Online website of Kashmiri artist Sajad H hamdani, Installations,Sculptures and Other Works

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My name is Sajad H. Hamdani and I am an artist by proffesion and a teacher. At present I am teaching wood work in a Budhist alternative school in Bangkok ,Thailand , from last one and a half year . I was born and brought up in a small city called Srinagar in the northern part of India known as Kashmir . I studied in a local school surrounded by big majestic mountains.Huge fresh water lakes,and gigantic maple trees which were my playgrounds and inspirations . Schools gave me afeeling of prison and it was just only in the tenth grade I realized that I cannot continue it further.Therefore I had no other option then to work at the age of sixteen and I never realized that I will come so far from ignorance .A lot of experiences were waiting to be explored I did almost a hundred kind of odd jobs some of them lasting not more then a day.During these seven years of wandering I came across the job of working as an apprentice to a commercial artists and in a furniture factory were I learned to carve both of the jobs gave me some kind of internal peace I enjoyed the process but could not apprecitae the labour because most of it was concerned with production and obligation. It was in the year 1989 that the things changed drastically for me due to political turmoil and unrest in my home town. I lost my job and had to spend most of my time indoors somehow I was exposed to paintngs,literature and arts I saw the whole world swarming through my eyes and I decided to study further.

My friends introduced me to the Institue of Music and Fine Arts, an autonomus institution affliated with the University of Kashmir.It was in the year 1993 and the course I opted was BFA in sculpture, it took me seven years to complete the degree due to the turmoil which escalated with time.Those seven years gave me enough time to do all sort of expermental art and learn about differnt materials and skills. Finally I was out in 2000, a new millenium was begning and so was my life .I joined a school to teach arts in a nearby state but deep inside me I knew that something was still missing. Within six months I saved some money and applied to some best universities of Fine Arts in India among them was the famous university Visva-Bharti founded by the Noble Laureate Guru Deb Rabindranath Tagore in 1911, also known as Santiniketan.I was not sure whether they would accept me or not because of limted seats for external students but luckily I got admisson in 2001 on merit I joined the Kala-Bhavana, the fine arts faculty ofSantiniketan for my MFA in sculpture. The next two years were the best productive years of my creative endeavors. I was able to create more works then I had done in seven years of my BFA .The surroundings and the atmosphere brought a new life into my senses I realized that it’s not only the techniques ,skills or intellectual pursuits that brings the artists closer to beauty and truth but a right atmosphere is also essential ,like a tree which needs sunshine to grow an artist needs inspiration s .After completing my masters I could not return back to my native homeland due to the unrest and hostile situation I tried to stay back in the campus for more six months but couldn't continue my work further due to financial reasons .Fortunately I was offerd ajob in this present school were I am working now and I arrived here in Thailand .

Living and working here has been fun and quite convinient comparing to India but it takes a lot of effort to live in an urban city like Bangkok although I got used to it and I like it somehow.Concrete jungles, conjucted apartments ,noise and pollution leaves little space for inspirations although I keep myself busy with arts.But most of the time I miss open spaces to work an occasional disscusions on art s with fellow artists the artists the long hours of carvings and a tired sleep.