Dina Nath Walli (1908–2006), also known by his pen name Almast Kashmiri, was an Indian water colour artist and poet from

Srinagar Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its natu ...

city in the

Kashmir Valley The Kashmir Valley, also known as the ''Vale of Kashmir'', is an intermontane valley concentrated in the Kashmir Division of the Indian- union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The valley is bounded on the southwest by the Pir Panjal Range and ...

. He was the part of the

modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradi ...

movement in the state of

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

and was known for painting everyday scenes of Kashmir. Datta, p. 139

Early life and education

His father died when Dina Nath was very young. He had his early education in Srinagar, then he continued his three years course at Amar Singh Technical Institute, Srinagar and then he moved to Calcutta in 1930 for his further training, where he learned various forms of art under the guidance of Percy Brown, principal of the

Government College of Art & 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 classes ...

at the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...

Career

In 1936, he returned to Srinagar, where he concentrated on

landscape painting Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent compos ...

in water colours. He was also awarded gold medals by the government of Kashmir in 1939 and in 1940 he was awarded a highly commended medal from the

Academy of Fine Arts, Calcutta The Academy of Fine Arts, in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) is one of the oldest fine arts societies in India. History The academy was formally established in 1933 by Lady Ranu Mukherjee. It was initially located in a room loaned by the Indi ...

. He had also produced an album of 12 paintings. Under his pen name of Almast Kashmiri, his "accent on realistic art or people's poetry", is best seen in his two collections of his poetry, ''Bala Yapair'' (This side of Mountains, 1955) and ''Sahaavukh Posh'' (Desert Flowers, 1981).

Works

* ''Kashmir Water Colour Paintings'', by Dinanath Walli. Walli, 1970. * ''Sahraavuky posh: desert flowers'', by Dinanath Walli. Metropolitan Book Co., 1978.

References

External links

*
Paintings - Walli
KOA USA

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walli, Dina Nath Indian male painters 1908 births 2006 deaths People from Srinagar Kashmiri people Kashmiri Muslims Indian watercolourists Kashmiri poets Government College of Art & Craft alumni University of Calcutta alumni Indian Impressionist painters 20th-century Indian poets 20th-century Indian painters Indian male poets Poets from Jammu and Kashmir 20th-century Indian male writers Painters from Jammu and Kashmir 20th-century pseudonymous writers 20th-century Indian male artists