Postcard

Set of 4

Each 3 x 5 in.

Shailesh Chandra Deb Barma belonged to the generation of artists trained at Kala Bhavana, Santiniketan, during the 1940s and 50s—a period when Rabindranath Tagore’s educational vision was still actively shaping daily artistic life. Like many students of the time, Shailesh did not emerge as a widely exhibited or market-facing artist; his importance lies instead in his position within Santiniketan’s intellectual and pedagogical network.

These postcards and the accompanying letter, written to Pulin Behari Sen, Director of the Visva-Bharati Granthan Vibhaga, place Shailesh firmly within the institution’s inner correspondence culture. Sen was the head of Santiniketan’s internal publication department and a key mediator between students, teachers, and the larger intellectual life of Visva-Bharati.

Written on the occasion of 1 Baisakh, 1350 (Bengali New Year), Shailesh’s letters reveal a young artist actively imagining his future practice—expressing plans to work on the life of the Buddha and narratives from the Mahabharata, and responding to contemporary publications associated with Abanindranath Tagore. At the same time, the tone remains informal and playful: a sketched pig accompanies a pointed query about the Principal of the Calcutta Art College, reflecting the ease with which humour, critique, and observation coexisted in Santiniketan’s student exchanges..