Manjit Bawa

Manjit Bawa (1941–2008) was a distinguished Indian painter celebrated for his vibrant, lyrical canvases that combined elements of Indian mythology, Sufi mysticism, and everyday life. Known for his distinctive use of colour and figurative simplicity, Bawa created a visual language that was both deeply Indian and universally spiritual. His art departed from the Western-influenced abstraction prevalent in Indian modernism, reviving the figurative tradition through bold forms, saturated hues, and meditative symbolism.

Early Life and Education

Manjit Bawa was born in 1941 in Dhuri, a small town in Punjab, India, into a family that valued both tradition and creativity. His early exposure to folk tales, music, and mythology in Punjab nurtured his imaginative sensibility and would later profoundly influence his artistic vision.
He studied art at the College of Art, New Delhi, where he trained under prominent modernists such as Bhabesh Chandra Sanyal and Somnath Hore. During his formative years, he encountered the works of European masters like Paul Gauguin, Henri Matisse, and Marc Chagall, whose treatment of colour and form impressed him deeply.
In 1964, Bawa moved to London, where he studied at the London School of Printing and worked as a silkscreen printer. He lived in the United Kingdom for nearly a decade, engaging with the Western art scene while reflecting on his Indian roots. This period of cultural contrast compelled him to seek an authentic visual identity grounded in Indian themes and traditions.

Return to India and Artistic Vision

After returning to India in the early 1970s, Manjit Bawa consciously rejected the abstract expressionism that dominated Indian art at the time. Instead, he turned towards figuration, drawing from Indian mythology, Sufi philosophy, and folk traditions. His decision to focus on the figurative and spiritual was both aesthetic and ideological — a statement of confidence in India’s visual and cultural heritage.
Bawa’s artistic philosophy revolved around simplicity, spirituality, and symbolism. He once remarked, “Why should I paint like Western artists when I have my own gods, my own myths, and my own colours?” His art became an exploration of the sacred in the everyday — fusing mythological figures, animals, and nature into serene, dreamlike compositions.

Style and Techniques

Manjit Bawa’s style is instantly recognisable for its vivid colour palette, minimalist composition, and ethereal subjects. His canvases are suffused with a sense of stillness and transcendence, achieved through masterful use of space and colour harmony.
Key features of his artistic style include:

• Vibrant Colours: Bawa used bold, unmodulated colours — crimson, vermilion, yellow, turquoise, and violet — derived from traditional Indian miniature painting and folk art. His use of colour symbolised emotional and spiritual intensity.
• Simplified Forms: Figures and animals are rendered with minimal lines, flat tones, and soft contours, lending them a dreamlike quality.
• Negative Space: He often employed vast expanses of monochromatic backgrounds to heighten focus on the central figure, creating a meditative balance between form and emptiness.
• Spiritual Symbolism: His subjects often float or exist in suspension, reflecting spiritual transcendence and detachment from material reality.
• Folk and Mythic Imagery: Bawa’s visual vocabulary drew from Indian epics, Puranic deities, and Punjabi folklore, reinterpreted through a contemporary lens.

His mastery of silkscreen printing in London influenced the precision of his outlines and his clarity of colour fields. Unlike expressionist painters, Bawa preferred restraint and control, making his works appear luminous and timeless.

Themes and Motifs

Bawa’s art revolved around spiritual, mythological, and metaphysical themes expressed through symbolic imagery. Common motifs include:

• Deities and Myths: Figures such as Krishna, Shiva, Kali, and Durga appear frequently, depicted not as religious icons but as archetypes of energy, compassion, and cosmic balance.
• Animals as Symbols: The lion, elephant, cow, and bird recur as metaphors for freedom, strength, and divinity in nature. His portrayals of animals often reflect harmony between humans and the natural world.
• Sufi Mysticism: Influenced by Sufi poets like Bulleh Shah and Kabir, Bawa’s paintings evoke universal love and divine unity. The recurring flute-playing figure of Krishna, for instance, becomes an emblem of spiritual ecstasy beyond religious boundaries.
• Human Emotions: His figures, often alone or paired with animals, convey peace, contemplation, and harmony rather than struggle or conflict.

Through these themes, Bawa bridged the gap between sacred and secular, creating art that spoke of spiritual awareness rather than religious orthodoxy.

Major Works

Some of Manjit Bawa’s most acclaimed works include:

• Durga – portraying the goddess astride a lion, rendered with bold colours and calm strength.
• Krishna with the Cow – symbolising love and compassion in nature.
• Man and Bull – a recurring theme reflecting coexistence and inner struggle.
• Flute Player – a spiritual symbol drawn from Krishna and Sufi mystics.
• The Birth of Ruru – based on a Puranic legend, blending mythic storytelling with vivid imagery.

Each composition reflects his commitment to reducing complexity to its visual and emotional essence.

Artistic Philosophy and Indian Identity

Bawa’s approach to art was deeply rooted in Indian philosophy and aesthetics. Rejecting the intellectualism of Western modernism, he believed that art should arise from intuition and inner experience. His simplicity was deliberate — an act of returning to the fundamentals of colour, line, and form, akin to meditation.
He considered Indian mythology a living, evolving source of creativity rather than a relic of the past. His reinterpretations of divine and folk imagery celebrated the plurality of Indian culture, where the sacred and the mundane coexist seamlessly.

Recognition and Exhibitions

Manjit Bawa’s work gained national and international acclaim for its originality and spiritual depth. His exhibitions were held at major art galleries across India and abroad, including:

• Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai
• Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi
• Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Kolkata
• Gallery Espace, New Delhi
• Exhibitions in London, New York, and Hong Kong

His paintings are now part of significant public and private collections, including the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, and Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Awards and honours:

• Lalit Kala Akademi Award (1980)
• National Award for Painting (1981)
• Dayawati Modi Award for Art, Culture, and Education (2000)

Later Life and Legacy

In December 2008, Manjit Bawa passed away after a prolonged illness, leaving behind a body of work that continues to inspire artists and viewers alike.
Bawa’s legacy lies in his revival of the figurative and spiritual traditions within Indian modernism. In an era dominated by abstraction and political narratives, he reaffirmed the power of colour, mythology, and simplicity to convey universal truths.
His contemporaries admired him for his independence of thought and artistic integrity. Younger artists look to him as a model of how Indian art can be both modern and rooted, global and spiritual.

Significance in Indian Art

Manjit Bawa occupies a unique position in modern Indian art as a painter who fused Sufi mysticism, Indian mythology, and modern sensibility into a coherent visual idiom. His art transcends religion and language, speaking instead to the unity of existence and the serenity of being.