Anil Karanjai Biography 
Anil Karanjai was an accomplished artist from East Bengal associated with Hungryalists of Bengal in the early 1960s. He was a co-founder of United Artists, aside Karunanidhan Mukhopadhyay and their studio, named Devil’s Workshop attracted artists across the nation and abroad.
He originally belonged to East Bengal, born in the year 1940. After partition, his family moved to West Bengal and he was educated at Varanasi. Since childhood he was interested in arts and used to make arrows and models using clay. He drew pictures of animals and birds at a young age. Though he studied at school, his real passion was art and for the same reason he discontinued his studies to join Bharatiya Kala Kendra. His talents were encouraged a lot by his teacher Karnaman Singh and asked him to experiment with his ideas. He was associated with Bharatiya Kala Kendra until 1960 and has also guided other students. He also practised miniature painting at Bharat Kala Bhavan and clay modelling and metal casting at Benaras Polytechnic at the same time.
He co-founded United Artists in 1960s and its studio was named devil’s workshop. The first art gallery was exhibited by the group at Paradise Café. He and Karunanidhan Mukhopadhyay were the artists associated with Bengal’s "Hungryalist Movement" in the 1960s. He drew numerous pictures for the organization using his creativity and also posters and poems. In 1969 he organized Little Magazine Exhibition at Delhi.
With 1970s his images became technically mature. In 1972 he won a National Award for his artistic talents. He was a politico-cultural activist and maintained a relationship with members of "Hungryalist Movement". He worked in a variety of media and he experimented most with oil. He also produced a number of self-portraits.
Published: N/A
Updated: June 19, 2014
