SHRI BRAHMDEO RAM PANDIT AN ARTIST WHO LIKE A TRUE MASTER POTTER CRAFTSMAN FROM A TRADITIONAL POTTERS COMMUNITY EMBRACED THE ART AND CRAFT OF POTTERY FROM HIS FATHER RAM PANDIT (WHO WAS THE ANCESTOR OF PRAJAPATI) WHEN OTHER YOUTH OF HIS AGE WERE ABANDONING POTTERY IN HOPE OF EARNING BETTER THROUGH OTHER PROFESSIONS. HE HAS STOOD FIRMLY TO HIS ROOTS AND HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN TEACHING THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS THE ART AND CRAFT OF POTTERY AND THUS KEPT THE CRAFT ALIVE AND ALSO MADE A SUCCESSFUL CAREER OUT OF POTTERY FOR OTHERS TO PURSUE.
BORN ON 2ND MARCH 1949, SHRI BRAHMDEO RAM PANDIT FIRST RECEIVED TRAINING IN POTTERY IN SEKHO DEVRA ASHRAM (SARVODAYA ASHRAM) INAUGURATED BY FIRST PRESIDENT OF INDIA DR.RAJENDRA PRASAD AND ESTABLISHED BY JAIPRAKASH NARAYAN IN KAWAKOLE,NAWADA, BIHAR IN 1969 AND THEN ON SCHOLARSHIP IN CENTRAL VILLAGE POTTERY INSTITUTE OF KHADI AND VILLAGE INDUSTRIES COMMISSION,KHANAPUR,DIST: BELGAUM (KARNATAKA) IN 1970, AND THEN APPRENTICESHIP UNDER POTTER SHRI L.R AJGAONKAR OF AAJ STUDIO ARTIST SCULPTOR IN 3, KALA NAGAR, BANDRA,MUMBAI IN 1971 STUDIED CLAY SCULPTURE AND MODELLING FROM SIR J.J.SCHOOL OF ART, MUMBAI IN 1975-76. HE RECEIVED SCHOLARSHIP TO LEARN POTTERY IN LALIT KALA AKADEMI - GARHI, NEW DELHI IN 1981. HE RECEIVED ADVANCE POTTERY EDUCATION IN JAPAN, HONG KONG, TAIWAN AND SINGAPORE IN 1991.
SHRI BRAHMDEO RAM PANDIT FOUNDED PANDIT ART CERAMIC WHICH LAID FOUNDATION FOR HANDMADE ART AND CRAFT OF POTTERY IN 1981. IT IS HERE THAT HE CREATED ONE OF THE BEST ARTWORK OUT OF CLAY WHICH WERE MOST SOUGHT AFTER BY ART CONNOISSEURS. HE IS ONE OF THE RARE POTTER WHO CROSSED THE BRIDGE FROM TRADITIONAL POTTERY TO CONTEMPORARY POTTERY.COMING FROM TRADITIONAL FAMILY BACKGROUND HE WAS ABLE TO INFUSE CONTEMPORARY DESIGNS IN HIS POTTERY AND ALSO HE IS THE FIRST ARTISANS TO HAVE INTRODUCED GLAZING IN THIS MEDIUM.
SHRI BRAHMDEO RAM PANDIT FOR ALMOST THREE DECADES (1973-2005) TAUGHT THE ART AND CRAFT OF POTTERY TO NEARLY 1500 STUDENTS IN SOPHIA COLLEGE, SHREE BASANT KUMAR SOMANI MEMORIAL POLYTECHNIC,BHULABHAI DESAI ROAD ,MUMBAI. HE HAS NEARLY TAUGHT POTTERY TO 2000 BLIND STUDENTS AT SMT. KAMLA MEHTA DADAR SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND, MUMBAI FROM 1985-2013. HE TAUGHT POTTERY TO MANY STUDENTS UNDER THE MAHARASHTRA HANDICRAFT TRAINING PROGRAMME FROM 1985-1994. HIS STUDENTS FONDLY CALL HIM AS “PANDITJI”. HE HAS EXHIBITED HIS POTTERY IN CYMROZA ART GALLERY, ART HERITAGE GALLERY, JEHANGIR ART GALLERY, AND NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART-MUMBAI.
THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA SHRI PRANAB MUKHERJEE HONOURED SHRI BRAHMDEO RAM PANDIT WITH PADMA SHRI AWARD ON 5TH APRIL 2013 IN RASHTRAPATI BHAVAN IN NEW DELHI. THE GOVERNOR OF MAHARASHTRA SHRI K.SHANKARANARAYAN ALSO HONOURED HIM FOR RECEIVING PADMA SHRI FOR THE MAHARASHTRA STATE IN THE RAJYA BHAVAN ON 1ST MAY 2013 IN MUMBAI.SHRI BRAHMDEO RAM PANDIT WAS CONFERRED THE HONOUR OF (SHILP GURU) AWARD BY THE MINISTRY OF TEXTILES (HANDICRAFT) GOVERNMENT OF INDIA FOR HIS CONTRIBUTION IN DEVELOPMENT OF POTTERY CRAFT IN 2008. HE RECEIVED THE STATE AWARD BY GOVERNMENT OF MAHARASHTRA IN 1991.SHRI NITISH KUMARJI CHIEF MINISTER OF BIHAR AWARDED HIM PRAVASHI BIHAR SHRI AWARD FOR HIS OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN THE FIELD OF POTTERY CRAFT IN 2012. HE WAS AWARDED THE KAMALADEVI CHATTOPHADHYAY AWARD FOR HIS LIFE TIME CONTRIBUTION TO THE WORLD OF CRAFT BY PARAMPARIK KARIGAR MUMBAI IN 2007. HE RECEIVED THE ALL INDIA FINE ARTS AND CRAFTS SOCIETY AWARD IN DELHI FOR HIS POTTERY IN 2007. A POTTERY BOOK ON HIM IS PUBLISHED BY TATA PRESS FOR PARAMPARIK KARIGAR MUMBAI. HIS POTTERY IS PRINTED IN INTERNATIONAL BOOK “CALLED CONTEMPORARY CERAMICS” BY EDITOR EMMANUEL COOPER AND PUBLISHED BY THAMES AND HUDSON IN LONDON.
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