I paint rural Bengal from childhood memories

Artist Samar Majumder has gained national fame by designing the book cover. There is no popular author of the the '80s and '90s whose book cover was not done by Samar Majumdar. The famous cover artist once stopped doing covers altogether. This prominent cover artist's journey, artistic vision and his time as a cover artist - all these aspects converge to portray his lifestyle in an interview with Views Bangladesh. Kamrul Ahsan and Mahfuz Sardar conducted the interview.

Views Bangladesh: Welcome to Views Bangladesh. How are you doing overall?
Samar Majumder: I'm doing well. I'm doing very well. The days pass by in a flurry of artistic pursuits.

Views Bangladesh: Despite being widely renowned as a headline artist, why did you suddenly reduce your focus on painting book covers?
Samar Majumder: Actually, I had decided right after retiring from my job that I would spend all my time doing things my own way. My fundamental passion lies in painting, so I returned to that. I have found fulfillment in it. Now, I paint all the time. Unless very special people or close friends request it, I don't do cover for books anymore. I paint all the time, exhibit my work, and I feel my time is being very well spent. I believe I am enjoying complete freedom. Through painting, I am achieving the full development of my artistic mind.

Views Bangladesh: How many solo exhibitions have you had?
Samar Majumder: I've had four solo exhibitions. One is currently ongoing at the Shilpangan Gallery.

Views Bangladesh: The majority of your paintings depict the beauty of rural Bengal. Why is that?
Samar Majumder: I try to depict childhood memories through my paintings. Everyone knows this. Rural Bengal is my favorite subject.

Views Bangladesh: When did you start capturing these childhood memories, creating a certain nostalgia, and how did it come about?
Samar Majumder: I have been trying to capture memories like these from the very beginning. Another aspect is when I started working at the "Nakshakendra," where I met Kamrul Hasan sir. He used to paint the life of rural Bengal. Bengali people and their heritage were his favorite subjects. Working under him, I also became fascinated by it. The work at Nakshakendra involved collecting and researching folk art. By delving deep into it, I felt that if I worked on this, I could excel. That's why I chose this subject.

Views Bangladesh: When did you first start designing book covers?
Samar Majumder: I first started designing book covers in my childhood; however, if we talk about professional book covers, it would be around 1982-83.

Views Bangladesh: How did you get involved with professional book covers? Whose book did you design first?
Samar Majumder: My friend Naeem Hasan was working at University Press Limited (UPL) at the time. UPL was publishing English books then. Naeem convinced UPL to start publishing Bengali books. They initially selected Akhtaruzzaman Elias's "Chilekothar Sepai" and Shawkat Ali's "Prodoshe Prakritajan." Due to our previous acquaintance, I was assigned the task of designing the covers for these books. "Prodoshe Prakritajan" was the first to be released.

Views Bangladesh: "Prodoshe Prakritajan" is now a famous novel, and its subject matter is quite complex. How did you prepare to design the cover of this book?
Samar Majumder: Actually, Shawkat Ali's novel "Prodoshe Prakritajan" was the first one. And he was already a well-known figure at that time. He wrote short stories and was a professor. He was much older than me. So, I tried to establish a close relationship with the author to better understand how he wrote and to comprehend the subject matter after reading it. It was also my first task, so I felt challenged. I knew that authors like Kaiyum Chowdhury, Hashem Khan, and Pranesh Mandal had already taken book cover design to a higher level in Bengali literature. They had already brought book cover design to prominence. Therefore, I knew that if I had to design the book cover, it had to be somewhere close to or at par with theirs. "Prodoshe Prakritajan" had a theme related to terracotta art, with one character being a terracotta artist. I focused on that theme for the cover design. The most surprising thing was that, in the same year, I received the National Book Centre's award for the best book cover designer for "Prodoshe Prakritajan."

Views Bangladesh: How was the process of designing book covers different back then compared to now?
Samar Majumder: Back then, there were no computer facilities. Everything had to be done manually. And there were no four-color presses either. Everything was done in black and white. "Prodoshe Prakritajan" and "Chilekothar Sepai" were printed in black and white. The Bengali publishing industry wasn't as advanced either. How many books were published in a year? Only a few. Now, thousands of books are published. Everything can be done on the computer now, which is a great convenience. We used to experiment a lot, think a lot. We would sit with authors and publishers repeatedly. Then we would pause for a while and think again.

Views Bangladesh: What are your thoughts on book covers nowadays?
Samar Majumder: Nowadays, it's hard to tell what kind of book it is just by looking at the cover. The covers of storybooks, poetry books, and novels all seem the same to me.

Views Bangladesh: Do you think the text on the cover is important?
Samar Majumder: Definitely. The cover should be such that just by looking at it, the reader becomes interested in reading the content. The cover should provide a mental preparation. Many publishers don't even know what kind of cover is appropriate. They expect something beautiful, but they don't understand if the content is appropriate or not.

Views Bangladesh: In that case, readers might feel deceived if the text and the cover don't match.
Samar Majumder: Yes, if the reader is discerning, they will understand it. Then they will definitely feel disappointed. However, not everyone buys a book just by looking at the cover. They buy it after seeing what's inside. Many ordinary readers, new readers, especially those who buy stories and novels, are interested after seeing the cover. In that case, if the text inside doesn't match the cover, they will surely be disappointed.

Views Bangladesh: Did you anticipate becoming so famous as a cover artist?
Samar Majumder: No, I never thought I would come this far.

Views Bangladesh: Do you remember how many book covers you've designed in total?
Samar Majumder: I don't remember exactly. It could be around fifteen hundred books maybe. And I've never stuck to a particular style for book covers. I've always tried to choose covers that match the content of the book.

Views Bangladesh: When were you busiest as a cover artist?
Samar Majumder: That would be from the 1990s until around 2005-07.

Views Bangladesh: Why did you reduce your cover design work?
Samar Majumder: It felt like it had become too much. There was also a kind of fatigue. I felt I should return to my own world, to drawing pictures. Because designing book covers doesn't offer much freedom. There's a specific size, subject matter, and the mood in which the author has written, all of which must be captured. Publishers also have their own demands and negotiations, and it's not always easy to meet everyone's expectations. Considering all these, I decided to focus more on my own art.

Views Bangladesh: Whose books have you designed the most covers for?
Samar Majumder: Humayun Azad's. Almost all of his books.

Views Bangladesh: What was your relationship like with him?
Samar Majumder: It was very good. He was a very friendly person. He used to come to my house to see the cover designs. He had a good relationship with my children too. He used to bring chocolates when he visited. My children used to call him "you you" in a familiar way.

Views Bangladesh: Do you still design some book covers? Whose books do you design covers for?
Samar Majumder: I don't take on requests from many respected people and friends. I design covers for some books, but very few.

Views Bangladesh: You often post your drawn pictures on Facebook, the lost village pictures, and those that evoke memories. Why did you get affected by these memories?
Samar Majumder: I draw my childhood village. I capture the images of the village as I saw it in my childhood, those pictures stay in my mind, and I bring them out. I enjoy it. I remember my mother's words...