The muses in Charukala’s world of fine art

A bright purple Tangail sari-clad Fatema Begum was seated on a wooden tool in front of the Zainul gallery, inside the Institute of Fine Arts at the University of Dhaka. She was overlooking the famous Bot tola or the banyan tree stage of the institute campus, while chewing on paan or betel leaves. Her paan-stained lips and tongue moved slowly. 

"I was just around my early 20s when I first came to Charukala. My husband was a driving instructor for one of the teachers here. But that husband of mine never gave me money to eat and was always running away from me," said a 55- year-old Fatema. 

One day in the 1990s, Fatema came to Charukala looking for her husband. But he was nowhere to be found. So finally she decided to work and asked one peon there to give her a job – any job, literally anything to do. 

"It was Hashem sir [artist Hashem Khan] of the Department of Oriental Art who first appointed me as a model, and I was given Tk50 to model for four hours," Fatema said. 

That's how Fatema Begum started her journey of being a human figure model for art students and for the last 30 years, she has been coming here every day to be a model. She lives in Demra with her son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter. 

"When I first started, it was Tk 50 per class a day. Now a regular model is paid Tk 400 a day to be a model for four to five hours, [that's] Tk 2,000 a week. But look at me now. I have given my 30 years to this campus and they didn't even give me a permanent job," said Fatema, welling up as she spoke. 

The students sometimes pay her a small sum, Tk10 each from a class of 30, which accumulates to Tk 300-350. 

"Countless times I have asked for a job. Now that I have grown older, I no longer look good. So I guess that's why they don't want to hire me. But I asked for a job for my son. They never listened to me," she continued. 

Like Fatema Begum, the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Dhaka is home to six to seven people who work here as live figure models for the students, teachers and artists.  

These models are either paid on a daily basis, which is Tk400, or weekly Tk2000. Generally, they sit for four to five hours. 

"Live figure models are very important for students of fine arts because the human figure is one of the perfect examples of proportion in nature. We can divide the human anatomy into seven portions, which have perfect proportions and scales," said Professor Sheikh Afzal Hossain, chairperson of the Department of Drawing and Painting, Faculty of Fine Arts at the  University of Dhaka. 

Generally, it is the golden ratio of 1:1.6, the professor explained. For example, human faces are about 1.618 times longer than they are wide. It is observed that the distance between the top of the nose and the centre of the lips is 1.618 times greater than the distance between the centre of the lips and the chin.

"So while choosing a model, we try to make sure that the average organs are more or less proportionate, which is necessary for the young artists to learn, and also develop their observational skills," he said.  

Photo: Saqlain Rizve

'I started modelling at the age of seven'

"At the age of six or seven, I used to come here to gather wood for our fire stove," said Fatema Aktar Tania, reminiscing of her days in the University campus area back in the 1990s. She used to live in Kamrangir Char, across the Buriganga River, and still resides in the same area. 

"One day Jamal sir [Professor Jamal Uddin Ahmed, Department of Drawing and Painting] asked me to sit on a bench there and made earthen dolls modelled after me. He gave me Tk10 for this," Tania said.  

With that 10 taka, Tania started her career as a fine art model. For the next 32 years, she modelled for students, teachers, and as an exam hall figure model. "Bipasha Hayat [the actress] once painted me," recalled Tania, adding with a hint of pride, "I gave a sitting for her and she drew me." 

Bipasha Hayat is a former student of the faculty. "She has taken me to her home, her studio, in her car and fed me. And, when she was done painting me, her car dropped me back." 

In 2012, Tania was appointed as a permanent model for the Department of Oriental Art. She is paid per day and on the days she is not present, she isn't paid. Currently, her daily wage is Tk475. 

Tania likes being a model. "It is tough, maintaining the same pose for hours, without moving. But I like it, and I understand the terms." 

White facial hair, hair in knots and a saffron lungi

The very first thing you notice about Falan Chandra Bishwas is his well-groomed white facial hair, his hair in knots, the saffron lungi and his perfect muscles. 

The day I met him, he was sitting on a chair while a group of 20 students were drawing him in the exam hall. After a while, they took a break for 20 minutes. Falan also got up and went for a stroll. 

"Sitting for four hours is physically not possible. So we take a break of 15-20 minutes every hour," he said. 

Falan is the custodian of a temple inside the Jagannath Hall, one of the boy's hostels of the University. He takes care of the temple and performs yoga regularly, which explains the muscles and the abdomen. 

"I was appointed as a model around eight years ago. Every exam season, I am appointed for a week or two and paid Tk400 per day," Falan said. 

'I don't have a single portrait of mine'

"When the students are done capturing me in their canvases, it feels strange. Almost like scrolling over the photo gallery of my phone, only here, the portraits are not blind copies. Every artist bhai or apu sees me differently. And sometimes, with their eyes, I discover myself," Tania said. 

"But no one ever gave me one portrait of mine," she added. Although the live figure models have been painted a hundred times, they don't possess a portrait. And not just Tania, Fatema or Falan also don't possess any of their portraits. 

"We mostly draw their portraits for academic purposes. The exam sheets are submitted to the teachers, they evaluate our drawing skills and eventually, they get lost. We move on to the next semester. And if we like a portrait, we submit that for some exhibition or keep it for ourselves", said one of the students of Drawing and Painting.