Kundu, Nitun
Kundu, Nitun (1935-2006) painter, designer, sculptor and industrialist. His father was Jnanendranath Kundu and his mother, Binapani Kundu. Nitun Kundu paid for his education with earnings from painting cinema banners. In 1954 he got admitted to the Fine Arts Institute in Dhaka and in 1959 completed a five-year graduate-level course.
He joined the US Information Centre and served there until March 1971. During the liberation war he served as a designer at the Information and Publicity Department of the interim Government of Bangladesh. A poster of the time designed by him carried the slogan: 'Sadajagrata Banglar Muktibahini' (Ever vigilant liberation force of Bangladedsh).
After liberation, Nitun Kundu left his job and engaged himself exclusively in creative work. In 1975 he established a business organisation called 'Otobi' which is now a major industrial enterprise in the country. He sought to bring a change in the artistic aspect of the furniture culture in the country, and he was immensely successful in it.
He held in all four solo exhibitions of his works in Dhaka (1965, 1966), Chittagong (1966) and Rajshahi (1968). He also participated in many national and international art exhibitions from 1956 to 2001. He was an artist with great creativity. He used the mediums of oil, water colour, acrylic, etching, serigraph, pencil or ink and pen in his works. Initially, he used to do realistic painting but later turned to abstract form.
He also built sculptures ('Mother and child', 1975, Liberation War symbol 'Sabash Bangladesh', Rajshahi University, 1992, and symbol of traditional boat 'Sampan' at Chittagong Airport, 2001), fountains (kadam flower, road island in front of Foreign Office, Dhaka, eighties, 'Saarc fountain' Sonargaon Road island, Dhaka, 1993) and murals at Modhumita cinema hall, Dhaka, 1966-67, Hotel Sheraton and Gulshan Janata Bank). He designed many trophies, crests and medals for national prizes and awards including Ekushey Padak, National Cinema Prize, President Gold Cup and Asia Cup cricket prizes, Natun Kuri prize for BTV, International Trade Fair trophy and President's trophy for children's football. He demonstrated skill in designing pavilions, gates, stages, decorative lighting, painting covers of many souvenirs and posters and logos. His multi-faceted talent was seen in his thoughts on technology and in making nuts and bolts for machines, in designing new machines and making lifts.
In recognition of his contributions as a painter he got many prizes and awards, which include the national painting prize (1965), gold medal in painting (mobile exhibition 1968), first prize for designing pavilion for Dhaka International Trade Fair (nine times in 1974, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1990, 1996 and 1998) and the highest national civil award Ekushey Padak (1997). Nitun Kundu died in Dhaka on 15 September 2006. [Syed Azizul Huq]
