Three Pujarins - Jamini Roy

Review: Three Pujarins – Jamini Roy

Following is my review based on a painting by Jamini Roy named ‘Three Pujarins’. The work is purely fictitious and derives from my own understanding of this piece of work. 

 'Three Pujarins' exhibited in the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi.

Draped in blue cotton sarees with appealing golden borders, three women strike a pose. As they prevail in captivating the eyes of the viewer, it puts speculation in the minds. What does the painting signify and what makes it extraordinary?

The answer lies in the technique and the story behind it. Jamini Roy, a Padma Bhushan awardee uses watercolour to paint the depiction. Being a rebel with a cause, he rejected oil paints as they were a symbolization of the western world, although he was trained in the British style of academic painting. We have Bengali Renaissance to thank this thought process for. He has been one of the earliest modern artists of India and wanted art to be available for all. 

The art he portrayed originated from a patriotic essence – the colours were made from flowers, vegetables and everything organic. The rural backdrop of the art is seen as uplifting, rather than traditional. Folklore, the dignity of Adivasis, suburban life, and the portrayal of peasants and artisans suited Roy. He mastered the paintings featuring women especially of the Santal community engrossed in their everyday chores. It reflected the simplicity and romanticisation of the village experience and environment.

Calligraphic lines laid special emphasis in his imagery since the mid-1920s as he showed his command over the art form and a stronghold of the brush. Firm and angular lines may have been his favourite. The paintings were somewhat monochromatic and hinted at traditional Bengali art infused with British style, Kalighat style, and East Asian paintings style among others, as an inspiration.  

Three Pujarins is a Tempera style painting on a paper board which was exhibited in the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi on the occasion of  125th birth anniversary of the artist. The event was titled, ''Jamini Roy: Journey to the Roots 1887 - 1972 '. The dimensions of the painting are 36.5 X 70.5 cms.

Three women are depicted in the picture as they seem to be going for worshipping. Roy has used thick contour lines to represent them along with bold blue colour to make them stand out. The colour blue itself represents serenity and stability, much to the likes of Jamini's village symbolism. The women do look full of wisdom going about their simplistic but significant lives. 

Poised eyes and a facial stature is visible and a tint of white makes the accessories look appealing yet simplistic. When looked with finer details, all the three women have the same faces, almost. It makes one wonder about the many responsibilities women carry and play multiple roles. Nearly as familiar as Hindu mythology portrays Goddess Durga or Kali. Yet it's different since there are three faces, not multiple hands. I know Roy definitely didn't want to show bi-polar or multiple personality disorder, but something more.

In the present scenario, many use this painting as a reference to portray rural women, and also go on to make posters of the same for occasions such as 'Women's Day'. It is widely available on e-commerce platforms. If you want to get creative, you can also try making this subtle artwork at home and relive the art and culture.