Pulak Biswas (1941—29 August 2013) is a leading artist and children's book illustrator from India.

Biography

Biswas was born in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. After training at the Government College of Art, Kolkata, he worked for many years in the advertising industry. He was the recipient of an

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

fellowship for advanced studies in Graphic Design and Illustration. He also studied at Hornsey College, London, and the Rietvald Academy, Amsterdam. He has also held several solo and group exhibitions in India and Europe.

Children's literature

In the 80s, Biswas left advertising graphics and joined the cartoonist K. Shankar Pillai at the

Children's Book Trust Children's Book Trust (CBT) is an Indian children and young adult book publisher. It was founded by cartoonist K. Shankar Pillai, popularly known as Shankar, in 1957 and was inaugurated by the President of India Dr. S. Radhakrishnan. It is hous ...

, New Delhi. In 1992-93, he won the National Award for Children's Literature in for ''Ashok's New Friend'' (written by Deepa Agarwal). Some of his other remarkable books are: Mahagiri and Amma Pyari Amma, A Day in the Life of Maya of Mohenjo-Daro, published by Children's Book Trust, Very busy ants (wordless classic) published by National Book Trust, Hen Sparrow Turns Purple" (winning the Grand Prix at the Biennale of Illustrations, Bratislava) and Catch that crocodile by Tara Publishers. In 1999, his ''Tiger on a Tree'' written by

Anushka Ravishankar Anushka Ravishankar is an author of children's books, and co-founder of Duckbill Books, a publishing house. Early life Ravishankar was born in Nashik, and graduated in mathematics from Fergusson College, Pune in 1981. While at college, she wa ...

, won the

Biennial of Illustration Bratislava The Biennial of Illustration Bratislava (BIB) is one of the oldest international honours for children's book illustrators. First granted in 1967 to Yasuo Segawa (Japan), it is one of the more prestigious children's book awards today, along with t ...

, and in 2005 was listed in the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

’s List of Notable Books.

Death

Biswas spent last several years immersed in painting. He died on 29 August 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Biswas, Pulak 1941 births 2013 deaths Indian illustrators Indian children's book illustrators Government College of Art & Craft alumni University of Calcutta alumni People from Dhaka Gerrit Rietveld Academie alumni

Biography

Children's literature

Death

Further reading

References