I met him when i was studying in 4th or 5th standard.He is my friends father and great maestro.An artist who has struggled a lot throughout his life.A great water color portrait expert and i would say the best of our life time i have seen.One who can handle all forms of the art and sculpture.Hit badly by destiny and nobody to understand the passion of art ANNA alias SHRI B R TOPKAR has sacrificed his life in just experiencing and experimenting with art.
378 A ward margai lane shivaji peth Kolhapur is a small philantrhopic house where he lived with all his tools and colors and always with hunger inside the walls all he talked was art to various people whom he met.
In his younger days he was in a Pachagani based school where at the then times he used to do direct sketching and portrait paintings and earn his bread and butter.In the spirit of hunting new forms of wood he went to pachgani jungles and was victimised by the regular infection of CONGRESS grass a skin disease where every part of skin becomes Blackish and continuous irritation.He still suffer es with that but what he can see through his eyes we can not see with our ugly eyes.
And now he is above eighty and living with his sons with a great wish to at least once his partings should be displayed at Jehangir Art gallery Mumbai.
Destiny still plays a funny trick with him now ,grand children around the great mainstream art contemporary oldman strives for basics of his life.
Worst over worst he has a place somewhere in basement he has kept his paintings in Khari corner is full of water drizzling through basement,his son helpless can not do anything the work is getting destroyed however a very scientific restoration is required at the same time he needs to be given some space and support to make people appreciate his art and pull him out of this lifetime negligence so that the true spirit of Kolhapur is rewarded and the art survives.Very few artists get their recognition during their lifetime,however this is 21st century people copy text pictures and images even emotions and what not.Are we really bothered about art and artists?Is onetime help sufficient for artists?
If somebody really wants to meet him or help him they may in following way come ahead and ......
take the responsibility of paintings and restore if required or support to survive them through his guidance.
Some trust to take care of his work and him with all necessary contemporary documentation of his work.
Write his biography.
make a film on Him and convey his message to the world.
Contact his family members coordinate them and help counsel the social trauma.
Oh GOD are you reading?
