Like many artists of the past and present, Anil Kumar too was inspired by the Prince of Painters, Raja Ravi Varma. More of a self-taught artist, Anil dreamt of a place to showcase all the works of his favourite artist. In 1999, he opened a gallery of his own, Bhavageetham, at Vellayambalam, which sold reproduction of Ravi Varma paintings. Today it has grown into a full-fledged gallery, expanding its stock to include home décor, sculptures, curios and much more. Along side Anil Kumar became Anil Bhavageetham, which he flaunts with pride.
“I had my share of struggle. I didn’t study after my Pre-Degree and wanted to do something related to art. I travelled to different parts of India exploring art and meeting artists. Those travels had left behind a huge impact on me. When I went to Kolkata, I found a group of people cleaning and drying the onion sacks. These dried sacks were pinned to cardboards and used as canvas. That kind of devotion to art inspired me a lot. In between, I had my stint in cinema as well, behind the camera assisting a cinematographer,” he says.
The gallery was opened at a time when such private galleries were very few. “People were appreciative of the quality of our work. But what really came handy was the real estate boom which helped us to branch out into home décor. We came up with wallpapers, art windows, mural-like paintings…,” Anil says. Besides original paintings acknowledged by master painters, Bhavageetham now sells murals, Ravi Varma reproductions, landscapes, Western reproductions, religious and theme-based paintings, abstract and realistic works, sculptures and frames. Nearly 25 artists are on the rolls of Bhavageetham and most of them are given royalty for their works.
Recently Bhavageetham opened a museum showcasing miniatures of our classical dance and art forms. Right now there are five veshams of Kathakali and he plans to add sculptures of Bharatnatyam, Theyyam, Mohiniyattam and the like. Meanwhile, there are more surprises. Plans are in place to double up the gallery as a coffee shop as well. The formal inauguration is over and the place will soon sell different varieties of coffee, under a joint initiative with the Coffee Board.
He is planning to branch out into vegetable farming as well. As a first step in this direction, he organised a Souhrida Valla Sadya on September 3 at the gallery for invited personalities drawn from different walks of life. There were 101 traditional dishes, prepared by culinary expert Ajith Kumar Varma of Mavelikkara Ulsava Madom Palace.
Now Bhavageetham has branches in Guruvayur and Kozhikode. It associates with Art for Life Foundation to hold art camps and proceeds from the sale of the works are being provided to disabled children.
