Shyamhari Chakra
“I am very fond of forms, colours and textures. And I find them all abundantly in the sky. I am so fond of the sky”.
Odisha’s veteran painter Siba Panigrahi, who passed away in Cuttack on Monday, used to confide this to his fans while explaining his most favourite series that he aptly titled “Dream in the Sky”.
True to the title, his dreams as an artist were as limitless as the sky. His life and works speak volumes of it.
Born at Kuliana in the then princely state of Mayurbhanj four years before India’s independence, he lost both of his parents in quick succession even before he was a year old. So he grew up with his aunt’s family in the culturally vibrant and progressive town of Baripada, the headquarters of the royal rulers who provided best patronage to art, education and culture.
“Baripada ingrained and nurtured in me my artistic sensibilities. The animated nature and culture of the land inspired me to study art”, he had acknowledged time and again.
Upon completion of his schooling, Siba Panigrahi joined the Government College of Art and Craft at Khallikote that gave a definite direction to his talent and career. By the time he completed his diploma, he won Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi Award as a modern painter in 1962 that made him known as a potential and promising artist.
It was Cuttack-based multi-talented legendary artist Bibhuti Bhusan Kanungo who was instrumental in grooming young Siba Panigrahi as his mentor. Kanungo launched his pioneering publication house – Panchali Publications – with Siba Panigrahi and Asit Mukherjee as his associates. It was under his guidance that Siba Panigrahi mastered the art of illustrations and cover designing for books and periodicals that made him a household name for the writers and readers of Odia literature for over half a century.
As the artist, illustrator and cover designer for the immensely popular Odia monthly Paurusha since its launch in 1967, Siba Panigrahi got into limelight when he was still in his early 20’s.
Although he joined as a lecturer at B K College of Art and Craft in Bhubaneswar – named after his mentor Bibhuti Kanungo – he continued his base at Cuttack, then the cultural capital of Odisha, that helped him to work with a variety of creative fields like cinema, literature, publishing and advertising in addition to his forte of fine art.
Recognised and honoured by both the State and Central Lalit Kala Akademis, Siba Panigrahi rose to the prestigious position of President of Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi. His paintings have also been a part of several major art exhibitions mounted at the state and national level.
His professional achievements apart, his personal life and style were also unique. Humility personified, he was known for his long hair style and his penchant for wearing brightly painted decorative shirts. “I love to live a colourful life”, he used to remark whenever asked about his hair or attire.
Forever in love with an artistic life, he loved and married Odissi dancer Manorama Panigrahi whom he lost to cancer five months ago. “She was my inspiration for my life as an artist,” he had confessed. And he also named his daughter as ‘Tulika’ (the painter’s brush).
“My dreams are big, bright and colourful like the sky. Gazing at the limitless sky, I often feel as if my heaven is there,” the artist of “Dream in the Sky” series had said. As he bid his final bye to his life of 77 years on this earth, the dreamer apparently left for his heaven in the sky.
