Ashok Kumar Biswas

Ashok Kumar Biswas has spent five decades reviving Tikuli art, an old Bihar craft that grew out of decorated bindis, and turning it into a style of folk painting. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2024 in the field of art, from Bihar ^[1].

From sign boards to Tikuli

He was born on 3 October 1956 in Rohtas, Bihar, and grew up with little money ^[2]. He first learned to paint while helping his elder brother in a sign-board shop ^[2]. After training at the Shilp Anusandhan Sansthan in Patna in 1973, he devoted himself to Tikuli, guided by the Bihar artists Upendra Maharathi and Lal Babu Gupta ^[2].

Painting and teaching

Biswas developed Tikuli into a refined painting style and taught it free of charge to women in rural and small-town Bihar ^[2]. About 8,000 women have trained with him, and many now earn a living from the craft ^[2].

For the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi, his Tikuli paintings were chosen as the official gift for participating athletes ^[2]. He has shown his work at more than 100 exhibitions in India and at international shows, and has run workshops for the Ministry of Culture and training programmes for central and state governments ^[2]. His paintings hang in the Bihar Museum and in government offices ^[2].

Honours

He received the Bihar state award in 2008 and the Kala Shri award from the Government of India in 2009 ^[2].