Haku Shah


Haku Vajubhai Shah was an Indian painter, Gandhian, cultural anthropologist and author on folk and tribal art and culture. His art belonged to the Baroda Group and his works are considered in the line of artists who brought themes of folk or tribal art to Indian art.
He received several awards including the Padma Shri, the Jawarharlal Nehru Fellowship and the Kala Ratna for his contribution to art.

Early life and education

Haku Vajubhai Shah was born on 26 March 1934, in Valod to Vajubhai and Vadanben. His mother was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi and it influenced him. He completed his primary and secondary school education in Valod and was an active member of student union. He graduated in Fine Arts from The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in 1955, followed by a master's degree in Fine Arts from the same university.

Career

His work caught the public eye, and by 1965 he had held several one-man shows in Kolkata and Mumbai. In 1968, he curated the 'Unknown India' exhibition, organized by Art Critic Stella Kramrisch at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. He received the Rockefeller Grant in the same year and in 1971, the Nehru Fellowship Award.
Over the years, he carried out extensive field research and documentation on rural and tribal arts and crafts, traditions and folk lore. He taught at a Gandhian Ashram in south Gujarat for several years and established a tribal museum at Gujarat Vidyapith in Ahmedabad, which was set up by Mahatma Gandhi. Haku curated the museum for several year, which was to become his last legacy.
His work is deeply influenced by the tribal art and culture, a theme on which he wrote several of his works, and also Bhakti movement, especially its Nirguna poetry. He was also deeply influenced by Gandhian philosophy. In 1980s, he was also instrumental in the foundation of Shilpgram, a crafts village, in Udaipur, Rajasthan.
In 2009, he published his memoirs titled, Manush.
He died on 21 March 2019 in Ahmedabad following cardiac arrest at his home.

Awards