Tiger Nazir's efforts to promote Bengali culture 

If you go to the front of the public library in Shahbagh of the capital, you will see various posters hanging on the wall on the footpath. You will see an artist who is concentrating on drawing a picture. He is Nazir Hussain --Bagh Mama or Tiger Nazir. 

Nazir Hossain got the title of 'Bagh Mama' because he mainly painted tigers in cartoons. People named him 'Tiger Nazir' and 'Bagh Nazir'; however, Nazir prefers to identify himself as 'Patua'.

Nazir Hossain has been painting on the pavement for almost two centuries to introduce pottery, one of the contemporary art forms of Bengali culture, to the city's people. 

Nazir's paintings, however, are slightly different; there is a touch of Nakshikantha.

"Mother used to sew Nakshikantha. I used to draw my mother's painting on the wall of the mud house with a stick on the ground after seeing it from my mother. I used to practice drawing animals and birds, plants, and rural scenes in my own way," Nazir noted.

"The most beautiful animal of the Sundarbans is 'The Royal Bengal Tiger'. It is a symbol of our bravery. I have been painting with this tiger for more than two decades. Nowadays, I myself introduce myself as 'Tiger Nazir." he added.

Patua Nazir was born in 1982 in a small village of Parvatipur in Dinajpur. As a child, he used chalk to draw, sometimes on the ground and sometimes on the wall. When he entered school, Nazir used to try to draw in his own way after seeing pictures in the book. He used to draw pictures of Rabindra-Najrul in his textbook.

The Bengal Tiger is the main subject of Nazir's paintings. So far, he has painted more than 30,000 tiger portraits. Sometimes, a tiger beats drums in his paintings; sometimes, he wears clothes; in some pictures, he ploughs the land and drives boats, rickshaws, trains and aeroplanes.

Nazir spent his entire life in the pursuit of painting. He has had 59 solo exhibitions so far. These include the names of the Shilpakala Academy, National Museum, Russian Cultural Center, French Cultural Center, and Bengal Gallery several times.

In 2013, Nazir participated in the 'TTNA-2013 Exhibition' at the invitation of the Japanese government. About 100 young and old artists from Bangladesh participated in the exhibition. Nazir's tiger portrait caught everyone's attention. His painted tiger mascot was selected as the Japan-Bangladesh Goodwill Ambassador. 

"There are too many ugly things around us. Instead, we should fill them with beauty. I am working at the root level so that common people can understand. Fine art, art, and museums are not easily accessible to common people. The pavement is for common people. Here, a rickshaw puller is going by looking at pictures; a pedestrian is looking at pictures. I think that is my achievement," Nazir explained. 

Nazir aspires to promote culture and tradition among people through his work.

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