Manjit Bawa Biography 
Manjit Bawa was a great painter and artist from Punjab. He hailed from a small town Dhuri, Punjab. Known for his vibrant paintings, he also expressed his love for spirituality - particularly of Sufi philosophy through his works. For Bawa, drawing was his first love. Bawa is a recipient of numerous awards including Lalit Kala Akademi in 1980, Sailoz Prize in 1963 and Kalidas Samman in 2005-2006 by the government of Madhya Pradesh. He was in coma for three years before his death in December, 2008. He was 67 years old. He was survived by his wife Sharda Bawa and two children.
Manjit Bawa was born in 1941 in Dhuri, Punjab. Bawa was encouraged to take this art as profession by none other than his elder brother. Manjit later completed his art studies at College of Art, New Delhi. He got opportunity to learn from Somnath Hore, B.C. Sanyal and many other prominent figures of Indian art during his academic years. He later worked under Abani Sen which earned him an identity of his own. Abani Sen asked him to make more than 50 sketches every day and used to reject most of them. Gradually Manjit improved himself as an artist. Thus Abani played a significant role in grooming his career. He also advised him to concentrate on to Figurative art, and gave him enough training also.
Bawa worked as a silkscreen printer in Britain during the period 1964-1971. Once returned he got drawn towards Indian mythology and Sufi philosophy and later those thoughts reflected in his works as well. Bawa's canvases are distinguishable in their colors and preferred traditionally Indian colors like pinks, reds and violet for his works. He was inspired a lot by nature also.
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Updated: June 26, 2016
