Premjit Baria

Premjit Baria is a painter and retired art teacher from Diu. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2023 in the field of art, from Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu ^[1].

An art teacher in Diu

Baria was born in Diu on 14 November 1952 and studied fine arts and art teaching at Sheth C. N. College of Fine Arts in Ahmedabad ^[2]. In 1975 he became drawing teacher at the Government High School in Diu, and taught there for 37 years until he retired in 2012 ^[2].

Under his guidance, students from Diu won eight international awards in children’s painting contests ^[2]. These included a third prize at a regional competition of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok in 1995, silver medals at competitions held by Egypt’s culture ministry in 1997 and 2005, and several awards at the Little Zograf children’s drawing competitions in Bulgaria in 2015 and 2016 ^[2]. In 2006 the President of India named him best art teacher for 2005 ^[2].

His own work

In 2006 he held a solo exhibition of black-and-white work on Diu’s Portuguese architecture, and he has since shown in group exhibitions in Udaipur and Diu ^[2]. He has taken part in national painters’ camps in Kohima, Jaipur and Panaji ^[2]. His paintings are in the collections of public figures including Pranab Mukherjee and Pratibha Patil ^[2].

Since 1996 he has served on the executive board and governing body of the West Zone Cultural Centre in Udaipur, and he has sat on the juries of national arts awards and scholarships ^[2].