Sumantra Sengupta
(b. 1958)
I was born and educated in Santiniketan, an idealistic place of learning, set up by Tagore in the idyllic surroundings of rural Bengal. By the time I was in my teens the political atmosphere in Bengal had turned volatile with the cry of “Revolution”. Both these influences – the poetic and the political, informed my art practice. Another significant influence was the music of the bauls , who lived in the vicinity of Santiniketan.
After post graduation from Kala Bhavana ( Visva Bharati University) I moved to Delhi to pursue a career in visual art. This dramatic change in my context was sure to leave its imprint. One of the positives from this move was the chance to closely interact and collaborate with practitioners of other art forms specially theater, music, dance and visual communication.
In the year 2012 I was invited by the Shiv Nadar University to start a department of Art, Design and performing arts. This is a landmark post graduate program of its kind in the country today.
