Kailash Chandra Meher (born 22 January 1954) is an Indian artist, inventor, and social activist. He is a painter of contemporary

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 ...

paintings and traditional Tussar Pattachitra paintings of

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

. He was a recipient of the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

by the Government of India in 2013.

Personal life and education

Meher was born in an artist family in Sonepur town of

state. He studied at

Visva-Bharati University Visva-Bharati () is a public central university and an Institution of National Importance located in Shantiniketan, West Bengal, India. It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it ''Visva-Bharati'', which means the communion of the w ...

Santiniketan Santiniketan is a neighbourhood of Bolpur town in the Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal, India, approximately 152 km north of Kolkata. It was established by Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, and later expanded by his son ...

and received a Diploma in Fine Arts from the

, Shantiniketan in West Bengal. He was trained in the art of

Pattachitra Patachitra or Pattachitra is a general term for traditional, cloth-based scroll painting, based in the eastern Indian States and territories of India, states of Odisha, West Bengal and parts of Bangladesh. Patachitra artform is known for its int ...

painting initially by his father and subsequently under guidance of Bhagwat Maharana. His wife Smt. Laxmi Meher and daughter Manisha jointly received National award in 2005. Smt Meher had also received state award in 1990 while daughter Manisha got two state awards in 2001–2002. Both his sons Prakash and Jayanta got National Award in 2001.

Career

Meher worked as an art designer in the Weavers Service Centre in

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango trees (''ekamra'')). Bhubaneswar is ...

, Govt. Of India, under Development Commissioner Handloom, New Delhi from 1978 to 1993 creating textile designs for weavers and weaving organisations, and developed some old Bomkai designs, which were developed into a product called " Bomkai Sari". Meher creates new designs, techniques with research and experiments, aiming for better market promotion in India and abroad. His tree paintings were presented as an example for the

Shilp Guru The Shilp Guru is the highest honour in the Indian handicrafts sector awarded by Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles, Government of India. It is conferred annually upon 10 master craftspersons who have created an exception ...

award. Because of his excellent work in paintings, many more students and followers got National Award and also thousands of artisan families survive their livelihood by following his innovative creative designs & paintings for their bread & butter. Kailash Meher Art

For the poorest girls & women of KBK district, he has started many social organisations with the help and support of The Collector (District Magistrate) for giving them training & employment, so he started some Handloom, Handicraft & Fine Art organisation like :- 1. Indian Art & Craft Academy for Women 2. Indira Gandhi Women Weavers Co-operative Society limited 3. Bharatiya Hastakala Industrial Co-operative Society Limited 4. Handicraft & Handloom Museum and Service Centre for Women.

Awards

* 1979 & 1985 – Orissa Lalit Kala Academy Award * 1986 – "National Award" by HE the President of India * 1997 – Viswakarma Award * 1991 & 2001 – "Kalamani" Award by Chief Minister of Haryana * 2005 – UNESCO CCI seal of excellence for handicrafts * 2009 –

Award by HE the President of India * 2013 –

Award by Govt. of India * 2013 – "Odisha Living Legend Award" by Odisha Diary

Selected paintings

File:Kailash Chandra Meher's Painting- W & W.jpg, Women Exploitation (W & W), 2008 File:K. C. Meher - "The Creation".jpg, The Creation, 1999 File:K.C.Meher's - Indian Woman.jpg, Indian Woman, 2008 File:Omm by Kailash Ch Meher.jpg, Omm, 2011 Size (4x4) feet File:Sarba Sukham by Kailash Ch Meher.jpg, Sarba Sukham, 2011 Size (4x4) feet File:Sweet Dream by Kailash Ch Meher.jpg, Sweet Dream, 2016 Size (5x6) feet https://www.facebook.com/meher1954/

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meher, Kailash Chandra 1954 births Living people Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts 20th-century Indian painters People from Balangir Indian male painters 21st-century Indian painters Painters from Odisha 20th-century Indian male artists 21st-century Indian male artists