Manu Munsi, also spelt as Manu Munshi or Monu Munshi (

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

: মনু মুন্সী), born as Manomohan Munshi (2 August 1924 – 20 February 2009),"প্রতিবিম্ব: Manu Munshi (in Bengali)"> was an Indian painter and sculptor known for his works on Indian

Mother-of-pearl Nacre ( , ), also known as mother-of-pearl, is an organicinorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer. It is also the material of which pearls are composed. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent. Nacre is ...

art during the mid-to-end of the 20th century. Some of his works in mother of pearl include ''Gandhiji's Noakhali Expedition'', ''Indira Gandhi'' and ''Nur Jahan''."Santanu Ghosh: মুন্সিয়ানায় চল্লিশ পুরুষ (in Bengali)"> Apart from the Mother-of-pearl artworks and sculptures, he also created wire sculptures in

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

included ''Rabindranath Tagore'', ''Kazi Nazrul Islam'', ''Swami Vivekananda'', ''Mahatma Gandhi'', ''Bhagat Singh''. Some of his works are held in the personal collections of

Bidhan Chandra Roy Bidhan Chandra Roy (1 July 1882 – 1 July 1962) was an Indian physician and politician who served as Chief Minister of West Bengal from 1950 until his death in 1962. He played a key role in the founding of several institutions and cities like ...

, the former

Chief Minister of West Bengal The chief minister of West Bengal (IAST: Paścim Baṅgēr Mukhya Mantrī) is the '' de facto'' head of the executive branch of the Government of West Bengal, the subnational authority of the Indian state of West Bengal. The chief minister is ...

and

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, author, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligraphy, calligrapher, and composer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influ ...

. He also portrayed

Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...

in various poses engraved on metal plates."Santanu Ghosh: বিনোদনে পাইকপাড়া বেলগাছিয়া (in Bengali)">"Art Age: Manu Munshi (in Bengali)">

Birth and family background

Munsi was born in

Jessore Jessore (, ), officially Jashore, is a city of Jessore District in Khulna Division. It lies in southwestern Bangladesh. It is home to the first flight training school of the Bangladeshi Air Force, established in 1971. Jessore city consists of 9 wa ...

on 2 August in 1924 to Mother-of-pearl artist Anukul Charan Munshi who is called the ''Father of Indian Mother-of-Pearl artistry''. His elder brother was Annada Munshi who is called the ''Father of Commercial Art in India'' according to some art critics.সুবোধ সেনগুপ্ত ও অঞ্জলি বসু সম্পাদিত, ''সংসদ বাঙালি চরিতাভিধান'', প্রথম খণ্ড, সাহিত্য সংসদ, কলকাতা, আগস্ট ২০১৬, পৃষ্ঠা ৮০৮ (in Bengali)

Initial days and education

Munshi, after finishing his matriculation, started working as a novice in the studio of painter Prahlad Karmakar in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

. His elder brother Annada encouraged him to attend the then Government Art School (present day

Government College of Art and Craft The Government College of Art & Craft (GCAC) in Kolkata is one of the oldest Art colleges in India. It was founded on August 16, 1854 at Garanhata, Chitpur, "with the purpose of establishing an institution for teaching the youth of all classe ...

) in

Career

Munshi began his career with J. Walter Thompson, India, inspired by Annada Munshi and film-director

Rajen Tarafdar Rajen Tarafdar (7 July 1917 – 23 November 1987) was an Indian film director, actor, and screenwriter. He was the recipient of two National Awards and two BFJA Awards. He graduated from the Government College of Art & Craft in Calcutta ...

.Jugantar Patrika. "Wire Sculptor" Publisher:

Jugantar Patrika ''Jugantar Patrika'' () was a Bengali revolutionary newspaper founded in 1906 in Calcutta by Barindra Kumar Ghosh, Abhinash Bhattacharya and Bhupendranath Dutt. A political weekly, it was founded in March 1906 and served as the propaganda or ...

(1996-01-22) But, during the course of his career, he felt that the

commercial art Commercial art is the art of creative services, referring to art created for commercial purposes, primarily advertising. Commercial art uses a variety of platforms (magazines, websites, apps, television, etc.) for viewers with the intent of promo ...

was not for him and resigned. Later he joined the Government Arts and Craft Board and ended up resigning from there too. He became a permanent part of the

All India Handicrafts Board The All India Handicrafts Board (AIHB), was an organisation in India established in 1952, which aimed to advise the Ministry of Textiles on development programmes for handicrafts. Its early key figures included Pupul Jayakar, Kamaladevi Chattopad ...

before his retirement as a senior artist.

Accolades

* Munshi's most accomplished work in Mother-of-pearl is ''Gandhiji's Noakhali Expedition'' which was hand-picked by the then

Bharat Ratna The Bharat Ratna (; ) is the highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred in recognition of "exceptional service/performance of the highest order", without distin ...

as the ''Best representative of Charu and Karu Art of Bengal'' and was sent to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

for public exhibition. * In 1972, Munshi received a certificate of merit from the

Rabindra Bharati University Rabindra Bharati University is a public research university in Kolkata, India. It was founded on 8 May 1962, under the Rabindra Bharati Act of the Government of West Bengal in 1961, to mark the birth centenary of the poet Rabindranath Tagore. I ...

. * In 1986, Munshi was nominated for

Padmashri The Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 Janu ...

Selected works

Some of his Mother-of-Pearl artworks are ''Gandhiji's Noakhali Expedition'', ''Indira Gandhi'' (1985)"Anandabazar Patrika:এবারে ইন্দিরাজী (in Bengali)">এবারে ইন্দিরাজী (in Bengali)" Publisher:

Anandabazar Patrika ''Anandabazar Patrika'' is an Indian Bengali-language daily newspaper owned by the ABP Group. Its main competitors are ''Bartaman'', '' Ei Samay'', '' Sangbad Pratidin'', " Aajkal", " Jago Bangla", " ganashakti" and " dainik Statesman". Histo ...

(1985-08-12) and ''Nur Jahan''. He also portrayed

in a variety of stances etched on metal plates. Among his wire sculptures and portraits, some examples are ''Rabindranath Tagore'', ''Kazi Nazrul Islam'', ''Swami Vivekananda'', ''Mahatma Gandhi'', ''Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay'' and ''Bhagat Singh''.Aajkaal. "তারের বুননে (in Bengali)" Publisher:

Aajkaal ''Aajkaal'' (pronounced: ; ) is a Bengali newspaper which is one of the principal newspapers published in Kolkata, India. It covers myriad subjects (broadly business, entertainment, politics, etc.) from Kolkata and the world, and has developed ...

(1996-01-15) In 1985,

wrote about Manu Munshi's Mother-of-pearl piece titled ''Indira Gandhi'':

"I have seen the mother-of-pearl portrait of Smt. Gandhi done by Shri Manu Munshi. I find it of excellent quality."

Patrons

During his entire career as an art activist, Munshi was patronized by many personalities of the same era including his own elder brother Annada Munshi,

, Barrister Subodh Chandra Roy,

Subho Tagore Subho Tagore, full name Subhagendranath Tagore (Bengali: সুভো ঠাকুর) (January 3, 1912 – July 17, 1985), was the great-grandson of Maharshi Debendranath Tagore. He was a painter, poet, magazine editor and art collector.সু ...

, Hiranmay Bandopadhyay,

, Humayun Kabir and

Jehangir Kabir Jehangir Kabir was an Indian Bengali politician and trade union leader. Jehangir Kabir was born on 26 April 1910 in Faridpur, East Bengal (now Bangladesh) to Khabeeruddin Ahmed. Indian educationist Humayun Kabir was Jehangir's elder brother. ...

. His paternal name was 'Manomohan Munshi'. Later, the then Chief Minister of Bengal, Dr.

shortened his name to 'Manu'.

Personal life

Munshi was married to Maya Bose (later Maya Munshi) whose family was from Khannyan of Hooghly of

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

. The couple has three sons. Manu Munshi with his wife Maya Munshi

Demise

On 20 February 2009, Munshi died at Bediapara,

Dum Dum Dum Dum is a city and a municipality in the Kolkata Metropolitan Area of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Author ...

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

.Anandabazar Patrika. "The Artist (শিল্পী)" Publisher:

(2009-03-02)Ganashakti. "Nirabe Manu Munshi" Publisher:

Ganashakti ''Ganashakti Patrika'' (1967–present) is an Indian Bengali daily newspaper published from Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The paper is an organ of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbrev ...

(2009-04-13)Sangbad Pratidin. "Proyato Manu Munshi" Publisher:

Sangbad Pratidin Sangbad Pratidin () is a daily Indian Bengali language, Bengali newspaper simultaneously published from Kolkata, Barjora and Siliguri. It was founded by Swapan Sadhan Bose, on 9 August 1992. The Editor-in-Chief is Srinjoy Bose. Content Beside ...

(2009-02-21)

Legacy

After the death of Munshi, Santanu Ghosh wrote about his life in the books ''Binodane Paikpara Belgachia'' (in Bengali: ''বিনোদনে পাইকপাড়া বেলগাছিয়া'') and ''Munshianay Chollis Purush'' (in Bengali: ''মুন্সিয়ানায় চল্লিশ পুরুষ''). In 2024 June, in honor of Munshi's centenary birth anniversary, a

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

titled ''Excellence of Munshis in Arts'' (in Bengali: ''শিল্পে মুন্সীদের মুন্সিয়ানা'') was released which was directed by Partho Mukherjee based on research by Munshi's youngest son artist Amitava Munshi."Partho Mukherjee: Shilpe Munshider Munshiana (in Bengali)">Parho Mukherjee. "Shilpe Munshider Munshiana" (2024-06-22)

References

External links

Artist Manu Munshi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Munsi, Manu 1924 births 2009 deaths 20th-century Indian painters Artists from Kolkata People from Jessore District 20th-century Indian sculptors 20th-century Indian male artists Indian male sculptors Indian male painters