Born deaf an dumb, his fluent strokes often do the talking. Niranjan Panda enjoys his own little but beautiful world. More than the sensitivity about his being physically challenged, the artist in Panda draws you towards this noble soul. After all, he creates canvas with his deft hands. Not just paintings, Panda at 45 creates wonders in life-size sculptures, etching, carving and sketching. Niranjan (45) from Cuttack had a keen interest in art since childhood and started painting when he was just 10. Still slip of a boy, he gave up school at 13 after realising that art was his real calling. Though his decision was supported by his family members, he could not pursue any formal training due to funds crunch at home. “My father would spend hours, his eyes focussed on the artists at work in Cuttack,” Niranjan’s daughter Archana recalls. As a youngster, he would eke out his livelihood by painting film posters, creating idols of gods and goddesses during festive occasions.However, when he was 16, the debilitating economic conditions at home after his father’s death forced him to move to Kolkata in search of better employment opportunities. There, he learnt making sculptures and idols from craftsmen at Kumartuli. When he returned home after a few years, his expertise in making sculptures started fetching him more orders which also helped him improve the financial condition of his family. “He could see a change in people’s attitude towards him. They appreciated his work rather than being sympathetic towards his plight,” says Archana. With his elder brother Gorachand Panda employed with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Sunabeda, Niranjan got an offer to prepare an idol of Goddess Durga during Dusshera celebrations at HAL in 1981. It was there that the management of HAL spotted his talent and offered him a job in the company as senior technician (painting department). A new life beckoned him. In the last 30 years of service in Koraput, Niranjan has churned out several paintings and sculptures of tribals in the district. His paintings on Bonda tribals and their lives have been exhibited in art shows across the country.His list of awards and accolades is long. Last month, he won the first prize in All India Art and Craft Festival for the Deaf in oil painting section, organised at Indore. Archana says for her father, art is a medium to give creative expression to his inner feelings and the world he sees around him. “Father is also an avid reader,” says Archana, adding “his world is made up of books, charts, pencils and such paraphernalia.” When he is not painting, Niranjan helps disabled kids and youths with artistic bent of mind in Koraput in learning the skills. He is also the member of Orissa Association of Deaf and State chapter of All India Deaf & Cultural Society.“There’s nothing like drawing to keep my engines running. I just want my hands to keep drawing till the end,” gestures Niranjan in sign language. A sign of life and buoyancy.
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