Four years ago when Harsha Dass, a senior executive with the Indian Railways had to shift to Taiwan with her diplomat husband, she routed her understanding of the local culture through art classes.

“I used to draw as a hobby from my childhood. In Taipei, I was attracted by the beautiful artworks in ink and decided to learn the ancient Chinese technique of painting,” she says.

In July 2023, Harsha held her first exhibition at the Taipei National Central Library. It opened to encouraging reviews and prompted her to continue with the art after returning to India last summer. She is now showcasing a collection of 17 Huaniao paintings titled Looks from the East, to the discerning audience in Delhi at the Lalit Kala Akademi.

Her strikingly different work highlighting the separate sub-genre of Chinese ink paintings on rice paper reveals a painterly brilliance of an eager student who practiced hard to master the strokes in a short span. In Chinese language Huan is flower and niao is bird and they epitomise resilience and beauty of Nature and the ink paintings constitute one of the foundation-stones of Chinese civilisation.

Chinese ink painting by Harsha Dass | Photo Credit: Special Arrngement

The Huaniao ink painting traces its origin to Tang dynasty evolving in the hands of successive generation of masters. In imperial China it attained its artistic climax in the Song dynasty and gradually spread beyond borders of China to East Asia, Korea and Japan.

Harsha found an accomplished old school teacher in Jyn-Tzy Wang. “She is a living storehouse of knowledge about traditional techniques and skills and eased me into the craft of ink painting,” says Harsha now posted as Chief Personnel Officer in Northern Railways, Delhi.

Done on the durable and versatile handmade rice paper or silks, the paintings typically cover flowers, birds, water, mountains, trees, and landscapes. Scholar artists developed a free hand or xieyi style bloated ink painting as opposed to the classic outlined or gongbi style painting, making the two schools of Huaniao paintings very distinct.

Harsha follows the classic style and also uses lot of colours in her work for vibrancy. She says, when she was rigorously training under her teacher, the initial classes were difficult because one had to learn the way the teacher taught and progress was in baby steps.

“Chinese ink painting is a science; You learn how important the preparation is, of the ink, the colour, the palette and patience. A breath out of turn, a flick of the wrist at the wrong moment or even an extra drop of water can destroy hours of hard work,” she says, and adds, “You learn to move with the form that you are creating as breathing infuses life into your brush strokes. You cannot create unless there is peace and harmony within yourself.”

Huaniao ink painting by Harsha Dass on display at Lalit Kala Akademi | Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

The initial months are only about perfecting the posture; holding and washing the brushes correctly, for every stroke there is a different brush, made with hair from different parts of animal bodies; learning the strokes for bamboo leaf and bamboo stem and preparing the right shades of ink (made by burning different kinds of wood and collecting the soot for making a tiny bar, which is then rotated and rubbed at a particular angle with certain pressure on the bottom of a pot containing water. There is a measurement to everything and the ink comes out little by little in shades of black to grey).

“One needs e the temperament to learn the art because it is physically taxing as one has to stand and finish a painting, preferably in one day otherwise the naturally made ink loses its colour. I worked hard, 10 hours a day but unless I got a stroke right my teacher never allowed me to move on to the next,” remembers Harsha.

“It can be frustrating because teachers do not allow you to paint whatever you wish to. But, once you develop a passion for the art form, you are guided by its philosophy. It has opened up a new world of spirituality for me,” she says.

It was difficult for Harsha to convince her teacher to reveal the secret technique to ink paint fish. “What appears simple, natural and effortless type of painting to a viewer actually requires a long learning process of the skills and techniques, powers of observation, the control over self and tools and a phenomenal focus,” she says.

In the formidable art scene, her determination to pick up the skills and dedicated practice enabled her to focus on her per themes, sooner than she and even her teacher expected, she says.

Huaniao ink painting by Harsha on display at Lalit Kala Akademi | Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

One of her large size and favourite ink painting titled ‘A competitive schooling’ with nine fish can be seen at the exhibition. She completed it in one go in 15 hours and describes the experience as “fulfilling”. Harsha has got four more appealing ink paintings of fish mounted. “They are not easy to paint given the multiple layers of strokes and colouring involved but painting them has induced calmness in me,” she says.

There is beauty, joy and happiness in her canvasses much as the balance is an essential element in her paintings. Harsha’s mastery enables her to deal with any living non-human form including insects and pets. An understanding of the significance of different animals, birds and flowers in Chinese culture and folklore and some familiarity with the Chinese language helps a better appreciation of the painting and the hidden meaning it conveys.

Harsha Dass with her Huaniao ink paintings Lalit Kala Akademi | Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

“The rich legacy of traditional techniques are passed down through generations by teachers to their favourite students. I feel honoured that I was one such student,” she says.

At Gallery 4, Lalit Kala Akademi, 35 Firozeshah Road; Till January 13; 11am to 7pm