The Foreign Service Journal, December 2012

36 DECEMBER 2012 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Otobi Limited, that continues to manufacture modern furniture for home and office use. Recalling a Great Man Going from humble beginnings to international success and wealth is a road rarely traveled by even the most sophisticated citizens of advanced Western countries. Considering that Kundu was a Hindu artist living in a majority-Muslim, underdeveloped country, the magnitude of his achievement can only be attrib- uted to his character, imagination and individualism. Equally remarkable, no matter how successful he became, he continued to balance his penchant for the artistic with conscientious con- cern for the underprivileged. Kundu continued to come up with innovative ideas until he died of cardiac arrest on Sept. 15, 2006, at the age of 70. As part of a national commemoration, an arts council sponsored a panel discussion to celebrate the artist’s life and works, which led to publication of a tribute, Nitun Kundu: The Creative Mind . As one contributor to the volume recalled, “Whenever a client was in need of a particular product, they came to Kundu; he never refused them.” Many of his paintings are held in private collections, but per- haps the most enduring of his artistic achievements are his large sculptures and monuments. In 1992, for example, he completed a 35-foot-tall modern sculpture that served as a bonding symbol for the seven member-states that attended the summit meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. It is situated in front of the large international Hotel Sonargaon, at the crossroad junction in the heart of the city. However, “Sabash Bangladesh” (already discussed above) is widely regarded as his crowning achievement. This sculpture, according to the Bangladesh Observe r newspaper, depicts not only the history of the war of independence and the future of the country, but also the struggle against human abuse. “Days will come and days will go, but the monument…will last for genera- tions,” the newspaper predicted. And so it is with Nitun Kundu. “Days will come and days will go,” but those of us who have been touched by his art, by his per- sonality and human warmth will always remember the humble artist’s many achievements. n Kundu completed this 35-foot steel fountain sculpture for the Seventh Summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation held in Dhaka in 1993. It is situated in the center of the city. When I met Kundu in 1959, he had just begun working for Embassy Dhaka, designing exhibits and graphics.