2020)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}

{{Use Indian English|date=May 2016}}

{{Infobox artist

| name = Satish Gujral

| image = Satish Gujral photo.jpg

| caption = Gujral in December 2017

| birth_name = Satish Gujral

| birth_date = {{birth date|1925|12|25|df=y}}

| birth_place = Jhelum, Punjab, British India

| death_date = {{death date and age|2020|3|26|1925|12|25|df=y}}

| death_place = New Delhi, India

| field = Indian art, sculpture, mural and literature

| training = Mumbai

| movement =

| works =

| patrons =

| spouse = Kiran Gujral

| children = 3

| awards = Padma Vibhushan (1999)

| father = Avtar Narain Gujral

| relatives = Inder Kumar Gujral (brother)
Naresh Gujral (nephew)
Sheila Gujral (sister-in-law)
Feroze Gujral (daughter-in-law)

}}

Satish Gujral (25 December 1925 – 26 March 2020){{Cite web |url=https://globalnewshut.com/renowned-artist-satish-gujral-passes-away-at-94/ |title=Renowned artist Satish Gujral passes away at 94 |date=2020-03-26 |website=GlobalNewshut |language=en-US |access-date=2020-04-03}} was an Indian painter, sculptor, muralist and writer of the post-independent era.{{cite web|url=http://www.hindu.com/2011/03/17/stories/2011031760530200.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110323075128/http://www.hindu.com/2011/03/17/stories/2011031760530200.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2011-03-23 |work=The Hindu |title=Archive News |date=2011-03-17 |access-date=2016-12-01}} He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, in 1999. His elder brother, Inder Kumar Gujral, was the Prime Minister of India between 1997 and 1998.

Early life

Gujral was born in Jhelum in the Punjab Province of British India (now in Punjab, Pakistan) into a Punjabi Hindu Khatri family.{{cite web|url=http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/17747 |title=Satish Gujral, an invaluable pearl of the Indian art world |publisher=Newstrackindia.com |date=2008-01-01 |access-date=2016-12-01}} He was the son of Indian politician Avtar Narain Gujral and the brother of I. K. Gujral, the 12th Prime Minister of India; his sister in law, Sheila Gujral, was a noted Hindi poet. His nephew Naresh Gujral is also a politician.{{Cite news|last=Hebbar|first=Nistula|date=2020-03-27|title=Satish Gujral passes away at 94|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/satish-gujral-passes-away-at-94/article31178795.ece|access-date=2021-06-12|issn=0971-751X}}

Education

Because of his hearing problem, many schools refused admission to Gujral. One day he saw a bird sitting on a tree branch and drew a picture of it. It was an early indication of his interest in painting and later in 1939, he joined the Mayo School of Arts in Lahore, to study applied arts. He moved to Bombay in 1944 and enrolled in the Sir JJ School of Art. In 1947, due to a recurring sickness, he was forced to drop out of school and leave Bombay.

In 1952, Gujral received a scholarship to study at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, where he was apprenticed to the renowned artists Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros.{{cite web|url=http://www.sify.com/news/memories-of-partition-and-more-from-ace-artist-satish-gujral-news-others-qctpEgagchjje.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916160737/http://www.sify.com/news/memories-of-partition-and-more-from-ace-artist-satish-gujral-news-others-qctpEgagchjje.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2016-09-16 |title=Memories of partition and more from ace artist Satish Gujral |website=Sify |access-date=2016-12-01}}

File:Mural by Satish Gujral (Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana).jpg campus in Ludhiana, Punjab]]

Works

The Partition of India and the associated agony of the immigrants impacted a young Satish and manifested itself in the artworks he created. From 1952 to 1974, Gujral organised shows of his sculptures, paintings and graphics in many cities across the world such as New York City, New Delhi, Montreal, Berlin and Tokyo, among others.{{cite web |work= famouspunjabi.com |url= http://famouspunjabi.com/satish-gujral |title= Satish Gujral |access-date= 27 June 2015}}

Gujral was also an architect and his design of the Belgium Embassy in New Delhi was selected by the international forum of architects as one of the finest buildings built in the 20th century.

Personal life

Gujral lived with his wife Kiran (1937-2024) in New Delhi. Their son Mohit Gujral, who is an architect, is married to former model, Feroze Gujral. They also have 2 daughters, Alpana, a jewellery designer, and Raseel Gujral Ansal, an interior designer and owner of Casa Paradox & Casa Pop and is married to Navin Ansal.{{cite web|author=Rashmi Hemrajani |url=http://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report_art-inspired-jewellery_1810426 |title=Art-inspired jewellery | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis |publisher=Dnaindia.com |date=2013-03-13 |access-date=2016-12-01}}

Global policy

Along with his brother Inder Kumar Gujral, he was one of the signatories of the agreement to convene a convention for drafting a world constitution.{{Cite web |title=Letters from Thane Read asking Helen Keller to sign the World Constitution for world peace. 1961 |url=https://www.afb.org/HelenKellerArchive?a=d&d=A-HK01-07-B149-F04-022.1.8 |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=Helen Keller Archive |publisher=American Foundation for the Blind}}{{Cite web |title=Letter from World Constitution Coordinating Committee to Helen, enclosing current materials |url=https://www.afb.org/HelenKellerArchive?a=d&d=A-HK01-07-B154-F05-028.1.6 |access-date=2023-07-03 |website=Helen Keller Archive |publisher=American Foundation for the Blind}} As a result, for the first time in human history, a World Constituent Assembly convened to draft and adopt the Constitution for the Federation of Earth.{{Cite web |title=Preparing earth constitution {{!}} Global Strategies & Solutions {{!}} The Encyclopedia of World Problems |url=http://encyclopedia.uia.org/en/strategy/193465 |url-status= |access-date=2023-07-15 |website=The Encyclopedia of World Problems {{!}} Union of International Associations (UIA)}}

Awards

Gujral was awarded India's second-highest civilian honour Padma Vibhushan in 1999. In April 2014, he was honoured with NDTV Indian of the Year Award.{{cite web|title=Amjad Ali Khan, Satish Gujral honoured with NDTV Indian of the Year Award|url=http://news.biharprabha.com/2014/04/amjad-ali-khan-satish-gujral-honored-with-ndtv-indian-of-the-year-award/|work=IANS|publisher=news.biharprabha.com|access-date=29 April 2014}}

References

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