Mona
Renowned art historian D C Bhattacharyya breathed his last on Saturday. A specialist in Indian iconography, he is recognised as an authority on Buddhist iconography.
Bhattacharyya served Panjab University for 35 years. He was a founder member of the Department of Fine Arts and was chairperson of the department for more than 12 years. He served various important assignments of the Government of India and of the Chandigarh Administration. He was also the chairman of Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi for seven years.
Bhattacharyya authored 15 books, including Tantric Buddhist Iconographic Sources (1974), Iconology of Composite Images (1980) and Pratimalaksana of Visnudharmottara (1991). He contributed articles in the thematic exhibitions held under the aegis of the Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh on diverse subjects, including epigraphy and numismatics. He also published more than 100 research papers in various national and international journals.
Bhattacharyya was awarded the John D. Rockefeller Foundation Research Fellowship for visiting various famous museums associated with Buddhist art collections. In this connection, he travelled extensively in the USA, UK, Thailand and Nepal. In view of the substantive contributions that Bhattacharyya made in the field of academics and research in art history, he was awarded by the Asiatic Society with the Life Time Achievement Award in Teaching and Research in 2008.
A pall of gloom descended among art lovers after his demise. Bheem Malhotra, chairperson of Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi, recalls, "He was a founder member of the Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi. He encouraged artistes and his command over his subject was superb. He could speak for hours on art and history. The loss to the world of academia and art history is immense."
Jagtej Grewal, chairperson, Department of Art History & Visual Arts, says, "As Dr Bhattachryya's former student, I fondly remember his engaging teaching style, in-depth knowledge and the willingness to share his insights."
Artist Diwan Manna, currently president of the Punjab Lalit Kala Academi, says, "Dr Bhattacharyya was an ancient Indian art history expert and along with Prof BN Goswamy, he set up the Department of Fine Arts, which is known for quality education. His passing away is a big loss. I met him several times in the past few years. Though he retired many years ago, he was mentally alert and inquisitive and always willing to contribute."
Bhattacharyya is survived by his wife Neelima Bhattacharyya and son Prof Tirthankar Bhattacharya.
