CUTTACK: The Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Birthplace Museum will dedicate a gallery to paintings and portraits on the greatest freedom fighters next year. The works of art have been painted by some leading names in the contemporary art scene at the museum on the occasion of the 115th birth anniversary of Netaji here on Monday.As many as 16 painters took part in a two-day art camp on the museum campus and each produced one piece each on the theme “Life and Times” of Netaji. Portraits, his Azad Hind Fauj and other themes like his famous war cry “Give me blood, I will give you freedom” formed the basis of the paintings that resulted out of the camp, organised by Orissa Lalit Kala Akademi in association with the State Government.The 16 paintings have been presented to the museum and are expected to find place in the galleries of the National institution, Akademi secretary Rabinarayan Rath said. Museum authorities are keen to set up a gallery on the paintings.The birth anniversary of the greatest son of soil was celebrated amid patriotic fervour with Chief Justice V Gopalagowda of the Orissa High Court unfurling the National flag and paying tributes to Netaji at the museum, which has been established on the ancestral house where he was born. The Chief Justice went around the galleries and also watched the entire 45-minute film at the auditorium in the museum.The day also was marked with novelty when the All-India freedom fighters body Azad Hind Manch conducted a Jalabhisek on the statue of Netaji with water drawn from 121 rivers of the country, including Mahanadi. The Manch conducted Jalabhisek of Netaji across the country in similar fashion.As a steady stream of visitors, including Cuttack MP Bhartruhari Mahtab and MLA Debasish Samantray who paid homage, continued through the day, noted filmmaker Gopal Ghose donated two rare books, the autobiography of Netaji “Bharat Pathik” and “Netaji Antardhaner Rahashya” by Uttamchand Malhotri to the museum.The autobiography, penned by Netaji in Austria in the 1930s, which is in Bengali, gives insight into his life, struggles and endeavours. The second book, also in Bengali, gives an account of his great escape from India by Malhotri, who gave him shelter in his house in Kabul for over three months. “The books will for now be preserved in the library. Efforts will be made to translate the rare books into Oriya with the help of Ghose”, museum curator J P Das said.A sand art on Netaji by artist Pramod Patnaik on the museum campus also drew appreciation.
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