He spent a less colorful life than that of a city-bred boy and was a little different from the lot. He could
graphically replicate his immediate visual experience and thus could sensitively respond to the nuances of the
goings on around him. In 1959, Lalu had his institutional training in art at the Government College of Art,
Calcutta where students were taught what the curricula demanded - anatomy, perspectives, norms of
chiaroscuro, techniques of British watercolour, academic portraiture in oil and so on. He graduated in 1959
but somehow, the completion of the course left him disillusioned and that is the reason why he tried to
express himself beyond the limits of the institutional training. Lalu became a member of the Society of
Contemporary Artists in 1967. For a few years, he devoted himself to graphic works in abstract form where
he could incorporate the forms of his earlier sketches and drawings. Thereafter, he worked for more than five
to six years with lithograph prints at the Graphic Department of Kalabhavana, Santiniketan. This gave him,
to some extent, a feeling of satisfaction. Yet again another change was imminent when one day he saw
Sukhomoyda showing ‘Lucknow Birds’ to students in the Kalabhavana library. He reflected upon it and
thought it could be a new beginning for him. Even the makeshift photo-stalls visiting Santiniketan attracted
him with people in various postures posing for a shoot which he later included in his paintings. This
inclusion of figurative composition led him to the medium of tempera, his preferred medium to work with at
present. In Lalu’s early works of the mid-50s, especially pastels, images comprised figures and forms taken
from the visual world. Each frame displays his passion for image-making.
He has exhibited extensively in India and abroad since 1956, and some of his most recent
solo shows include ‘Looking in’ at Galerie 88, Kolkata, in 2011-12; ‘Graceful Silence’ and
‘Sepia Notes’ at Art Musings, Mumbai, in 2011 and 2007; ‘The Myriad Minded Artist’ at
Gallery Sanskriti, Kolkata, in 2008; and ‘Painting’ at the Centre for International Modern
Art (CIMA), Kolkata, in 1995. His work has also been featured in several group shows,
and he has participated in art festivals and fairs all over the world since 1956. The artist
lives and works in Kolkata.