Gujral was an Indian artist, painter, writer, and muralist. Born in Jhelum in Punjab in British Raj, he had hearing impairment till age 62. Because of his hearing problem, many schools refused admission to him. One day he saw a bird sitting on a tree’s branch and he draw that. It was an indication of his early interests. Later he joined the Mayo School of Arts in Lahore to study applied arts. In 1944, he enrolled in the Sir JJ School of Art. In 1947, he was forced to drop out of college and leave Mumbai due to recurring sickness.
Gujral received a scholarship to study in Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. His artworks are full of representation of the agony of people during the partition of India. He organized many shows of his sculptures, graphics, and paintings in many cities such as Tokyo, Berlin, New Delhi, and New York City. Belgium Embassy in New Delhi is designed by the Satish Gujral and it was selected by the international forums of architects as one of the finest buildings built in the 20th century.
A short documentary film directed by Balwant Gargi on Satish Gujral was produced by the Film Division of India. A 24-minute documentary called “A Brush with Life” was released in 2012, was based on his own book with the same name.
In 1999, he was awarded Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India.
Vikash Kalra is a self-taught artist and writer based in New Delhi whose work has been exhibited across India and is held in several private and corporate collections.