Last year we at Rarh Design Studio had developed some products based on works of artists & designers of Bengal. Being from Santiniketan, the works of Nandalal Bose was our main focus.

Products based on motifs derived from works of Nandalal Bose

We were especially drawn towards his illustrations done for Rabindranath Tagore’s Bengali primer Sahaj Path (1930).

Lino-cut illustration from Sahaj Path by Nandalal Bose, 1930

Nandalal Bose was the first graphic artist (though he was much, much more than just that) in Bengal who successfully combined traditional Indian pictorial wisdom with modernist minimalist solutions to produce some highly original & startling works of graphic art.

Notebooks based on motifs derived from works of Nandalal Bose

We wanted to share these pictures, even though these products are no longer in production. In future we also wish to write extensively on various aspects of Nandalal Bose’s designs.

© Rarh Design Studio