Joy Bangla Artist

From bdnews24.com

"I am a Joy Bangla artist," says internationally-acclaimed painter Shahabuddin, recalling the war cry of the Bengalee nation during the 1971 Liberation War.

The Liberation War, he says, is his creative inspiration.

Speaking at the Bakultala of the Faculty of Fine Arts on Sunday, Shahabuddin asked his countrymen never to betray the spirit of the Liberation War or deviate from it.

"Do that and you go into a free fall," he warned at the function organised to honour Shahbuddin for being bestowed the Knight in the Order of the Arts and Literature by the French government.

An expatriate in France for four decades, Shahabuddin has endeared himself to art lovers in Europe by his unique style that draws on the best art forms of the East and the West. 

"I don’t have a passport other than my Bangladesh passport. Yes I have a French resident card. I am a Bangladeshi and proud of that. And I always knew they (Europeans) will recognise me," Shahabuddin said.

He reminded the audience that none can 'cheat his way up'.

"An artist has no barrier or boundaries wherever he is. Talent counts but effort is more important," he said.

His friend Jamaluddin recalled how Shahabuddin once chased him away during his painting exhibition attended by the French envoy because he was busy chatting with a baby-taxi driver.

"Later I came to know Shahabuddin had stayed in the driver's house with his weapons as a freedom fighter one night and his wife had cooked for him," said Jamaluddin.

Shahabuddin said he was profoundly demoralised by the 1975 coup, referring to the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and much of his family.