MOHAN RAINA ( 1926-1983)

Not much is known about this man who was not only an artist who absorbed and  reflected all trends in various forms of Art but also a wonderful human being and a loving and affectionate father .This brief write up is a small and humble tribute from a son . I regret having not done much in his memory or  Having been unable to carry forward his legacy.

A man   with impressive personality wearing specs with well groomed moustache , Immaculately dressed, Three piece suits  with matching neck ties  and   every time  polished shoes . Most of the time , he held his Pipe under his lips  and spoke very less . As child , there was some barrier in communication with a man who appeared to me very Tall in all aspects .This difference gradually withered away as I grew . A warm , loveable and caring father was all that I saw him thereafter. For all of us  in his family , he remained our affectionate  “Tathya Maharaj “only till he breathed his last .
He loved the Joint family thread , narrow lanes , Jhelum Ghats , dark alleys , Close and caring  Neighbours and the Peaceful coexistence of his  Badyaar bala , a place where he grew up and lived till his death. Very often he avoided moving to new Colonies or Building a new house to live separately.
My father had a great sense of humour and would enjoy the company of his friends whom he loved and respected .Most of his friends became a part of our  extended family . Some names that come to my mind are  Dr.Shashi Shekhar Toshkhani , Mr.Bhuvenesh Raina, Mr.Rajinder Patwari, Mr.Girdhari koul, Mr. P N Wakhlu , Mr.M.M Dogra, K.D.Sharma and  Prof.Braj B Kachru . Some of the friends happened to be his students also .
 His first Teacher was Pandit Shiv  Nath Raina , His own Father and a well Known artist and a Drawing master . It may not be out of place to mention that Prior to Departure for Baroda , Late G R Santosh was also a regular visitor to our house more specifically to meet my Grand father pandit Shiv Nath Raina  My mother informs me that  If santosh sahib would not come for a week , Grandfather would send somebody to Chinkral Mohalla to know welfare of Santosh sahib .
 
He qualified in painting and decorating from Sir Amar Singh Technical. Institute Srinagar and later  City &Guilds Institute Of London,  earning   Gold medals  twice. Gradually , he acquired  mastery in different forms of Art  like landscape, portrait, contemporary and abstract in all the mediums like oil, water colour and gouache. His colossal posters during Indo China war in 1962 were greatly applauded , rewarded and appreciated by the Govt. and public.
Initially he joined  as "Artist" with the Text Book Advisory Board Of J & K Govt. He very aptly accomplished this new type of difficult job with his imaginative and creative talent. His illustrations on numerous Govt.and Pvt. publications and literature have left an indelible mark of his imagination and drawing perfection.
 My Father  brought laurels to the state by designing and executing the tableau ,"Winter In Kashmir"  in 1958.  This tableau won First Prize amongst all the states of India for the first time in Republic day parade. And for this work , a dinner invitation from none less than pandit Nehru was so satisfying for him. He went along with his brother P N Raina  and father to meet Pandit Ji.
The beautiful Illustrations to comprehensive two volumes "Introduction To Spoken Kashmiri" by Dr.Prof.Braj B .Kachru ,Univ.Of Illinois,U.S.A have been done by  my Father  while he was  in  America  where he had gone for a  study cum vocational tour ( 1966-1968 ). He also  worked on the topic " Contemporary and Modern Art" in the University Of Illinois Urbana , U.S.
My father  has given many one man and group exhibitions in India & U.S.A . I remember some of his paintings were captioned in Hindi by Shashi uncle (Dr. Shashi Shekhar Toshakhani ).One was captioned "Ank Chhaayi",if I am not wrong . His string of exhibitions were greatly acclaimed and widely publicised in the local media of the U.S.
 After leaving the text book advisory Board, he  joined the state Information Department .as "Artist" where  then first Director  Sh. J.N.Zutshi was greatly impressed by his  art . My  Father  used to be a non smoker before joining the Information Dept. One day Mr.Zutshi offered him a cigarette which he politely  refused .On this , Mr.Zutshi remarked ,"inspite of being such a great artist ,you don't smoke .What type of an artist are you ?" I suppose this must have prompted him to smoke . And that started his proximity and love for smoking .
The J&K Constituent Assembly met in Jammu in1952 during which meeting ,  need of new state emblem was felt .As desired by the then prime minister of J&K state , Sheikh Mohd.Abdullah this work was assigned to the state Information Dept. Mr.J.N.Zutshi passed on  this responsibility to my father . The EMBLEM done by  my father  was also submitted to the leader of the house, Sheikh Mohd.Abdullah. He was more than  happy to  see  the  design done by my father and he   moved a  resolution in the Assembly  to approve the Emblem . I quote from Sheikh sahib’s speech on the Emblem :
   "The Goddess Of Learning ,Saraswati according to mythology has her abode in the Lotus .This reminds us of the glorious past of Kashmir when the country was known as the abode of learning and extends a hope for the future when Kashmir will regain its glory "
Father later explained to me that  the three strips in the emblem represent the cultural regions of the state _ Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. The ploughs and two ears of corns represent the majority of the state population. The Lotus in the centre stands for purity, knowledge and education. In recognition of the work done by him, the state Govt. sanctioned four special increments in advance to him and he  was elevated to the post of Exhibition Officer in the Information Dept.
 In addition to this ,  he designed many logos and emblems including the then University Of J&K , Medical College and  Regional Engineering College Srinagar (now NIT). For this work ,he was awarded a Gold medal by State Government .

 He had a special love for WATER COLOURS .He created his own unique style in water colour when he translated a series of Omar  Khayam's  Persian couplets into paintings. His entire repertoire containing more than thousand paintings in different styles and mediums done during his life time were safely preserved in a cupboard inside his ancestral house at Badiyar Bala ,Sgr.
After his retirement, he worked relentlessly and did about three hundred paintings which were also preserved along with his other works as he was planning a grand  Art Exhibition in the month of july 1983
.Alas ! Unfortunately he did not live  to   see that day. On 16th June 1983 he had a sudden massive heart attack and he died at a young age of 57 . It would have been a great boon to artistic world and the state , had he lived a full span of life and execute his plans . .
It pains me to add that the widespread militancy that erupted in Valley in 1990, played havoc with his treasured Collection. Evert thing was looted , Plundered when our ancestral House was Ransacked. Finally all traces of our existence in Valley Vanished when the house was  gutted in a devastating fire incident .With such a colossal loss, sometime I am led to believe if my father ever used a Brush and canvas.
A little solace comes to see some paintings that he had gifted to his friends or the paintings that are hanging in some Galleries in India and abroad .
My Father was a lover of Poetry  and Music. As a matter of fact he could play on Sitar also . Faiz ahmed Faiz remained his favourite  poet. We lost so many LPs and the imported gramophone that was dear to him. A Gramaphone on which he would often listen to begum Akhtar’s  Gazal
“ Meray Hum-nafas Meray Hum-navaa Mujhe Dost Ban Ke Dagaa na De”
 This  remained his favourite till his death ..

Love you Dad  as ever …..
( Sudesh Raina )