Zohra Islam: An unwitting maestro

The above paintings by Zohra Islam exhibit different kinds of flowers, done with intricate details, distinguishing one from the other. The artist, however, did not name the flowers she painted, and after great effort, with the help of her sister, my niece and a flower shop owner, that we could identify 12 of them. 

The artist had painted 50 other paintings on various subjects and themes and had no formal education or training on art. However, at a young age, she had learned dancing from a professional teacher, namely Gowher Zamil, and sometimes performed publicly. She was married to M Matiul Islam, Bangladesh's first Finance Secretary, in 1958, but until 1978, she did not realise that she had the talent and a natural gift in painting. 

This was discovered when her husband got posted as Secretary, Ministry of Industries, and got allotted an official residence in Gulshan, where one of the neighbors was Mr Kemal, representing the IMF. It was during a social visit to her home that Mrs. Kemal discovered her talent in painting by spotting a sketch of a rooster, which she painted much before her marriage, hanging in the dining room. Mrs Kemal and Zohra Islam started to paint together, engaging an art teacher. She had an intense love for flowers, which she inherited from her father.

The artist often travelled to Barishal to be with her mother-in-law during holidays. During the steamer journey, she watched intently the country boats, and developed a propensity to paint them. During this period, she also developed a number of new paintings. On December 1981, Mrs Islam moved to Vienna along with her husband, when he was posted in UNIDO. She had the opportunity to continue her passion in art, and participated in an art exhibition organized by United Nations Women's Guild (UNWG). 

The sale proceeds of the painting were donated for charitable purposes. In this exhibition, several ambassadors bid for her painting of an anchored cargo boat. Padma Venkataraman, who was the President of UNWG during the 80s, said on Zohra Islam in relation to her paintings - "Mrs Zohra Islam's paintings reflect her innate artistic talent and keen observation of nature. It was a passion for her. Zohra generously donated her magnificent artworks to United Nations Women's Guild for conducting International art exhibitions. Funds raised during the events were used for the cause of children around the globe. 

Zohra's paintings are adorning walls of people around the world, and are a constant reminder of her cheerful nature. She moved into her Gulshan residence in the year 2000, and continued painting again, along with couple of friends engaging a new art teacher. She stopped painting in 2010.

Zohra Islam passed away in 2021, at the age of 84. 

Narrated to The Daily Star by M Matiul Islam, the first Finance Secretary of Bangladesh. He also worked as the Secretary, Ministry of Industries, Alternate Executive Director in the World Bank, Head of UNIDO/ World Bank Cooperative Program, Vienna and Country Director for UNIDO, India.