Dhaka: A solo painting exhibition titled ‘Summer in Colour’ by artist Nobo Kumar Bhadra has begun at Zoom Galerie of Alliance Française de Dhaka.

The inauguration of the exhibition was held on Friday, 29 April 2016, says a press release.

Dr Pierre-Alain Baud, writer and researcher, Moinuddin Khaled, art critic, Anwar Hossain, photographer and Imorz Hassan Chowdhury, creative director were among the guests present during the inaugural ceremony.

Bruno Plasse, Director of Alliance Française de Dhaka welcomed the guests and presided over the opening ceremony.

The innumerable streets of big cities and not-so big cities in Bangladesh have the name rickshaw written on them.

For a good number of rural-to-urban migrants, rickshaw is an opportunity to make their ends meet; for environmental campaigners they are the perfect environment-friendly, pollution-free transport to go for; for commuters finding their hearing lessening every day in the deafening clangour of the horns and whistles rickshaw is a relatively soundless ride — the list goes on.

Though the engineering behind the vehicle is antiquated as the age-old rickshaw in Bangladesh has not changed much since the early-twentieth century, the incomparable artistic aspect rickshaw ornaments itself with is unlike anything even today. Adopting from a wide range of topics — myths and legends of Bangla, Dhallywood film posters and characters, folklores, pastoral scenery with rivers and greenery, architectures like bridges and buildings — rickshaw paintings never cease to provide the unmindful viewers with something to become mindful for.

Nobo Kumar Bhadra, a veteran rickshaw painting artist, has more than 25 years of expertise under his belt. Under the tutelage of his master Shitesh Shur, Bhadra started his journey with rickshaw painting in 1987 after having working experience with painting film banners in late 70s Dhaka. As a firm believer of establishing rickshaw painting as an internationally recognised folk art form, he continues to paint, be it on a tin canvas or cartridge paper or on a miniature hand-crafted rickshaw model or on a melamine plate.

The exhibition will be open to all till 14 May 2016 from Monday to Thursday (3:00pm to 9:00pm), Friday and Saturday (9:00am to 12 noon and 5:00pm to 8:00pm), except for Sundays.