If you haven’t met Dibya Samireen, it’s difficult to ascertain from his paintings that he is only nine years old. At least, his brilliant brushstrokes don’t give a hint to it. At a time when kids his age are yet to grow beyond drawing simple images using pencil and paper, Dibya has to his credit a solo exhibition of his paintings. Divya, who loves nature and its serenity, prefers paintings landscapes. The Class IV student of Bapuji Public School has also won a number of awards at painting competition.
That, however, isn’t his only claim to fame. He is also a karate champion and recently won the silver medal in Karate Times Cup-2019, a championship held in Kerala. Orissa POST takes a look at Divya’s achievements and his future plans.
Divya, who hails from Nabarangpur, has never taken any professional training in painting. His mother Niharika Mallick, an author and lecturer, says, “Dibya started learning karate after my sister insisted us to give him some training on self defence. However, he is a born painter. He was barely one and half years old when he started to scribble on walls with pencils. I never stopped him from doing that as I sensed his creative ability even at that age. When he was two, he could draw images of animals. The next year, he started used paintbrush to express his imagination on canvas. We were surprised by his progress.”
“I once sent one of his drawings to a leading vernacular daily without his knowledge. Surprisingly, the newspaper published it. He was really happy to find his work published in a newspaper. Gradually, I started sending his works to different newspapers and, which would eventually get printed. His works soon started attracting attention and people started praising him. This encouraged Dibya to organise a solo exhibition of his painting at Nabarangpur. The show was attended by a large number of prominent painters and intellectuals of Nabarangpur, who praised his works. The exhibition turned out to be double bonanza for us, as I too was felicitated as a translator at that exhibition. It was because of Dibya that my efforts got recognised. It was a proud moment for our family.”
Dibya says, “I love painting landscapes and animals. Most of my friends love to play but I prefer sitting in the lap of nature and observe its pristine beauty. Nature and animals find prominence in my works because I feel that they have no voice to protest the atrocities inflicted upon them. Therefore, my paintings represent their protest. Although nature and animals are important for our existence, they are not being taken care of. I want to do my bit for them through my paintings.”
Divya’s father Pitabas Gahan is proud of his son’s karate skills. “He maintains a disciplined lifestyle, more so because he has to stay fit as karateka. He follows a particular diet chart and stays away from food that might affect his fitness. I have never seen complaining for not being allowed to have some particular dish that might not be good for his health. He is focused and aspires to represent India in Olympics some day. His ambition is to win a gold medal for his country.”
RASHMI REKHA DAS, OP
