Raja Ravi Varma

(Artist among kings and king among artists)

2nd October 2006.is a day for artists community of the whole world to remember- The death- centenary of a great man- The artist who presented a face to each and every characters of the Hindu mythology. Raja Ravivarma lived to see every portrait he has created being elevated to the status of icons revered by people around the world. Hailing from Travancore royal family, it was not easy for him to do the job as an artist. The artist’s job he opted as a career was considered as infra dig to the whole members of the royal family of which he belonged.

Born on April 29/ 1948 at Kilimanoor palace near Trivandrum on April 29th 1948, to Sri. Neela kantan Bhattathiripad and Smt. Uma Ambabai, His father was a great Sanskrit scholar and mother smt. Uma Ambabai a lady of poetic skills. Ravi varma had shown a talent to draw from the very beginning.. The inborn skill of the small boy was first noticed by his uncle- Sri. Raja Raja Varma. who often chided the boy for spoiling the wall of the royal palace by drawing pictures every where! Sri Raja Raja Varma himself was artist of the royal assembly of the Travancore dynasty. One day the uncle was drawing a picture Of Mahavishnu (The god who is responsible for the well being of the unverse), by some reason he had to leave it in-complete, it so happened that for the surprise of the great uncle, the fourteen year old boy completed the painting within minutes. Raja Raja Varma was so impressed without wasting much time he took the boy to the ruling king –he did not forget to take some of the works of the boy along with. King Ayillyam Thirunal of Travancore dynasty appreciated the works and accommodated the boy in the palace and made arrangements for giving him education as well as expert training to the little boy by re- know Ned artists of the palace. Sri. Ramaswamy Naidu and Sri Arumugham Pillay were the early gurus designated for the job. Their style was that of Thanjavur-a famous place for great temples with classic murals and works of art) .The boy mastered the art within no time.

The real turn of the event happened when the great artist Theodore Jenson visited Travancore palace, he happened to meet the boy. Mr. Theodore gave valuable lessons to the little boy about the intricacies of oil paintings. Showing some of his works to the boy he explained how lights and shades work the magic. Mr. Theodore was actually opening a window to the mind of a budding Indian artist – the boy saw much more than the great artist perceived. That was a seed that was sawn in to fertile land, which grew in to in to a big tree- that was Raja Ravivarma. Ignorance latest techniques was a big deficiency of Indian artists at that time. Fortunately Jenson equipped Ravivarma with a tool that was not possessed other artists of this part of the world.

Ravivarma married Smt.Pooruruttathi Thirunal Mahaprabha Thampuratti (Women and men of royal families were named after their birth star at that time-Pooruruttathi is the birth-star of the lady and real name is Mahaprabha) It remains to be an irony of fate that the man gave earthly shape and heavenly beauty to the gods but the gods did not reciprocate by giving him a single child. Yet Ravivarma never stopped, he went on beautifying the goddesses with all the creativeness he had.

The artist among king that was what Raja Ravi varma was not born on one fine morning, members of royal family doing the job of an artist attracted wrath of none other than members of royal members, which inflicted great pains to the sensitive artist. He left home for a pilgrimage to the famous temple of Mookambika and observed forty one days of penance. That period of penance was a reincarnation, the totally confused person he was of not knowing what to do became a man of clear ideas .He got convinced that his mission is expressing the creativity he had and no one on earth could stop him. Thus Ravivarma the professional artist was born to the wonders of the world. For the first time he received remuneration was for portrait he did for the district judge and his family. The reward was one thousand rupees! quite a hefty sum at that time. That was only a beginning. Thereafter rewards and recognitions came in leaps and bounds all through his life. First recognition came in 1873 at an exhibition held at Madras for his painting of the woman with jasmine flowers on hair. The very next year this painting won the best painting award at Vienna. The real event however was the invitation extended by the regent of Baroda Sri. Madhava Rao ,where Raja Ravivarma was required to paint the Hindu mythological characters. It was there the pictures of Saraswathi Laxmi, and other numerous mythological figures were given shapes that made all Indians recognize that these paintings portrayed the real charm that they so far nurtured in their dreams and imaginations. To be precise Ravivarma gave them their gods a face for them to worship.

Ravivarma was a great humanist also. He was not happy of the situation where his paintings decorated the walls of houses owned only by rich people as the common man could not afford them, so Raja Ravi varma started a color printing press and mass produced his works and that idea clicked! Almost all Hindus got the privilege of having at least one Ravivarma however poor he be. Thus the saree clad goddesses became so popular that gradually saree rose to the status of India’s national dress. The style in which the goddesses wear the saree is so bewitching that no woman with a sense of taste can resist the temptation to wear it at least once.

The followings are only some of the well-known works of Raja Ravi Varma and not at all comprehensive. Arjuna and Subadra, Ganga and Shantanu, Shantanu and Matsyagandhi, Menaka and Viswamitra, Here comes Papa, Radha Madhav, Radha waiting for Krishna, Hamsa Damayanthi.(Damayanthi with a swan) Yeshoda and Krishna, Kadambari, Saraswati, Lady with lamp, etc. Most of these pictures can viewed in the photo session attached.

In memory of the great artist India has ever seen, the Government of Kerala has established a college of fine arts at Mavelikkara at Alappuzha district. Before the college on a pedestal stands the statue of the great maharaja wielding easel and brush – instead of sword and shield – traditionally carried by statues of maharajas. Yes this maharaja’s weapons were altogether different .To say it plainly this maharaja himself is different! Leave his weapons!......


Source: Naturemagics.com - website on Kerala Tourism
Images:http://www.cyberkerala.com/