His small house in the interior of Sarenga in Sankrail is a studio-cum-workshop. Anadi Moshel is usually busy making sculptures or painting with water colours here. Or he may be moulding a cement statue for a commercial project, or painting a large canvas on order. However, on his own, Anadi likes to paint on poetry. This is what touches his heart and every time he reads a good poem, Anadi likes to paint his thoughts on paper.

Anadi was a self-taught artist, till the time he joined Government Art College in 1973.  He would watch his father, Jitendranath Moshel, who was a carpenter and furniture maker, carve figures out of a block of wood. Anadi has preserved some of these works even today. When he grew up, Anadi was determined that he would be a professional artist, since that is the best thing he can do. Commercial projects from large corporate and government establishments often come his way and he has to execute as per their specifications. 

But Anadi is most comfortable painting poetry. “In 1970, I had painted 100 pictures based on Rabindranath Tagore’s songs and poems. I had even done an exhibition with these paintings,” said Anadi. The list included poems like Sonar Tori and Africa and also songs like Ami chini go chini tomare and Amra sabai raja. Although Tagore touches his heart the most, Anadi has also painted poems by Jibanananda Das, Sukanta Bhattacharya, Sudhindranath Dutta, Sunil Gangopadhyay, Bishnu Dey, Dinesh Dutta, Shakti Chattopadhyay, Krishna Basu and many other modern poets. “These days, I like to paint the works of modern poets, who are writing about the present social, political and economic crises of our country,” said Moshel. “What I paint are not illustrations, but a portrayal of the thoughts and ideas that the poets have tried to express in their works. I was inspired by Debabrata Bandopadhyay who had done several paintings on Sukanta’s works. He encouraged me a lot,” said Anadi. The idea caught him and has never let him go. “I don’t know why, but the idea of transforming poetry or songs to pictures has always fascinated me and even today, that is what gives me a lot of satisfaction,” said Anadi. 

He has managed to show his paintings to the poets he have painted. “They have appreciated and encouraged me to continue working this way. Many have wondered how I could do such work sitting in a remote village in Sankrail. However, I do not read a poem just once before painting. I have to read it many times over so that I understand and visualise the meaning, before I start painting,” said Anadi. 

Although Anadi’s works have been exhibited in many places, he has never managed to be featured in any poet’s works. “My paintings have not been used in any compilation work as yet,” said Anadi. 

His guru in sculpture was Sunil Pal and Anadi has made bronze sculptures or paintings of personalities, which have been installed at various places in Calcutta. His sculpture of Sukanta Bhattacharya was installed at Lake Town and another of Hahnemann’s is installed in Howrah. He has also worked with different media including bronze and cement concrete. Lately, Anadi is thinking of sculpting and painting figures of freedom fighters of India. “I hope to get some sponsorship,” said Anadi.

More about Anadi Moshel

• DoB: 1950
• Born in: Howrah
• Education: School Final
• Family: Wife, two sons, daughter
• Loves: Listening to Rabindrasangeet
• Hates: Addiction

Dalia Mukherjee