Don't call me an artist. I am a child of nature: Anisul Hoque

A portrait of poet Shamsur Rahman in watercolour. Surprisingly, the painter used shades of green in the backdrop and strokes of brown, to play with the light and shadow on the portrait. 

The backdrop had a famous line from his poem 'Firiye Nao Ghatak Kata', where the poet tells the assassin to 'take back' his weapon, because he wants a rose instead; a peaceful place instead. 

It seemed the painter was inspired by Quaiyum Chowdhury's water colour strokes. The brush strokes appeared shaky; the uncertainty palpable. But for a moment, I thought green is the colour that expresses Shamsur Rahman the best— evergreen, poignant and soothing to the eye.

"Shamsur Rahman to me is the definition of evergreen. He is the evergreen poet of Bengal. When I wanted to paint him, green is the colour that I went for," Anisul Hoque, the painter said. 

Another canvas has a portrait of Rabindranath Tagore; the backdrop has shades of brown, ochre and coffee, as if it is drawn with different shades of the soil.

Anisul Hoque's portrait of Rabindranath Tagore.

"Rabindranath to me is like a saint. Whenever I think of him, I imagine ochre," the artist says. 

We know Anisul Hoque as a writer, novelist, screenwriter, and journalist. He has talked about his writing, films, television dramas and novels, on countless occasions in the past. His satire columns are famous. However, this is the first time he is appearing as an artist.

Gallery Kaya has organised an exhibition of 90 artworks, paintings, and sketches by Anisul Hoque. The exhibition began on 26 January and will run till 4 February. 

The majority of the artworks include portraits of poets and writers like Rabindranath Tagore, Jibonannda Das, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Humayun Ahmed and Sufiya Kamal. Besides pen sketches, the artist worked in different mediums like watercolour and acrylic paint. 

When asked which medium he felt the most comfortable working with, Anisul nearly revolted. 

"The artworks you're seeing here: I won't call them serious paintings. I am not an artist. I paint because it is like meditation to me. I am a child of nature who likes to play and create. Whatever you give me, I will draw on it like a child."

"I remember when I was a child, I used to make kites, carts with biscuit packets, and wallpapers in school," he added. 

It all started with birthday presents

In 2017, Tawhida Shiropa, founder of the mental healthcare platform Moner Bondhu and an ex-colleague of Anisul Hoque, celebrated her birthday. Hoque was unsure about what to give her as a gift.

"I had a white paper in front of me. I took a pen, downloaded a photo of Shiropa, and started sketching. Shiropa was elated with the gift", he said. 

Soon after, as celebrated author Rabeya Khatun prepared to observe her birthday, Anisul pondered over a truly meaningful present for her. There was no doubt she would be lavished with expensive guests from everyone else. 

"I used pen and paper to draw her sketch and gave it to her on her birthday. The next year, I drew her portrait using canvas and paintbrushes. And that is how I got into it," he said.

Anisul Hoque's portrait of Shamsul Haque.

What started as a birthday gift started becoming a passion. 

"Back in school, colours were hard to find, so I made them from flowers, fruits, and seeds. I'd get yellow from marigolds and purple from 'Pui' seeds. There was just one brush in the colour box, which was so thin that it would take a whole day to paint a whole page," Hoque remembers. 

So when he visited New Market and Shahbagh to buy drawing accessories,  he was spellbound by the variety of colours available, and the types of brushes.

"I returned home with my new colours and brushes, feeling amazed. When I started painting, the water colours felt magical. They let me create skies without having to draw every cloud. I just put the paint on paper and it formed beautiful skies on its own," Hoque said as his eyes sparkled like a child. 

"Have you ever seen the sky falling on you, on the horizon? If you hold the paper horizontally and put water colour on it, with a little bit of water, you will see that it falls on its own, just like nature. It's just unbelievable".  

A life immersed in the arts

Anisul Hoque was born in 1965 in Rangpur. When he was in first or second standard at the PTI (Primary Teacher's Training Institute), he had a habit of writing limericks called 'dhadha' or 'shloka' in Bangla. 

Every week, the school hosted cultural events where both trainee teachers and young students took part. From grades two to five, Hoque actively engaged in these programs, reciting poems, writing farewell verses for teachers, and also writing and performing jokes as a comic.

"Writing was something I started when I was in my childhood," he said. 

Landscape by Anisul Hoque.

"My older siblings were very successful; two are doctors and another is an engineer. They all had great grades and were top of their class, which really set high expectations for me growing up," Hoque shared.

"I couldn't match their levels; usually coming second or third in class. So, I had to compensate through my creativity. In high school, I made a hand-drawn wallpaper, and the headmaster hung it on his wall."

In the ninth standard, he took writing rhymes seriously. He was a teen member of the Koci Kachar Mela then. 

"In 1978, I crafted a wallpaper for Shishu Academy's Mousumi (seasonal) competition and we clinched first place. I continued to top the competition in Dhaka for three straight years," Hoque recalled.

Hoque fondly recalls once when the theme was on Monsoon, he wrote a prose 'Monsoon in the poetry of Rabindranath' and drew a portrait of the nobel laureate along with it.

"That is how my love for creating art started." 

Anisul Hoque studied civil engineering at Buet. He began his undergraduate studies in 1984. 

"During my time at BUET, I wrote for the Deshbondhu newspaper. On seeing Shishir Bhattacharya's stunning magazine covers, I realised his skill was something I didn't have. Yet, I always enjoyed being around artists."

Ashok Karmakar used to work in Prothom Alo and Hoque used to spend much time with him. "I admire his work and experience. And I learned a lot from him." 

"In 2018, when I began painting, I spent many hours with Mashuk Helal, learning tips and tricks about colours and techniques. I'd sit for long periods watching artists work; eager to master the skill myself," he added.

Gallery Chitrak was right next to Hoque's home in Dhanmondi. He visited daily in the afternoons, meeting artist Rofiqun Nobi and others. Hoque spent time listening to their conversations and thoughts.

"I am awed by Quaiyum Chowhury's works. I feel he is 'The' artist of Bangladesh, of Bengal. I can see Bangladesh in him, in his works. I feel inspired by Goutom Chakaborty's works too." 

"So whenever I find artists, I go and sit with them. I listen to them. It is a natural process."

Anisul regularly painted for four years till 2021.

"My wife thinks I show signs of Autism. I love being creative and get totally absorbed in what I'm doing. Whether it's writing a book or painting; I focus only on that for months, putting everything else aside," he added. 

"I painted a lot, using many tubes of colour. My table got stained and I ruined lots of clothes. Now, looking back, I'm not sure what's stronger: the joy from painting or the regret for the mess I made," concluded the artist.