Sarada Charan Ukil (1890–1940) occupies an important yet understudied position in the history of modern Indian art. Sarada was born into the distinguished Ukil family of Bikrampur (present-day Bangladesh). With their household centered around literature, music, and the visual arts, painting became a shared pursuit among the Ukil brothers (Sarada, Barada, and Ranada). Sarada received his formal training at the Government School of Art in Calcutta. It was a period of intense cultural and political transformation in colonial Bengal. The city had become the centre of Indian art nationalism. Under the influence of E. B. Havell and Abanindranath Tagore, European academic realism and other Eurocentric techniques faced heavy criticism. Young student artists were encouraged to rediscover indigenous traditions through Mughal miniatures, Rajput painting, Ajanta murals and Japanese wash techniques. Art became closely associated with the Swadeshi movement and the search for a national cultural identity. Sarada absorbed these ideas during his formative years. He viewed his painting practice as a means of recovering India's cultural heritage within a colonial society.