An exposition of paintings was held by the Nandalala Seva Samithi Trust as part of its silver jubilee year celebrations. Its founder-president Mathioli R. Saraswathy’s objective of organising the show was to create an awareness of art in the minds of school children.
This exhibition was held in an apartment which was amidst schools on V.C. Garden Street, Mylapore. Inaugurated by artists Priya Natarajan and O. Lavanya on June 23, it was visited by a number of art lovers.
The exhibition had paintings of artists from Bangalore. “It was possible because of the initiative of Lakshmi Jayaram, chapter member from Bangalore. She had explained the social causes of Nandalala to the artists and motivated them to participate,” said Ms. Saraswathy.
The expo featured more than 100 paintings of artists from Chitrakala Parikshan, Bangalore. There were glass paintings, acrylic paintings, painting on canvas, modern art, Kathakali painting and some on silk and some using water colours.
Raghini paintings (line drawings with fine detail) and modern paintings of Krishna also attracted the visitors. Peacocks in myriad hues were depicted on silk. Harish Solanki, an artist from Rajasthan, who had done this, had brought to life fine details of the birds in magnificient colours.
Another silk painting which was captivating was of tigers by Rajendra Singh. With shining bright eyes the tigers in the painting were realistic almost like a photograph. Having spent a lot of time in his childhood at Ranathombore, he could capture the magnificent cat in its habitat with ease.
The expo also featured paintings of artists P. Abhinaya of Chennai Malaviya of Bangalore, A.M. Kanakaraj (hometown Kerala) and Sunil from Karnataka. While Sunil had captured the euphoria of silk in a manner that enthused the young and cricket lovers, Kanakaraj had highlighted the emotions of a Kathakali performer.
Nearly 50 per cent of the paintings were sold out. in the expo which was held between June 23 and July 5.
Debate
Nandalala Seva Samiti also conducted a debate for students of Valluvar Gurukulam of Tambaram as part of their silver jubilee celebrations. Of the six students who participated, three spoke on ‘Was Hanuman a true devotee of Rama’ and the rest on ‘Was Panchali a true devotee of Krishna.’
Each participant put forth his/her views often quoting from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. The students of the Gurukulam are specially trained in debating and they were identified by the chairman of the Nandalala Samiti, Mathioli R. Saraswathy. The chief guest for the occasion was Aranthai Manian, professor in SRM University and literary person.
The debate was held with the aim of providing a platform for under-privileged students to exhibit their talents. Before 1988, the Samiti was known as Siruvar Sangam. It is into projects such as ‘Balakrishna’, Matruseva and others related to medical aid to the poor. In project Balakrishna, milk is supplied free to children studying in Government schools.
In ‘Matruseva,’ good hygienic food is provided to people at the Chennai Cultural Centre.
The Samiti has also started the Nandalal Medical Foundation and Suraksha Dialysis Centre, which provides low-cost dialysis to kidney patients from poor families. The centre is a state-of-the-art facility.
