By Purwa Dugal
Dehradun, 3 Nov: Born in 1939 in the village of Dhamial, District Rawalpindi (now in Pakistan), Jaspal Singh Dugal and his family moved to Dehradun after the partition. From a young age, he showed a passion for art, starting to sketch as a child. By the sixth grade, he was drawing portraits of well-known personalities and collecting their autographs. His art master, Budh Singh, played a pivotal role in training him in various mediums, including pen and ink, pastels, charcoal, watercolour, and oils.
During his graduation, he received special guidance from Ranvir Saxena and Sarla Raman, who nurtured his talent in still life and landscape painting. In 1960, Dugal joined Kalakendra, where he was inspired by Dada Dwijen Sen, who refined his skills in portrait painting across all media. Watching Dada sculpt a life-size statue of Sardar Patel left a profound impact on him.
In 1966, Dugal received an all-India award for his still life in oils (palette knife) from the Indian Academy of Fine Arts, Amritsar. He continued to paint throughout his life, and at the age of 75, he ventured into serious sculpting in bronze. To date, he has created 25 bust portraits in various sizes and two life-size statues in bronze. He has been greatly influenced by the illustrious sculptor, Prof Ram Sutar, who graciously accepted him as a disciple.
Notably, four of his bust portraits and two life-size statues are displayed in Dehradun. The bronze bust of General Bikram Rawat can be found in Bhandari Bagh, and the bust of Sridev Suman is located in Tehri Nagar Colony, both sponsored by Dharampur MLA Vinod Chamoli.
At 85, Jaspal Singh Dugal remains a vibrant artist, continuing to paint and create in his studio at his residence.
