Last night I was transported to beloved Burleighfield - The dream existence I experienced in 1974 – in Bucks, U.K. Yes, how I chanced upon Patrick Reyntiens and his devoted wife and partner Anne Reyntiens is a story I treasure.

I was in London at a polytechnic studying Anatomical drawings when I stopped for sandwiches and coffee during a lunch break and I overheard some students mention an eccentric artist who taught stained glass and read poetry. My antennae were working overtime.

The following Monday, I dashed off to meet Mr. Gerald Forte of the British Council to find out who this strange artist was. I learnt from British Council that he was a medieval artist to reckon with! We spoke on the phone and I was invited to lunch a few days later. I was told to get to Becon’s Field Station and that I would be collected by a Japanese artist called Josh. Also, that I must not forget to take along my slides, a box of thirty-six paintings which I had done at my Grant’s Lane Studio in Calcutta.

Voila! The great man and his wife reviewed my work and agreed to take me on as a student. This happened while I was browsing in his fantastic library.

Since the course duration was six months and starting a good six months hence, I got fidgety. I couldn’t wait. Then I discovered that their au pair had left, so I decided to fill in and hence arrived six months prior to all the other students from Canada and the United States. That was a bonus gift for me – I observed Patrick, and was allowed to pick up pieces of glass from the Iron dustbins and cut my teeth. Those baby steps proved to be very helpful.

Like Biblical Rooth, gleaning in the fields of Boaz – I too felt that Patrick was discarding far too- large pieces of glass just so that I could pick them up and work. I observed my teacher and his  genius up close, and I had ample proof of it. He once asked me – “Do you want to learn about stained glass, or about Life?”

I delighted in the knowledge that I knew all about color− but Patrick taught me what color was all about. He made the glass dance and sing and whip and moan. The man was a wizard. No, he was an artist. His range and his depth profound. He could cut glass, as you would slice cheese, effortlessly. But his powers of conception, design and handling of space made him a unique stained glass master. As one author said – “What Pat doesn’t know about glass is not worth knowing... ”.

Thanks to grants from both the British Council and then Reyntiens Trust, I had the experience of a lifetime. Working with the master in his studio for 365 days! What a privilege!!

Today, doing stained glass panels, doors, windows and walls of glass is a very rewarding and joyful experience! One gets addicted to the medium because the sky is the limit, as the glass I use is imported and so are the tools making it a costly but rewarding affair. The beauty of stained glass lasts forever. All things bright and beautiful spread joy. The recent catalogue of Patrick’s work collected in one book makes anyone wonder, how a single lifespan could suffice all that creativity. He is a living legend!! The sheer variety of subjects and themes, the expanse of color concepts and abstract shapes is mindboggling. My teacher, perhaps the only surviving medieval stained glass artist in Europe today – is, in my opinion, England’s national treasure and the genius behind Coventry Cathedral glass.

Stained glass also taught me humility. I learned to concentrate and score the glass, so that my pliers would break accurately on the score and for that I needed to align my thoughts to the will of the material. I was not the controller; I was co-operating in all humility coinciding with the nature of glass as glass is a fluid force and one can’t go against it. Just as when working with wood, one has to respect its grain, or understanding that water has a flow, force and direction, glass too has determination – it is the past and the future.

Katayun Saklat is the premier stained glass exponent in Kolkata who has perfected her art over the years. She designs and manufactures bespoke as well as ready to use items such as room dividers, Tiffany-style lamps, sun-catchers, screens, fan-lights, doors and large glass panels, and restores old stained glass panels for, amongst others, churches. She has also produced some beautiful images of Buddha, Ganesh, Mother Teresa and has both abstract and realistic motifs for homes and offices.

Currently working on the Parsi Fire Temple in central Kolkata, she has created some of the most exquisite glass work keeping in mind the old Zoroastrian motifs of ancient Iran. She has been fascinated by dragon flies either as images for sun-catchers or as ornaments and is captivated by the design of stained glass in abstract and non-figurative forms.  She has conducted numerous workshops on promoting and fabricating stained glass pieces both, in Kolkata and Delhi throughout the years.

Address Jassal House, Flat 21, Second Floor, Auckland Square, Kolkata - 700017. Phone: 98 300 36806; 98 304 37908. Email: gallerykatayun@yahoo.com

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Last night I was transported to beloved Burleighfield - The dream existence I experienced in 1974 – in Bucks, U.K. Yes, how I chanced upon Patrick Reyntiens and his devoted wife and partner Anne Reyntiens is a story I treasure.

I was in London at a polytechnic studying Anatomica