I travelled to Mumbai on 7thMarch to attend funeral service of Dineshbhai who was my father figure and inspiration. Here is a tribute to this legend.
A long, inspirational and legendary journey ended when Shri Dineshbhai Shah passed away on Saturday 7th March 2020 in Mumbai. He was a well-known fine artist, a much loved art teacher and an ideologist who was a follower of Mahatma Gandhi and Vinoba Bhave.
Dineshbhai was born in 1928 in Sarkhej (near Ahmedabad) in a well-known family. His grandfather Punjabhai was the President of Ahmedabad Stock Exchange and father Fakirchandbhai ran a local business. His early inspiration as an infant came from a potter in a village where he made shapes from lumps of mud. This was followed by art exams but his education came to a grinding halt as he joined the 'quit India' movement preparing posters with freedom slogans which nearly landed him in Jail. When his family lost its wealth through speculation he first worked in local cloth market but radical as he was, Dinesh decided to go to Mumbai in his late teens to pursue studies in fine art. He managed to get a place in Sir JJ School of Art and sustained himself through part time work. Under the wings of Ahivasiji a prominent artist at the school Dineshbhai flourished as a fine artist specialising in water colour medium. He also trained in mural techniques.
Upon receiving his diploma Dineshbhai became an art teacher at the famous New Era School where he made his mark for over 30 years as an independent thinking art teacher & educationist who not only brought out creativity from within children but also became their friend and a 'guru'. Hundreds of students benefitted from his mentoring and inspiration for the rest of their lives. In 1964 Dineshbhai went on a tour of Europe, USA and Japan which gave him a direct exposure to ‘modern art’ from a global perspective.
In parallel with his teaching, he was also a prolific artist and painted water colour paintings (his preferred medium) over the span of 60 years. According to Dineshbhai during his studies he was exposed to the simplicity, forms and flowing lines of Chinese and Japanese paintings which left deep imprint on his work. Dineshbhai travelled extensively in India to study people and the diverse environment. He loved the rustic vigour and vibrant colourful attire of the attire of people which too is evident in the range of his work, the forms, colour schemes and richness of his paintings.
He was a versatile artist who experimented for fun and without fear. His talent laid much beyond water-colours as evident from various pieces such as: the wire sculpture of Vinoba Bhave - whom he believed in; hugely popular collage/mural of the life of Gandhiji on the front wall of the New Era School and a ‘Ramayana’ themed mural commissioned by Air in Kochin. He particularly relished an invitation to London in 1999 to restore a mural in the prestigious heritage building of the Indian High Commission. The Buddha's mural restored after water damage is now enjoyed by distinguished visitors from across the world.
In 1987 he decided to be free of institutional responsibilities and left New Era School. With his newly found freedom he started his own weekend art classes at the Manav Mandir which saw hundreds of pupils of all age groups and 'class' (rich and poor) benefit. After running his classes for many years he decided to pack up due to age constraints but continued to teach and inspire everyone. He remained active till the age of 91 - still painting and teaching. Regrettably, the disabling stroke two and a half years ago stopped him from active life.
