The pandemic year was not only costly in terms of the impact it had on the health care sector but also because it took away one too many artistes. Luminaries in the fields of music, dance, theatre, acting, etc., left us this year, leaving a huge void in the art and culture scene in India, and even around the world. As the year almost comes to an end, we share a list of some of the personalities whom we wish, we could see more of. Read on.

Ebrahim Alkazi, theatre doyen, art connoisseur Ebrahim Alkazi was 95. (Source: Getty Images)

Ebrahim Alkazi passed away on August 4, 2020, at the age of 95 after a massive heart attack in New Delhi. He was surrounded by his family at the time of his death. Son and noted theatre director Feisal Alkazi spoke of his father’s legacy with indianexpress.com, and said: “He was active in the pre-Independence days. He was a perfectionist in everything he did, whether theatre, painting, as an art connoisseur or an educator. His works continue to inspire the young and old.”

Bhanu Athaiya, costume designer She was India’s very first Oscar winner. (Photo: Express Archive)

India’s very first Oscar winner, costume designer Bhanu Athaiya, passed away in Mumbai on October 15. She was 91. Her daughter Radhika Gupta, was quoted as telling PTI: “Eight years ago, she was diagnosed with a tumour in her brain. For the last three years, she was bedridden because one side (of her body) was paralysed.” Athaiya won the Best Costume Design Oscar for her work in the 1982 film Gandhi.

Pandit Jasraj, vocalist

 Indian classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj passed away on August 17. (Source: Express Archive)

Indian classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj passed away on August 17, following a cardiac arrest at his home in New Jersey, USA. He had turned 90 in January 2020. “With profound grief, we inform that Sangeet Martand Pandit Jasraj ji breathed his last this morning at 5.15 EST due to a cardiac arrest at his home in New Jersey, USA,” news agency PTI quoted a statement issued by his family. When the coronavirus-led lockdown had happened, he had decided to stay back in the country.

Vishwa Mohan Badola, theatre actor

Vishwa Mohan Badola passed away because of age-related illness in November. The 84-year-old was a popular theatre actor before he started doing TV series and advertisements. With a career spanning more than 50 years, he became a common face in the theatre circles. His death was mourned by many in the country, including son Varun Badola, a popular television actor.

Anjum Singh, artist

After battling with cancer for six years, Anjum Singh passed away at the age of 53, in November. Her complex compositions — of mundane objects and rapidly-changing surroundings, along with her ponderings — held multiple layers. She was the daughter of artists Arpita and Paramjit Singh.

(post featured before at Visions Art)

Amala Shankar, dancer Amala Shankar (Express Archives)

Renowned danseuse Amala Shankar passed away in Kolkata at the age of 101 in July. She was the wife of legendary Indian dancer and choreographer Uday Shankar. Amala learned to dance in the 1930s when women from ‘respectable households’ were just about beginning to perform classical dance on stage. On her death, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had said it would cause “irreparable damage to the world of dance”.

Rahat Indori, poet and lyricist Dr Rahat Indori performing during Jashan-E-Azadi ‘Kul Hind Mushaira’ at Tagore Theatre in Chandigarh in 2017. (Express photo by Jasbir Malhi)

Indori passed away on August 11, because of cardiorespiratory arrest. A celebrated poet and lyricist, he was known for penning songs like ‘Chori Chori Jab Nazrein Mili‘ (Kareeb), ‘Bumbro‘ (Mission Kashmir), ‘Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai‘ (Meenaxi), ‘Dil Ko Hazar Bar‘ (Murder), among others, besides his many famous poems. His son Faisal had said the poet was admitted to the hospital after he had tested positive for coronavirus.

Shanti Hiranand, ghazal singer Shanti Hiranand was Begum Akhtar’s foremost disciple for over two decades. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Shanti Hiranand, the torchbearer of Begum Akhtar gayaki, passed away in April because of age-related issues. She was 88. Hiranand was Begum Akhtar’s foremost disciple for over two decades. She devoted her life to her ‘Ammi’, and remained the harbinger of the Begum Akhtar gayaki — the thumris, bhajans and dadras.

Jyotsna Bhatt, ceramic artist Ceramic artist Jyotsna Bhatt was one of the best in the country. (Source: Sahapedia)

Known to be one of India’s best-known ceramic artists, Baroda-based Bhatt breathed her last on July 11, two days after she suffered a stroke. She was 80.

Zarina Hashmi, artist Her journey came to an end April 25, when she passed away in London, at 83, after a prolonged illness. (Photo: File)

Known for her minimalist monochrome prints and themes of separation and memory, Hashmi died April 25 in London, at 83, after a prolonged illness. A graduate in mathematics, she had a keen interest in architecture and was part of the feminist movement in New York in the ’70s.

Kapila Vatsyayan, scholar of Indian classical dance Scholar, author and connoisseur of the arts Kapila Vatsyayan died at her Delhi home in September. (Photo: file)

Scholar, author, and connoisseur of the arts Kapila Vatsyayan died at her Delhi home in September. She was 92. “She passed away at 9 am at her home in Gulmohar Enclave,” Kanwal Ali, the secretary of the India International Centre where she was a lifetime trustee, told PTI.

Purba Dam, Rabindra sangeet exponent

Veteran Rabindra sangeet exponent Purba Dam died at her home in September. She was 85. According to a PTI report, Dam died of cardiac arrest at her Dhakuria residence in south Kolkata. She is survived by her husband and daughter.

K Damodaran, artist India lost one of its prominent abstract artists, when K Damodaran passed away on June 15. (Image via iemalayalam.com)

India lost one of its prominent abstract artists, when K Damodaran passed away on June 15. He had been keeping unwell for some months, and died at his Mayur Vihar residence in Delhi.

Soumitra Chatterjee, actor, director, playwright Soumitra Chatterjee left a big void in Indian cinema. (Express Photo by Partha Paul)

Veteran actor Soumitra Chatterjee died in November, at the age of 85, leaving a heavy sense of loss and sadness in the hearts of many people around the country and in the world, who followed his films and were a fan of his craft. Chatterjee had tested positive for COVID-19. He was immediately admitted at the Belle Vue Clinic, Kolkata. While he tested negative after the second test conducted October 14, his health condition worsened, with complications of urinary tract infection, fluctuations in sodium potassium levels, etc., making him critical.

Astad Deboo, dancer Astad Deboo was a celebrated choreographer. (Express photo by Vasant Prabhu)

Indian contemporary dancer Astad Deboo passed away on December 10, in Mumbai. Deboo, 73, trained in Kathak as well as Kathakali and went on to combine the two classical dance forms to create a unique fusion dance form, earning the tag of ‘pioneer of modern dance in India’.

Ustad Iqbal Ahmed Khan, classical music maestro Ustad Iqbal Ahmed belonged to the Delhi Gharana of classical music. (Express photo by Vikram Sharma)

Music maestro Ustad Iqbal Ahmed Khan passed away December 17. He was 66. Khan was raised in the Dilli Gharana of music. He began his stage career at the age of four, under the guidance of his teacher and grandfather Ustad Chand Khan. The celebrated musician was a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Hindustani music.

Original Source – Indian Express
https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/celebrated-artistes-who-passed-away-2020-ebrahim-alkazi-bhanu-athaiya-pandit-jasraj-soumitra-chatterjee-7106377/

By: Lifestyle Desk | New Delhi | Updated: December 18, 2020 12:28:39 pm

The post Remembering celebrated artistes who left us in 2020 first appeared on Indian Art News.

Eminent contemporary Indian artist Anjum Singh passed away on Tuesday after losing a prolonged battle with cancer, art collector Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, said.
She was 53.

“Anjum Singh was a wonderful artist who passed away after a long but brave and courageous battle with cancer,” she told PTI.

Born to renowned artists Arpita and Paramjit Singh, art came naturally to Singh, but she started her professional journey as an artist with a Bachelors in Fine Arts from Kala Bhawan, Santiniketan, followed by a Masters degree in the subject from College of Art, New Delhi.

Her last show “I Am Still Here” that was held last year at the Talwar Gallery here, documented through her own paintings her journey of living with cancer, which she was first diagnosed with in 2014.

“Today Anjum left us after a six and a half year courageous battle with cancer. She leaves a void that will forever remain so, but her art, her smile and tenacity to fight will remain, in our hearts and more,” the Delhi-based gallery wrote on Instagram.

The show, said curator Ranjit Hoskote, was “a poignant affirmation of presence, surprise, and the survivor”s determination”.

“I am deeply saddened to learn of Anjum Singh”s passing at 53, no age to go. She fought cancer over six years; her last exhibition, held a year ago, was titled ”I am still here”, a poignant affirmation of presence, surprise, the survivor”s determination. Rest in peace, Anjum,” he wrote on Twitter.

Expressing her condolences, Nadar said Singh would continue to live on through her work which was “independently noteworthy”.

“Her exhibition last year entitled ‘I am still here’ brought together a personal and passionate set of works that focused largely inwards as she grappled with her disease of the last few years. Our condolences go out to the whole family, she will remain alive through her work,” the KNMA founder said.

Singh also trained at The Corcoran School of Art, Washington DC from 1992 to 1994, and was a recipient of the Charles Wallace Fellowship, which led her to work at Gasworks, London in 2002-2003.

Her works are in the collections of Kiran Nadar Museum of Art and have been on view at Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai, and at The San Jose Museum of Art, California.

Renowned Hindi writer and trustee of the Raza Foundation Ashok Vajpeyi remembered Singh as an artist with “an intense aesthetic vision and innovative zeal”.

“The Raza Foundation deeply mourns the passing away of Anjum Singh. She emerged as a distinctive painter of the young generation, with an intense aesthetic vision and innovative zeal.

“She struggled bravely with a killing disease. Her parents, the well known painters Arpita Singh and Paramjit Singh have suffered a grievous loss.The Raza Foundation is with them in this tragic moment,” the poet wrote on Facebook.

Singh’s works were recognisable in her use of bright colours, which were recurrent in her works on the continued degradation of the environment.

She was inspired by the “simple and mundane” element of the life that surrounded her, recalled curator Roobina Karode.

“Simple and mundane forms engaged Anjum. With cheerful colours she articulated the apathy towards erosion of the environment. A quest on corporeal vulnerability occupied her works right from her student days in Santiniketan, until her long and painful battle with cancer that she fought so bravely.

“Her solo exhibition, ‘I am still here’ showcased deeply sensitive works expressing fragility and delicacy,” the KNMA director said.

Artist Jayasri Barman took to Instagram to remember the late artist’s “poignant and powerful” work.

“Anjum”s art had the beautiful ability to portray pain into a collective experience. They were poignant, and powerful. Extremely saddened to use ‘had’ for her. It pains me to think of her wonderful parents…Praying for her soul,” she wrote.

Khoj Studios, a not- for-profit, contemporary arts organisation of which Singh was a former member, also mourned her loss.

“It is with a heavy heart that we bid farewell to our incredibly talented friend and artist Anjum Singh. Her association with Khoj began in the year 2000, when as a member of Khoj , she also attended the Khoj workshop at Modinagar. She was an integral part of the Khoj family in thought and spirit. Anjum, you will be thoroughly missed but your work, your courage and tenacity will remain with us. Rest in Peace,” the organisation said.

Politician Derek O”Brien also expressed his condolences on Twitter.

“Gone too soon. One of the brightest from the Indian art world. Anjum Singh, 53. Her powerful and moving final exhibition of her work is titled ‘I am still here.’ Condolences to her parents, artists extraordinaire, Paramjit Singh and Arpita Singh. Travel well, Anjum,” he wrote.

Source – https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/artist-anjum-singh-passes-away-following-battle-with-cancer/1977363

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The post Artist Anjum Singh passes away following battle with cancer first appeared on Indian Art News.