By: Dr. Rajesh Bhat

Ghulam Rasool Santosh was Everything in Nothing— a painter, a mystic poet, a writer, a playwright a weaver, a calligrapher and above all a Kashmiri Shaivite.

Born in 1929 as Ghulam Rasool in a Kashmiri Muslim family at Chinkral Mohalla, Habba Kadal, he was forced to give up schooling after his father’s death and as a result took up several odd jobs like  silk weaving, signboard painting and white washing walls. Slowly, he returned to painting and joined the Progressive Arts Association in Kashmir started by Sayed Haider Raza who was then  mobilizing Kashmiri painters. In 1954, he won a scholarship to study Fine Arts under a celebrated Indian painter, N. S. Bendre in the city of Baroda, Gujarat.

Adding name of his wife Santosh to  personify the man- woman union

Around the same time, Ghulam Rasool did what was considered unusual and unacceptable in conservative Kashmiri society. He married his childhood Kashmiri  friend, Ms Santosh and assumed her name to become Ghulam Rasool Santosh.

Santosh was greatly influenced  by another one of Mother India’s most illustrious  painter— S. H Raza, whose Geometric Abstraction revolved  around a “Bindu’’ and the concept of  “Tantra’’. Santosh was thus influenced by concept of Shiv Darshana. His natural affinity to delve deep into Tantra paintings admittedly produced wonderful results. His paintings centered around the theme of dimensional circles, cubes, triangles and Santosh not only accorded an academic base to these paintings but also explored the hidden spiritual meanings and messages.

These themes  mainly revolved  around Shiv and Shakti and the inspiration  behind these was his utmost devotion for the Universal Mother  seated at Hari Parbat, known from the ancient  times as  `Predumana Peeth’’ or “ `Sharika Peeth’’.

Towards the end, his whole focus was on interpretation of `Shri Chakra’ and its spiritual significance but unfortunately, this could not fructify, as he along with lakhs of Kashmiris had to abandon his homeland.

 Considering the current situation, it is unlikely that another Santosh may emerge from Kashmir, as the very soul of Kashmir stands brutalised as on date. But since strange are the ways of the Divine, the seed may lie embedded to sprout in the womb of future.   

Santosh’s life and works

In early 1960s, Ghulam Rasool Santosh had studied Tantric (mystical) art and Kashmir Shaivism. In 1964, he adopted this style to create some of the best examples of modern Tantric paintings. His paintings are known for the vibrancy of colours, neat lines, spiritual energy and sensuousness. His paintings have been exhibited in notable international shows. Santosh also wrote plays, poetry and essays in Kashmiri. He was also an authority on Kashmir Shaivism, and was one of the very few people who could read and write the ancient, and almost-extinct, Kashmiri script called Sharda.

Santosh’s canvas represented a Projection of Shunya

According to a booklet  brought out by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) , Santosh is quoted to have lived with the belief  that his canvas represented a projection of Shunya, the void which is incalculable in time and dimension, Anadi and Ananta {without beginning to end}. “The surrounding dark oceans in terms of which you describe the borders of my canvas are the ever unfathomable, unreachable of the fundamental unfathomable, infinite aspects of the fundamental creative force which lies beyond the pale of wisdom, thought and imagination. The canvas itself, therefore, is symbolic as it portrays the omnipresence of infinite in the finite. But space cannot be defined without a minimum of three directions or three lines, which formulate a triangle, which is Mula Trikona. The initial nature of all pervading creative force is Shabda Brahma, primordial sound which is ever and ceaselessly vibrant.”

In search of Inspiration at Amarnath Cave

In 1960, Santosh took a visit to the Amarnath cave in the hope finding inspiration to write an inter-faith romance. However, he came back with an experience of a philosophical tradition that would become the fulcrum of his thought process and embrace his inner sanctum. The 8th century tantric philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism became his leitmotif. He started studying Tantric Art -imagery and philosophy and created his own cosmic corollaries incorporating the cosmic egg form, the vertical symmetry, the ovoid shape as well as the phallic. This why he said: “My paintings are based on the male and female concept of Shiva and Shakti and therefore construed as tantra.”

 Kashmir Shaivism had influenced Santosh in terms of colours. It spoke of Prakash Vimarsha as it considered colour a form of light. Therefore, Santosh started treating colour as light. The orange colour in his paintings referenced a connection to tantra in the form of sindoor. Santosh had meditative practices, so deep was his understanding that his paintings reflected those powers of energy.

   Santosh had over 30 solo shows in India, U.S.A., Canada, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore, besides exhibiting his paintings in national international group shows.

Honoured with Padma Shri by the President of India, he was also awarded the National Award twice and the Artist of the Year Award in New Delhi in 1984. His works belong to Museums all over the world.

Santosh as a mystic  poet

Many few people must be aware of the fact that apart from a painter, Santosh was also  a great mystic poet. He   wrote an important poem in 1963 `Do Rukh’ (twin faced) which employed the metaphor of one’s eyes being transplanted behind the skull. The poem was symbolic of liberating one’s thought process from the constraints of time, space or dimension on the one hand, and implying on the other than one may have left one’s destination behind.

 Santosh loved reciting his poetry over Radio Kashmir. In 1972, he had participated in All India Poetic Symposium at New Delhi. In 1978, he received the Sahitya Akademi award for his collection of poems in Kashmiri, titled ‘Be suakh Ruh’ On  March 10, 1997,  Santosh left for heavenly abode— away from Kashmir, The same year, he was  awarded posthumously Doctorate of Literature (Litt.D.) by University of Jammu